Cold war part 2 (1949-1962)- Asia, Peaceful Coexistence, Arms race & CMC

How significant was the communist victory in China in influencing US foreign policy in the years 1949 to 1953?

The communist victory in china was very influential but not as great as events in Korea

Comm victory

• Fueled monolith theory

• China first country outside of Europe to go communist.

• Feb 1950 - treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual assistance

• Development of NSC-68 in 1950. Militarisation. US had been supporting the chinese communists (Jieng Jiesh ECONOMICALLY) showed they needed a more hard line policy. Influentail in the Korea war (but not main factor) and increases their involvement in Vietnam

• initially the communist victory in China was blamed on the failure of the Nationalists. It was only during the Red Scare that Republicans saw Truman as “losing” China and therefore needing an Asia-First policy

EVENTS IN KOREA & VIETNAM

• Potential to turn communist

• Defensive perimeter in 1950, a change from the soley Europen containment strategy

• Roll back - change in policy

• By the end of 1953, the US had given $2 billion to the French and $50 million to the Vietnamese people.

• The communist victory in China had made the US afraid of expansionism but the Korean war allowed the US to put a change in policy into practice.

USSR getting the atomic bomb in 1949

• expected in 1953

• McCarthysim & Red Scare. Alger Hiss cause & Rosenburgs

• Influence on the nuclear arms race - US felt threatened after loosing their previous atomic monopoly

• The US got their H bomb in 1952, then the USSR got theirs in 1953 a clear sign of closing the missile gap.

• The Atomic bomb threatened the US in a new way

• The bomb would become a much more significant influence on US foreign policy under Eisenhower in 1953, with his policies of brinkmanship and massive retaliation.

Japan

• Saw it as essential to contianment in Asia (Viewed as such before the comm victory in china)

• 1951 - San Fran treaty, allows US control over Japanese military bases

• Defensive perimeter in 1950

• Building up its military until after 1953 with the end of the Korean war

McCarthyism was responsible for moving US foreign policy towards a global rather than a regional focus during the years 1950 to 1954.

Yes need to contain

• McCarthysim was the thory that people high up in the US government were selling nuclear secrets to the USSR

• It said an Asia-first policy.

• McCarthyism was responsible for why the US got involved in Korea so quickly and agressively

• UN

• Defensive perimeter in 1950.

Vietnam

• Geneva accords

Chinese v

• 1949 - Loss of China

Japan

• US had always suported Japan

• McCarthyism made sure they got more involved. 1951 San Francisco Treaty

Eisenhower’s ‘New Look’ strategy marked a fundamental shift in US Cold War policy away from Truman’s approach.

Yes - Eisenhower's policy was more aggressive, placed an increasing importance on nuclear weapons and military use

• Military focus. E had a military background. Truman’s had been on economy - marshall plan. Military involvement in Korea and Vietnam

• Brinkmanship, Massive retaliation. Advancements in new technology fueled a focus on military use. Similarly, Soviets got H-bomb in 1953, closing the gap and putting pressure on Eisenhower. Had thought they would get A bomb in 1953, they actually got it in 1949.

• Greater involvement in Vietnam. From 1954, supporting South Vietnam. Geneva Accords to prevent an election.

• Greater importance of Asia. Truman’s cold war policy had been centred around Europe

While Eisenhower's policy was more aggressive, it was fundamentally the same as Truman’s as it was to contain communism.

No - focus on containment

• Red Scare, McCarthyism fueled involvement in Korea. Rosenberg's selling nuclear secrets. Alger Hiss Case

• Truman had a hard-line approach, like Eisenhower

• Germany

• At the End of Truman’s presidency, he saw a shift in policy which was taken further under Eisenhower. Korean war saw a fundamental shift in US Cold War policy to one that is more extreme. This was the first time ‘roll back’ had been implemented. Containment had proven a stalemate under Truman, Roll back was a central feature of Eisenhower’s ‘new look policy’

No - nuclear weapons & militarisation

• Militarisation - NSC-68Still using nuclear weapons (like in Potsdam)

• Asia - Importance of Japan. Since the end of the second world war. 1950, defensive perimeter strategy. Korea

Peaceful Coexistence failed by 1961 because neither the East nor the West was really committed to it.

x

Actual confrontation between the US and the USSR was only a remote possibility in the years 1956 to 1961.

Actual confrontation between the US and the USSR was a significant possibility in the years 1956 to 1961 although peaceful coexisitence did take important steps in reducing tesnion

Non-agressive actions

• 1955 - Austrian State treaty, USSR gives up their naval base in Porkkala, Tito invited back into the SSOI

• Poland - Workers Strike in June 24th Golmuka is appointed, he meets with KV who agrees not to get invovled bc Poland will stay in Warsaw pact

• Talks - Geneva Summit Sept 1955, Geneva Conference (May - Aug 1959) Both sides want Ger unified, But don’t agree as E want Berlin part of NATO but KV wants Berlin neutral and demilitarised. KV renews ultimatum

• Camp David Sept 1959 -agree to use diplomacy in future, no concrete agreements but KV doesn’t renew ultimatum

Arms race

• US policy: new look, brinkmanship & massive retalliation

• Sept 1955 - @ Geneva Conference Open Skies policies are rejected

• Space race 1957, Nov & Dec

• Gaither Report Dec 1957 - US afraid of the USSR having nuclear parity

• 1960 - U2 Crisis

USSR - agress ive actions

• Riots surpressed in the GDR

• Hungary - Students protest 28th Oct, 1st Nagy withdraws from Warsaw Pact, 4th Red Army get involved

• USSR felt they needed to get involved bc Suez Crisis

Berlinnnn

• Berlin - still no agreement since the division of Berlin in 1949. KV makes his ultimatum on the 27th Nov 1958

• Kennedy rejects ultimatum in June, and says he is prepared to go to war over Berlin (July)

• Oct 1961 - Checkpoint charlie

• HOWEVERRR Aug 1961 - wall, US respects it

How effective was the nuclear arms race in restraining the aggression of the superpowers in the years 1955 to 1963?

Yes

• Learnt from the CMC - Washington hotline, the secret deal (Us remove nukes in Turkey if USSR remove nukes) 1963 Moscow Test Ban Treaty

• MAD. 20th Party Congress speech - p.c or war “there is no third alternative”. Economic issues made Khrushchev adapt his policy. Austrian State Treaty

• US doesn’t get involved in Hungary - respecting SOI

• BERLIN - Planes were not shot down bc thought they were carrying nukes. ‘a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war’ Aug 1961

• Checkpoint Charlie - after this, wanted to avoid it

No - made them mistrustful & increased competition

• US no longer atomic monopoly, neither side wants the other to have more weapons (FID)

• 1956 - USSR first use of ICBMs

• 1960 - U2 incident

• Gaither Report 1957 - USSR held a lead of 3:1

• 1958 - creation of NASA

• FRG became a memeber of NATO in 1955, this created fear because KV thought nukes could be put there

• 1962 - CMC, The problem should have been about who had infuence, instread the problem was intensified with the possibility of a nuclear strike

• Operation Anadyr

• KV was harsh in the Hungarian uprising due to fear of loosing satelite states as the US was strong at this time with their nuclear weapons.

No - Made them overconfident

• US viewed nuclear weapons highly as a strategic advantage - New Look policy, brinkmanship & massive retalliation. Used the nuclear bomb at Potsdam

• Space race 1957

The Cuban Missile Crisis was caused by the provocative & ill judged policies of the USA. Assess the validity of this view.

Yes US

• Their relationship with Cuba was benign and benevolent - it was wrong for them to get so involved

• Monroe Doctrine - any country that interferes with the americas, this will be seen as a hostile action against the US

• Stopped economically supporting Cuba trade embargo, this led Castro to turn to the USSR

• US owned oil refineries refused to refine Soviet Crude Oil then the US reduce imports by 95%

• Stopped improts

• Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 to try and remove Castro

• Operation Mongoose - covert opperations to try and overthrow Castro, fails

• US putting nukes in Turkey

• US SOME GOOD ACTIONS - quarantine, to stop USSR supplying missiles

No USSR

• Cuba was seen as America’s back yeard

• Feb 1960, starting $100 million loan

• Want Cuba as a SSOI to help spread communism across Latin America

• Operation Adnyr - Putting missiles in Cuba, this massively escalates the situation. They had been supporting Castro for a while, and the US had not yet interviened as this was not a threat.

• Khrushchev hopes the Cuba will lead to a conclusion with Berlin

No Castro

• Agressive there had always been a historical relationship with the US

• Castro’s revolution in 1959 wasn’t resisted by the US as he was seen as just being nationalist, however his convertion to communism caused Cuba to be a security threat.

• Castro’s personality - wanted to increase his authortiy by having the support of a great power

• Nationalises US oil refineries - siezing $1 billion in assets (oct 1960)

• He seized US property, however these were minor and didn’t immediately generate US hostility

• Shoots down US Plane

The Korean War was caused by the determined efforts of Kim Il Sung to create a united communist Korea

Kim Il Sung

• Communist Nationalist

• Since very early on North Koreans had been using gurellia warfare in the South

• Sung believed the only way to unite the nations was force

• He invaded the South

• Pursuaded the USSR for support - wrote the 4 guarantees such as war would be over before the US got involved

• Kim was determined to get Nukes

Syngman Rhee

• Vhirulent anti-communist

• Involved in tensions from 1949 along the 38th paralell

• Viwed US support as essential

Chinese & USSR

• USSR and China initally reluctant to support Kim Il sung

• USSR boycotting the UN so couldn’t use their veto

• China - wanted to secure a buffer zone and show they were a communist power , Mao wanted to consolidate his rule. Mao - agressive

US

• Feelin weak - 1949, loss of China & USSR’s a-bomb.

• McCarthyism

• Within 2 days they had gone to the UN for support - 16 countries pledged their support. Globalising a local conflict

• Monolith theory

• However, US could have caused a bigger conflict if they had listened to General McCarther wanting to use the A.bomb

• Roll back strategy got China involved