The Cold War Around the World Chapter 19, Section 2&3.
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Transcript of The Cold War Around the World Chapter 19, Section 2&3.
Setting the Scene• 21 million
Europeans are homeless
• 20% of Poland’s population is dead
• 1 in 5 French and Belgian homes are destroyed or damaged
• Livestock and farm equipment were destroyed
In Europe
• Marshall Plan: A plan to fund the economic recovery of Europe (Reconstruction) because the Commies were gaining footholds in many devastated areas.
In Europe• Berlin Airlift: Stalin seals
off West Berlin (which was inside the Soviet Zone) in 1948, hoping that the U.S. would abandon it. We fly in for over 15 months, until Stalin abandons the blockade.
In Europe• NATO is formed to
act as a barrier against Soviet aggression– Allows European
democracies to stand together (collective security)
– The Commies respond with the Warsaw Pact
In Asia
• China falls to Mao Zedong and his communist forces (they had been fighting since the 1920’s).
In Asia
• We initially help the Chinese government, but realize that the fall is inevitable, we withdraw aid
• Losing China is a BIG BLOW to the Truman administration
Nuclear Weapons
• When we learn that the Soviets have the atomic bomb, Truman authorizes research on a thermonuclear bomb, which is many times more powerful than an atomic bomb.
At home…
• Remember: Many Americans had joined communist or socialist organizations during the Depression.
• Loyalty Programs: all federal employees were subject to investigations
HUAC• HUAC: began to
probe the U.S. (Especially Hollywood) for Communist influences.
• The Hollywood Ten: group a writers, directors, actors, and producers who refused to testify before the HUAC. All were fined or jailed
Blacklists• People who were seen as un-American or
disloyal were blacklisted, which meant that no studios would hire them.
McCarran-Walter Act
• Re-instated immigration quotas from the 1920’s. Senator McCarran believed most disloyal Americans were immigrants.– This bill passed over
Truman’s veto.
Spy Cases:
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of giving atomic secrets to the Russians. Both were executed.
• According to released Soviet documents, Julius Rosenberg and Algar Hiss were guilty, Ethel was probably not.
• Loyalty Programs, Committee investigations, Blacklists and highly publicized spy cases convinced many Americans that the threat of spies was very real and lead to a climate of great suspicion in America. Many people’s civil rights were violated during this period.
• The Peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel between Communist forces in the North and American forces in the South.
• After a surprise North Korean invasion pushed U.S. and South Korean forces to the tip of Korea, the U.S. counters.
• Macarthur pushes the PRK forces all the way to the Yalu River.
• The Chinese warn us not to approach their borders
• MacArthur wanted to use nukes against the Chinese, which would have started WWIII
• He makes public statements criticizing Truman