APUSH Unit 11 - Key Concepts

The Truman Doctrine

President Truman was determined to block the expansion of Soviet influence into Greece and Turkey

• Asked Congress for 400 million in economic aid for Greece and Turkey

The Role of George Kennan in Containment

An American diplomat and specialist on the Soviet Union

• Wrote an influential article advocating that the US focus its foreign policy on containing the spread of the Soviet influence

• Justified aid by declaring the US would support free peoples who resisted attemptee subjugations

Containment

A foreign policy designed to contain or block Soviet expansion

• The Primary U.S. foreign policy from the Truman Doctrine to the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

The Marshall Plan

A program of economic aid designed to promote the recovery of war-torn Europe whilst preventing the spread of communist influence

• An integral part of Truman’s policy of containment

The NATO Alliance (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

The joining of ten Western European nations with the US and Canada to form a defensive military alliance

• Marked a break from isolationism

The Berlin Airlift

Following the closing of West Berlin by the Soviet Union, president Truman ordered an airlift of food, fuel, and other supplies to the beleaguered citizens of West Berlin

• Marked a crucial and successful test of containment

The “Fall” of China

Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong defeated Chinese Nationalists and declared the people’s Republic of China as an independent, communist region.

• Collapse of Nationalists China was viewed as a defeat for American + Cold War allies

• → US refused to recognize the new government

• → Interpreted the Chinese Revolution as a menacing Communist monolith

• → Contributed to the anti-communist hysteria in the U.S.

Korean War: The United Nations and Korea

The war began when North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, June

• President Truman obtained a unanimous condemnation of North Korea as an aggressor after a temporary Soviet absence from the UN security council

• The war was then marked as the 1st collective military action by the United Nations → Fought under UN auspices

• President Truman was criticisized for letting the Democratic Party “lose” China → Determined to defend South Korea

The Korean War: A Limited War

The Korean War was limited → extended the containment policy to Asia

• The war was confined to the Korean Peninsula → Avoided full-war with the US and USSR China

• When UN forces approached Yalu River, China entered the war

The Korean War: Truman’s Firing of MacArthur

General MacArthur disagreed with President Truman’s policy of fighting a limited war → favored a blockade of the Chinese coast + bombardment of Chinese bases

• Led to the firing of MacArthur

Potsdam Conference (1945)

A conference that focused on how Allies leaders would administer defeated Germany and outline peace treaty terms

• Following Roosevelts passing, inexperienced Truman was thrown into office → stood up to Stalin’s plans

• Stalin was unwilling to honor self-determination for Eastern European nations → wanted to extract reparations from Germany and blamed capitalism for war causation

Yalta Conference (1945)

A conference meant to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe following WW2 → Last meeting with the big three

• Formed the United Nations

• Revealed disagreements in ideology → Communism vs. Democratic Capitalism

The United Nations

A replacement of the League of Nations

• 3 goals: Protected international peace and security, friendly relations among nations, and expansion of social progress

• 5 major allied powers shall have veto power over decisions of the general assembly

The Division of Germany

The idea to divide Germany into 4 zoned of occupation → US, UK, France, and Soviet Union

• Solidified into the “Iron Curtain”

• Separated the Communist East from the Democratic West

• Formalized the ideological, economic, and political split between Western capitalist democracy and soviet communism

• The division of Berlin became the focal point of early tensions

National Security Act of 1947

Post-WW2 recognition of US military and diplomatic Institutions passed in response to perceived Soviet threats

• Created the Department of Defense, National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency → Intended to unify Foreign policy and defense

• Revolutionized the US foreign and defense policy → Reinforced Civilian control over the military by restoring active-duty officers from serving as security of Defense

Berlin Blockade/Airlift

The first major cold war crisis in which the Soviet Union blocked access to Berlin and the US responded with an airlift of aid

• Validated the Truman Doctrine

• The soviet union blockade caused a split between East and West Germany

• Lead to THE creation of NATO and Warsaw Pact

North Alliance Treaty Organization (NATO)

The 1st peacetime military alliance the US entered outside the Western Hemisphere

• Determined to prevent the Soviet expansionism in Europe

Warsaw Pact

The response to the creation of NATO

• Formalized the Cold War military divide in Europe and solidified the Eastern Bloc against NATO

China Falls (1949)

Mao Zedong’s communist forces took control of the mainland and forced the nationalist government to retreat to Taiwan

• Garnered immense democratic criticism→ Accelerated anti-communist sentiment in the US

• Led to the shift to a global commitment to prevent communist expansion

NSC-68

A top-secret National Security Council report that shifted US Cold War policy from a passive to an aggressive containment stance on global communism

• Developed after the 1949 USSE outcome bomb and loss of china

• Urged a massive increase in defense spending → US foreign policy was shaped toward active containment and intervention

• Called for increased taxes and a greater percentage of the GDP for military spending

Fair Deal

Truman 1949 domestic agenda that aimed to extend New Deal liberal reform programs

• Proposed national health insurance, civil rights legislation, educational aid, and higher wages

• Blocked by a conservative congress

Red Scare/McCarthyism

A period of intense anti-communist paranoia in the US driven by Cold War fears of Soviet Expansion and the domestic espionage

• Led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who made false accusations against government officials and citizens

• Create a national climate of paranoia

• McCarthy gained power by alleging communist affiliation in government → tactics were exposed in the Army-McCarthy trials

Loyalty Review Program

A Cold War initiative that investigated over 3 million federal employees for “subversive” associations

• Detect and remove communists from the US → Resulted in thousands of resignations and dismissals

• Contributed to the fear of communism and conformity

• Violated due process → Restricted the accused ability to confront accusers on unproven suspicion

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A committee of the US house of representatives established to investigate alleged