Truman Study Guide

Douglas MacArthur

United States general who served as chief of staff and commanded Allied forces in the South Pacific during WWII

Joseph McCarthy

US senator; claimed that their were Soviet spies and Communists within the government but had no evidence; discredited by the US senate

Matthew Ridgeway

Replaced Douglas MacArthur after Truman fired him and took over command of the UN forces

Harry S. Truman

Became president when FDR died; gave the order to drop the atomic bomb

Strom Thurmond

Governor of SC, leader of the Dixiecrats, ran for president under State's Rights Party

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China

Chang Kai-shek

Leader of the Nationalist forces in China during the revolution and fled to Taiwan

Joseph Stalin

Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communists, and dictator of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror

Winston Churchill

Led Britain throughout most of WWII and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an iron curtain that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West.

Iron curtain

A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region, Churchill's term

Satellite nations

Countries dominated by the Soviet Union

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO

Project Venona

Project that worked to crack the Soviet spy code to read messages between Moscow and the US collected during the Cold War

McCarran Act

A law that required communist groups to register with the government and allowed the government to crack down on suspected communists during the Cold War.

Blacklist

List of people who were not hired because of suspected communist ties

 

Taft-Hartley Act 

A law that limited the power of labor unions and restricted certain union activities, such as strikes, to prevent disruptions to businesses.

The Crucible

A play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials that symbolized the fear and false accusations of communism during the Red Scare.

Subversion

A systematic attempt to overthrow a government by using persons working secretly from within

Censure

To criticize harshly

What book was written as a criticism of Red Scare, and what did it compare it too?

The Crucible

People were accused of being witches (Crucible)

People were accused of being communist (Truman)

People feared witchcraft (Crucible)

People feared communism (Truman)

"Do Nothing Congress"

Republican controlled Congress, Truman criticized Congress for not passing laws he wanted, he campaigned against Congress, and unexpectedly won the reelection

What were the main factors that led to Truman's decision to drop the Atomic Bomb?

End WWII quickly, avoid a costly invasion of Japan, and force Japan to surrender

Soviet Concerns after WWII

Protect itself from future invasions and create a buffer zone of communist-controlled countries in Eastern Europe

US concerns after WWII

The US feared the spread of communism and wanted to protect democracy, rebuild Europe, and prevent another war

What was decided at Yalta about the following topics?

· Germany

· Poland

· Reparations

G - Divided into occupation zones controlled by the Allied powers

P - A new government would be formed, promises of free elections

R - Germany would pay compensation to countries damaged by the war

What was decided in Potsdam?

Cause - Soviet Union blocked land routes into West Berlin

Purpose - The blockade aimed to force the Western Allies out of West Berlin

Airlift - The US and Britian flew food and supplies into West Berlin

Symbolism - Symbolized Western determination to resist Soviet pressure without starting a war

Berlin Blockade; Berlin Airlift:  What was the cause a purpose of each?  What did the airlift come to symbolize?   

• Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union blocked supplies from reaching West Berlin to force the Western powers out.

• Berlin Airlift: The U.S. and its allies flew supplies into West Berlin.

• Symbolized: The West’s determination to stop the spread of communism.

Explain how Containment; The Truman Doctrine, and The Marshall Plan were used to stop communism.

Give two examples where it worked.

Doctrine - gave aid to Greece and Turkey to help them resist communist expansion

Marshall - provided economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and reduce the appeal of communism

Two EX) Greece and Turkey received American aid, and Western European countries rebuilt their economics with Marshall Plan assistance

Chinese Civil War: Two sides; Leaders; Outcome; impact on the cold war.

Sides - North Korea and China vs. South Korea, US, and UN forces

Leaders - Harry Truman was U.S president, Kim II-sung led North Korea

Outcome - War ended in a 1953 armistice, Korea remained divided near the 38th parallel

Impact - increased Cold War tensions and strengthened U.S efforts to contain communism

Explain the beginning, middle, and end of the Korean War.

North Korea invaded South Korea. UN and US forces pushed back, but China entered the war and pushed them south. Fighting ended with an armistice, but no peace treaty was signed.

Explain the Truman, McArthur, Ridgway situation.

Truman fired General MacArthur because he publicly disagreed with Truman's limited-war strategy and wanted to expand the war into China. Ridgway took command of UN forces in Korea

Explain why the Korean war could be seen as both a victory and a failure.

It could be a victory because South Korea remained free from communist control. But also, a failure because Korea stayed divided, and the war ended without a peace treaty.

Describe Truman's Fair Deal

Trumans plan to improve Americans' lives through better healthcare, housing, education, and civil rights

What was GI Bill? What was its purpose?

It provided veterans with money for college, job training, and housing to help them adjust to civilian life after WWII

What began Red Scare?

Fear of communist expansion and the possibility that communists had infiltrated the US government

What was the Loyalty Review Program? What was its purpose? What was the outcome?

Trumans program investigated federal employees for possible communist ties. It led to investigations, dismissals, and resignations, while increasing fear and suspicion.

What was HUAC? What was their purpose? Why were they controversial?

HUAC would investigate suspected communist influence. It was controversial because people could lose their jobs or reputations based on accusations and their refusal to cooperate

What was the Blacklist?

What happened to the Hollywood Ten?

The blacklist prevented people suspected of communist connections from getting jobs. The Hollywood Ten refused to cooperate with HUAC, were convicted of contempt of Congress, and received prison sentences.

Give two examples of spying that was occurring during the 1940's and 50's

Alger Hiss Trial - A case that this man was convicted of lying about his past, still having some ties with the Soviet Union

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg - Found guilty of selling nuclear secrets to the Soviets

What led to Joseph McCarthy's rise? What led to Joseph McCarthy's downfall?

RISE - Joseph would tell people he had a list of names of people that were communists, but he never revealed them

DOWNFALL -Americans watched McCarthy bully military officers and harass them on national television. He was then censured

Truman Foreign Policy

Containment- The U.S foreign policy that sought to prevent communism from spreading

Truman Domestic Policy

Fair Deal - proposals were aid to education, universal health insurance, and repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act

Truman Civil Rights

Truman was the one who signed the executive order banning segregation in the armed forces

Explain the different perspectives of what to do with Germany following WWII. How did each side intend to prevent German retaliation and a future European war?

After WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union had different ideas about what to do with Germany. The United States wanted to rebuild Germany's economy, establish democracy, and help it become a peaceful country. The Soviet Union wanted to weaken Germany by taking resources and reparations so it could never become powerful enough to attack again. Both sides wanted to prevent another war, but the United States believed rebuilding Germany would create peace, while the Soviet Union believed keeping Germany weak would prevent future aggression.

Provide two examples of how actions taken by the American government during the Red Scare were justified. Provide two examples of how the actions taken by the government during the Red Scare were seen as more dangerous than the threat of communism itself.

During the Red Scare, the American government justified its actions by claiming they were necessary to protect national security from the spread of communism and Soviet spies. For example, the government investigated suspected communists through the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and required loyalty investigations of federal employees. However, these actions were seen as more dangerous than communism itself because innocent Americans were accused without strong evidence, and people lost their jobs because of their political beliefs. Additionally, the government violated people's freedom of speech and created fear throughout the country.

Explain the US plan for defeating Communism that was outlined in the Long Telegram. (What are we going to do? Where are we going to do it? How are we going to do it?)

The Long Telegram, written by George Kennan, outlined a plan to stop the spread of communism through a policy called containment. The United States planned to prevent communism from spreading into other countries, especially in Europe and areas threatened by Soviet influence. Instead of directly fighting the Soviet Union, the United States would use economic aid, military support, and diplomatic pressure to strengthen countries against communism. The goal was to contain Soviet expansion until communism eventually weakened.