Presidency of Harry Truman

What did the US do right after WWII

he US abandoned its isolationist traditions and help created structures to create an open world

What did the Bretton woods system include?

Bretton Woods system included adoption of

US dollar as de facto gold standard and creation

of the International Monetary Fund

What open at (April 25, 1945 San Francisco,

CA)

The United Nations opened (charter resembled that of the dead (League of Nations)

Who is UN run by

UN led by the Security Council of 15

members with 5 being permanent and having

veto power (US, USSR, Britain, France, China)

What does the UN do?

UN keeps peace and has a humanitarian role

What did US delegate Bernard Baruch proposed?

He proposed UN inspections of worlds nuclear weapons and faculties (opposed by soviets)

What got separated?

The iron curtain separated Soviet controlled eastern Europe and the democracies of the west

What did Stalin do with his troops?

Stalin used his troops to aid communist movements in Iran (Truman protested and USSR withdrew)

What did Truman adopt?

Truman adopted “containment policy”

What was the containment policy

firm containment of Soviet expansion

would limit communist threat to US created by American Diplomat George F kennnan

The truman doctrine

(containing

communism through financial and military

means) became US policy through Cold War, US assisting all democratic nations of the world

What did Truman do at March 1947

Truman requested

$400 million to help Greece and

Turkey resist communism

Who was the Marshall plan by?

Truman

and Sec. of State George Marshall

What did Marshall Plan sent?

They sent $12.5 billion over 4 years to 16 cooperating nations to spur on economic growth

What did Marshall plan recovered

Marshall plan aid led to miraculous recovery of Western European economies

What were the critics arguing

critics argued we gave money to dictators (so long as they weren’t communist)

What did the US knew?

The us knew an economically healthy Germany would hasten European recovery they also knew that economically healthy nations typically oppose communism

What did USSSR wanted?

USSR wanted Germany to pay

reparations to keep it weakened

What 4 parts did Germany divide into

Germany divided

into 4 occupational

zones controlled by

US, USSR, UK & Fr.

What did the US want?

US wanted Germany

reunited but USSR with

no reparations refused

to relinquish control

Berlin Airlift

Berlin Airlift—US overcame Soviet

blockade of western Berlin by delivering

supplies to city via airplanes for almost 1 year

What did US, Britain, France, Belgium,

and Luxembourg formed?

They formed North Atlantic Treaty Orgainzation (NATO)

What is NATO?

NATO a mutual defense agreement

(US no longer avoiding entangling alliances)

What did the USSR create? (1955)

USSR created Warsaw Pact among its satellite nations to counter

NATO

How much did the NATO grew?

NATO membership grew to 14 in 1952 with admission of Greece & Turkey (and to 15 with West Germany in 1955…32 now after Finland & Sweden joined in 2023)

Who did the communist forces defeat?

communist forces under Mao Zedong defeated nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek in China

How much of the world population was under communism?

¼ world’s population

What did the critics wonder?

critics of Truman wondered why he didn’t

support nationalists more (though the people

of China weren’t supporting them either)

What did Truman sign?

National Security Council Memorandum Number 68 (NSC-68) ordering the quadrupling of US defense spending and Executive order 9981

What did Russia and American forces left when they left korea?

they left weapons and rival regimes

(communist north and democratic south)

What did North Korea do June 25, 1950

North Korea suddenly invaded South Korea and nearly took the entire peninsula

What did Truman used to label North Korea

Truman used Soviet absence from

UN to label North Korea an aggressor

and send UN troops to fight them

What did Truman order?

Truman ordered troops from Japan

under MacArthur to defend South Korea

What did MacArthur wanted to do?

wanted to blockade China and bomb Manchuria

What did Truman refused to allow?

He refused to allow the expansion on the Korea war

How was MacArthur fired?

He publicly criticized Truman fired for insubordination

What did President Eisenhower try to fulfilled

fulfilled

campaign promise by flying to Korea

to help negotiate peace (he failed)

What was the outcome of the Korean war

Korean War left 54,000 Americans dead

and $10’s of billions spent to contain

communism. It is still going on today…

What is the United nations?

an intention to promote peace, created in San Francisco April 25, 1945

What was the Loyalty review board

Loyalty Review Board created to

investigate more than 3 million federal

employees for any communist infiltration

What is HUAC

House Un-American Activities Committee

What prominent politician made a name for HUAC

Richard NIxon

Who was HUAC created by?

created by Republicans to

investigate if Democratic presidents allowed

Communists in the Gov.

What did HUAC first investigate?

first investigated Hollywood

(ruining the careers by blacklisting people

like Paul Robeson and Dalton Trumbo)

WHo are the HOLLYWOOD tem

a group of ten film industry’s

Blacklist

individuals with suspected communist

Who did Richard Nixon prosecuted?

HUAC member Richard Nixon

prosecuted diplomat Alger Hiss for being a

Communist

Who is Alger HISS?

American government who served in the U.S state department

What did the MCCarran internal security act allow?

McCarran Internal Security Act allowed

president to arrest suspicious people during

an “internal security emergency” (Truman

vetoed it—but was overridden)

What did Soviets explode?

Soviets exploded first atomic bomb with help from spies in the US

What did US exploded

US exploded 1st hydrogen bomb in 1952;

the Soviets in 1953 (arms race had begun)

Who was Joseph McCarthy

(Feb. 1950) Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R)

gained fame charging there were 205

known communists working in State Dept.

and that the Secretary of State was

knowingly hiring them.

Who were Julius an Ethel Rosenbergs

married couple but got executed by electroncotion for passing classifed information

What did McCarth ruin?

McCarthy ruined the careers of many public

figures with public trials…This time period is

called, “McCarthyism”

Who did Truman and Eisenhower hate?

McCarthy

How did Mcarthy die?

He went after the army but was exposed as a liar died due to alcholism

Why did people fear communism and communists

lost of personal freedom and rights, economic instablility and less of indivuals properties

Which part of korea is known as the republic of korea

South korea

Which part of korea is known as the peoples republic of korea

North korea

On what date did the korean war begin

June 25 1950

Which orgainzations sent troops to defend south korea

United nations

How many nations were represented in the Korean conflict

16 nations

Who was the leader of the UN forces in korea

General douglass

What did the Servicemens readjustment act of 1944 (GI Bill of rights) provide to soldiers?

1. $ for College and

job training

2. Low interest loans

to buy a house

3. Low interest loans

to start a business

4. Government Jobs

5. Medical Care at

VA

What was the Truman recession

a lack of available jobs,

and labor strikes caused economic worries, slowed economic recovery

How did most Americans felt right after WWII

Most Americans felt prosperity the $ saved during the war; middle

class doubled, 90% Americans owned a TV,

many families had 2 cars

What did the Levitt brothers design?

cheap, “cookie cutter” houses that created the

“suburbs”

What did the return of soldiers lead to?

the return of soldiers and economic

prosperity led to the “Baby Boom”

Why do they call it the baby boom?

unprecedented population explosion

Who was Jackie Robinson

broke color barrier in baseball (few Americans cared about civil

rights for African Americans but this inspired

change and helped the Civil Rights Movement)

Who was sunbelt

important politically

as Northeast’s population moved south and

west

What did GOP win?

GOP won control of House in 1946 and then

ran Thomas Dewey in 1948 presidential race

What did Truman originally tell Eisenhower?

originally told Eisenhower he

would go back to being Vice President if

Ike ran as President for the Democrats

(Eisenhower was a Republican)

What did truman nomination led to?

nomination split the

party—Southern Democrats (“Dixiecrats”)

wanted J. Strom Thurmond of SC for State’s

Rights Party

What did dewey look to be?

Dewey looked to be the clear

winner in the 1948 Election

How many electoral votes did truman and dewey get

Truman got 303 Electoral votes to Dewey’s

189—Dems. won back the House

What did the chicago tribune do?

the Chicago Tribune ran early

edition proclaiming Dewey the winner

What was truman fair deal program?

improved housing, full employment, higher

minimum wage, better farm price support,

new TVA, extension of Social Security