8.1-8.2

What happened to America after WWII concludes?

It emerges as an economic power.

What are Americans nervous about?

They are nervous of another depression occurring.

What is democracy?

It is a government system

What is communism?

It is an economic system.

What influences on American life did the Cold War have?

• Red Scare and communism

• Civil Rights Movement

• Schools built over bomb shelters

• Public debates and protests

• Coexistence and Detente

What is Detente?

a period of improved relations or reduced tensions, especially between countries that were previously hostile

Harry S. Truman

1945-1953

Dwight D. Eisenhower

1953-1961

John F. Kennedy

1961-1963

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969

Richard M. Nixon

1969-1974

Gerald R. Ford

1974-1977

Jimmy Carter

1977-1981

Ronald Reagan

1981-1989

When was the United Nations created?

1945

What does veto power mean in the context of the creation of the UN?

It means that the US can participate, also means problems are more difficult to take action on.

What happened to the Atomic Energy Commission addition?

Soviets approve, but congress rejected plan to regulate nuclear energy and eliminate nuclear weapons.

What was happening to the Soviets?

They were denied the opportunity to participate in the World back, but they did join the other allies in the Nuremberg Trials.

What happened in 1946 to 1948?

Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia fell to communist control. The US and GB were not fans.

Occupation zones in Germany?

German occupation zones after WWII were meant to be temporary, but eastern Germany devolved into a communist state.
No reparations paid to Soviets because Western democracies were focused on rebuilding German economy.

What is containment?

The action of keeping something harmful under control or within limits: In this case, it was used to prevent the spread of communism.

What did Walter Lippmann do?

He coined the term “Cold War” and criticized containment polices and argued appeasement hadn’t worked to prevent WWII.

^{What is the Truman Doctrine?}

Truman asked Congress to approve $400 million in economic and military assistance for these

What is the Marshall Plan?

European depression and poverty in 1946-1947 concerned the West that people may vote communist to try and fix their problems. The US sent $17 billion to Europe, which worked to better the economy by the 1950s

What is the Berlin Airlift?

11 month blockade set up in Berlin by Soviets. This cut off Berlin’s contact to the rest of the world. Truman sends airlift to drop off supplies continually and sends 60 bombers to England. World was nervous but Stalin decides not to challenge.

Why was the Warsaw Pact created?

It was in response to the creation of NATO.

National Security Act (1947)

• Department of Defense created to coordinate military branches: army, navy, airforce

• National Security Council to coordinate foreign policy creation

• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather information on foreign intelligence

What kicked off the arms race?

The Berlin Airlift.

The Korean War

They end in a stalemate. America not so happy.

Who is General MacArthur?

He turns the tide in favor of the UN and immediately provokes China and gets pushed back past the 38th parallel. He is then removed for insubordination.

Eisenhower.

• Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

• Dulles critical of containment policy, advocated for brinkmanship

• Eisenhower kept Dulles from escalating things to a full scale war▪ Massive retaliation - scale up weapons, scale down troops

• Involvement in “brushfire” wars: Southeast Asia, Africa, and Middle East▪ Stalin died 1953, Korean War closes

• 2.5 million dead in Korean War, 40,000 Americans

Who is the new leader of the Soviet Union?

Nikita Khrushchev

Hugarian Revolt

“Spirit of Geneva” and relaxation in Cold War encouraged workers in Eastern Europe to demand reforms from communist governments

• Hungarian workers overthrow Moscow government and wanted to pull out of the Warsaw pact

• Khrushchev crushed this and restored Soviet control

• U.S. took no action, afraid of WWIII, forced to recognize the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe