The Cold War

Chapter 26

Key Topics

• Prospects for world peace at the end of WWII

• Diplomatic policy during the Cold War

• The Truman presidency• Anticommunism and McCarthyism• Cold War culture and society• The Korean War

The Cold War [1945-1991]: An Ideological Struggle

Soviet & Eastern Bloc

Nations[“Iron

Curtain”]

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.[George Kennan]

METHODOLOGIES:

1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]

2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]

3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”

4. Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

The Division of Berlin

The Bipolarization of Europe

Containment

• The Truman Doctrine– Self-Granted power to keep Communism

from spreading

• The Marshall Plan– Commitment to help rebuild Europe

• The Berlin Crisis

George Kennan [“X Article”]: CONTAINMENT

Goals Means Actual Application1.Restoration

of the balance of power

2.Reduction of Soviet ability to project outside power.

Encouragement of self-confidence in nations threatened by Soviet expansion.

Exploitation of tensions in international communism.

Long-term program of U.S. economic assistance [Marshall Plan]

Cooperation with communist regimes; [supporting Titoism in Yugoslavia]

3.Modification of the Soviet concept of international relations.

Negotiating settlement of outstanding differences.

Using “carrots & sticks’; containing Germany with an embrace and Russia at arms length.

George Kennan [“X Article”]: CONTAINMENT

Goals Means Actual Application

“To Err is Truman”• Why was Truman

relatively unpopular at the beginning of the 1948 campaign?

• What controversy arose around the 1948 election?

• What role did anti-communism play in Truman’s Fair Deal?

The Cold War at Home

• Why was there such an extensive Red Scare at Home?– What steps were

taken for National Defense?

• How were people’s rights restricted?

National Defense Budget [1940-1964]

The Cold War at Home

• The Red Scare in Hollywood– How did HUAC influence

the movie industry?

– Should government have censorship rights on creative productions?

The Cold War at Home

• Spy Cases– Alger Hiss– Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

The Cold War at Home

• Why were people like McCarthy deemed credible?

• What did McCarthy hope to achieve through his action?

• How was he eventually brought down?

Cold War Culture

• How did the cold War affect American Culture?– Return of the Soldier– Women’s Roles– Middle Class Status

Korean War

[1950-1953]

Korean War[1950-1953]

Syngman Rhee

Kim Il-Sung

“Domino Theory”

The Shifting Map of Korea[1950-1953]

The Korean War

• Did the Korean War serve any purpose?

• Was American entry a mistake?

• How much responsibility should Truman bear for the result of the Korean War?

• How was the Korean War a demonstration of the Containment Policy?