AP EURO UNIT 9

How did the United States use the Marshall Plan as a means to strengthen democracy in Europe?

How did the United States use the Marshall Plan as a means to strengthen democracy in Europe?

The US offered money to any European country that was struggling to rebuild after World War II as long as they promised to implement a democratic government. These countries would serve as the US allies and buffer during the 50 years of the Cold War.

Dawes Plan

Banks supplied the money specifically to Germany to help it rebuild. In turn Germany could use the money to pay off the reparations it owed to Britain and France which would help them rebuild.

Marshall Plan

Rather than private banks supplying the money and filtering the aid to most of Europe through one country, Germany, the Marshall Plan was federally funded and provided direct aid to the individual countries.

Marshall and Dawes Plan

Both plans were examples of realpolitik as they were both ultimately means of helping to stabilize Europe to avoid another War which would inevitably benefit the United States.

Identify and explain when and why the Cold War began between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Stalin’s reneging on his word to allow the Eastern European countries to hold free elections after World War II increased an already existing distrust of Stalin that the West, specifically the United States had. This distrust would continue to intensify over the next 50 years throughout the Cold War.

Division of Germany - Potsdam Conference

Germany had been divided after World War II into 4 occupation Zones, with each of the 4 members of the Allies controlling one sector. Ultimately due to ideological differences as well as different beliefs on how to control Germany, there was no way for the 4 allies to continue to work together and Germany was divided into communist East Germany and democratic West Germany.

Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech

In 1946 Winston Churchill gave a speech declaring that an “Iron Curtain” had befallen Europe, dividing it East and West with communism taking hold in the East and democracy taking hold in the West. This speech was one of the first articulations of the divide that would define the Cold War.

Arms Race

It was initiated by the United States with the Manhattan Project and the establishment of the Atomic Bombs that were dropped on Japan at the end of World War II. It wasn’t long before the Soviets also produced nuclear weapons and the two sides proceeded to build up their arsenals, and supply their allies with nuclear capabilities.

Korean War

In the 1950s the United States through its enrollment in the UN sent troops to defend South Korea against Communist North Korea. This was a localized civil war, however both Communist USSR and Communist China were feeding money and supplies into North Korea, and the United States through the veil of the United Nations was helping the South Korean effort. In the end it ended with the establishment of a demilitarized zone at the 38th parallel, dividing North and South Korea, with the North remaining communist and the South democratic.

Vietnam War

In 1960s and 70s the United States sent troops to Vietnam in a “police action” in an attempt to stop the spread of communism from North Vietnam into South Vietnam. The aim here was to provide enough aid to noncommunist South Vietnam so that it could fend off the advances
of communist North Vietnam. Again this was not a direct conflict between the US and the USSR however, both countries aided their respective sides with money, armaments and in the case of the US men.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a military alliance between the Western Democracies. Together they pledged to defend each other against the spread of communism.

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact was created in response to NATO and similarly it was a military alliance designed to defend each other against the democracies of the West.

International Monetary Fund

this was a means of providing monetary aid to struggling nations. This was a tool used by the democratic West to encourage democracy and gain allies.

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

this was the Soviet Union’s response to the IMF, and its way of providing economic reinforcements to the Warsaw Pact countries. This aid bound those states economically to the Soviet Union and to each other in order to prevent them from becoming vulnerable to democracy.

Soviet Union Social Welfare

Everyone was guaranteed housing and a job, and even though these were of poor quality, it provided a sense of comfort to the people knowing that they would be taken care of and it made them loyal to the government.

Creation of the Berlin Wall

Since democratic West Berlin was located inside communist controlled East Germany it became a means of escape for people who felt trapped in East Berlin and East Germany. The Soviet Union and the East German Government needed to stop the exodus, and so they created a secret police that was used to root out dissenters amongst the populations of the Warsaw Pact Countries including East Germany and the Soviet Union.

Krushchev’s de-Stalinization program

The relationship with the United States seemed to somewhat ease during this period. Kruschev also eased soviet control over the Eastern Bloc countries, allowing them some autonomy. These reforms, all though moral and good, were harmful to the Soviet Union’s control over Eastern Europe and as a result cracks seem to form in the Soviet Sphere of Influence.

1956 Hungarian Revolution

unrest in Hungary was crushed by forces sent into Hungary by the Soviet Union.

1980 - Solidarity formed in Poland

Solidarity was a labor union that formed in Poland. It took 9 years for the movement to reach a point where Poland would gain its independence, but the emergence of it here was a reflection of the cracks that were forming in the Soviet Sphere.

Perestroika and Glasnost

When Mikhail Gorbachev took over as Premier of the Soviet Union
he attempted to strengthen the state by instituting two new policies, Perestroika and Glasnost. Perestroika was a means of implementing economic reforms and allowing into the USSR bits of capitalism, such as private property. Glasnost allowed for the free exchange of ideas into and out of the Soviet Union. These two policies opened a can of worms they could not contain. As people gained more and more access to goods and ideas from the West the more they would want. These added to the pressure that would ultimately cause the collapse of the USSR.

Implosion Theory

the base that it was founded on were the seeds of its destruction - devoid of creativity, competition and incentive communism does not allow for society to continue to advance, and therefore it could not keep up with the democracies of the West.

Increased pressure coming from within many of the Eastern Bloc Countries to end communism

By 1989 the Solidarity movement in Poland had become a political movement that successfully established a democracy within Poland, ending 50 years of communist control. Also in 1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down by the populations of East and West Berlin, signifying an end to communism in Germany and a move towards the reunification of the German state as a democratic state. The pressure from these states as well as others contributed to the ultimate collapse of the USSR in 1991.

Strategic Overstretch

because the USSR had falsely inflated its economy in an attempt to keep up with and compete with the economic growth of the United States, it did not really have the resources needed to maintain the influence and power it claimed to have. In essence the USSR had spread itself too thin and ultimately it could not afford to continue any longer.

Surge in nationalism after the fall of Soviet Union

Communist quelled Nationalism throughout the Soviet sphere of influence, and when the Soviet Union collapsed cultures and traditions that had been suppressed by communism reemerged. Most of the states that made up the former Soviet Union gained their independence, however Russia wanted to keep control of those states that resources and benefits that it wanted.

In a Bi-Polar World where the United States and The Soviet Union economically dominated the world market, how did the European Countries compete?

In order to compete with the economic powers of the US and the USSR, six European states realized that they needed to work together and so in 1951 they established the European Coal and Steel Community. This evolved over the years, adding more and more European states as it turned into a common market with the 1957 creation of the EEC (The European Economic Community). The Common Market allowed the member states to compete with the United States and the Soviet Union.

European Union

In 1993, after the Cold War ended, the EEC became the European Union.
The seven bodies that regulated and controlled EU policies placed a lot of restrictions on the member states.

Explain how nationalism played a role in Britain’s choice to exit the European Union.

Britain, which had never joined the EU’s single currency, because it did not want to give up the use of the pound, also found itself unhappy with the regulations that the EU were imposing on them. One of the aspects of the EU that the British seemed most unhappy with was the free movement of people. Members of the British Conservative Party staged campaigns to convince the population that the state’s involvement in the EU was hurting them economically, and in 2016 Britain voted to leave the EU in what has become known as Brexit.

Explain how and why Western Democracies like Great Britain responded to the end of World War II with socialist reforms.

The devastation of World War II left the populations of Europe weak and vulnerable, struggling to find a sense of stability. Many of the Western Democracies implement social reforms that would provide government care and aid to the populations, such the British Labor Party which implemented a “cradle-to-grave” social welfare program.

How did new technology change the cultural atmosphere of the world?

The evolution of communication from telegraphs to telephones to the internet made the world seem like a much smaller place. People were able to exchange information and ideas in real time. Coupled with improved and less expensive air travel people were able to experience first hand other cultures, traditions, and histories.

How did Globalization influence the international focus on the environment?

The Green Party was an international phenomenon established in reaction to the environmental concerns caused by Industrialization. This was a unifying danger as it affected everyone, and led to international efforts to try and roll back the damage that had been done. The Green Party not only took root in the individual countries of Europe, but in the European Parliament as well, and it influenced numerous EU regulations on the industries and economies of its member states.

Positive medical advancements

new vaccines, therapies and medications, such as chemotherapy, led to increased life expectancies.

Issues with medical advancements

However with these new technologies came some serious moral issues that divided people based on their religious and ethical beliefs.

Division in medical advancements

One example was abortion which had become increasing safe for the health of mothers. This had a positive impact on the feminist movement and the quality of life of many women, however because certain religions believe abortion to be ethically wrong, this created a bitter divide in the populations between Pro-life and Pro-choice activists.

How did globalization influence the immigration movements into Europe?

Increase in immigration resulted from: Industrialization and Decolonization

Anti-Immigration movements

in the 1970s Europe faced an economic downturn. At the time many of these countries were running social welfare states, and with a rising population the cost of these programs was increasing faster than the tax base could afford. This led to a rise in the popularity of conservative parties like the National Front in France that wanted to roll back these programs.

Women’s Suffrage

although Switzerland seemed to lag behind the rest, implementing the vote for women in 1971. As a result of this new political voice, women were able to make even more strides, this was the Second Wave of Feminism. Women like the French writer, Simone de Bouvior, continued to argue that women would not be satisfied until they had all the same opportunities as men.

Women’s Medical Freedom

New medical technology, such as the introduction of birth control pills also allowed women a new kind of freedom as they gained more autonomy over their bodies, and were freed to establish careers without the worry of unplanned pregnancies.

Women in Office

All of this led to an increase in the number of women who were elected into public office. Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mary Robinson was the first President of Ireland, and Edith Carson was the first woman elected Premier of France.

National self-determination

National self-determination was not new to Europe, and in fact was one of President Wilson’s idealist 14 Points at the end of World War I. The concept inevitably spread to the Empires that Europe had built during the 19th century leading to a massive decolonization movement.

Indian Independence

Gandhi and the Indian National Congress gained independence from Great Britain in 1957.

National Liberation Front

a Muslim nationalist group in Algeria wanted its independence from France. In 1958 French President Charles de Gualle recognized its right to national self-determination and its independence.

Identify and explain how the cultural changes in Europe in the later part of the 20th century and the early 21st century were in response to the despotic governments of the 20th century.

A communist state is devoid of religion, and the Western Democracies saw religion as one of the greatest tools of opposition to that. The Cold War saw a rise in Christianity with movements like the Confessing Church in Germany and the Second Vatican Council in Italy

Postwar Art and Literature

The Wars also affected how people felt, there was a great deal of hopelessness and loss, and these feelings were intertwined in the postwar art and literature. Examples of this are apparent in the Dada movement as well as in the works of authors like James Joyce.

Berlin Wall and Art

The Berlin Wall became a canvas for many Western European artists who wanted to portray their anger and dislike of the communist run regimes in East Germany and the Eastern Bloc countries.

Art as Protest

In the Communist run countries only realist art was allowed for fear that any other kind of artwork would hold subliminal messages of rebellion. So artists began to use art as a means of protest.