Chapter 35: The Cold War Begins (1945-1952)

Yalta Conference

Meeting between FDR, Winston Churchill, and Stalin to shape post-WWII world

• discussed

  • division of Germany

  • Soviet participation in Pacific War

  • seeds of Cold War tensions

United Nations

Organization created to prevent another world war and promote international cooperation

• replaced League of Nations

• Security Council (US, USSR, Britain, France, China)

• humanitarian + peace-keeping

  • self-determination in Africa and Asia

Berlin Airlift

Stalin blockaded West Berlin to force Allies out

• US and Britain launched massive airlift to supply city with food, fuel, and medical supplies

  • CONTAINMENT OF COMMUNISM

  • deepened divisions East and West, leads to NATO

George F. Kennan

US Diplomat and Soviet expert who formulated Containment Doctrine

• Long Telegram and X Article, argued Soviet Union was vying for expansion and could only be stopped with resistance

  • Military engagement (Korea + Vietnam)

Truman Doctrine

Doctrine backed by Truman committing the US to fighting communism worldwide

• framed Cold War as a struggle between Democracy and Totalitarianism

  • ideological foundations for future interventions (Vietnam + Central America)

    • originally caused by Greek Civil War

Marshall Plan

Ambitious US initiative to rebuild war-torn Europe after WWII (boost recovery and prevent economic collapse w/ programs)

• another benefit was preventing spread of communism

  • deeper East-West divide

NSC-68

Top-secret policy paper that dramatically escalated US Cold War Strategy (National Security Council)

• framed Cold War as a global struggle, requiring US military superiority

  • military confrontation

  • created SEATO

Korean War / 38th Parallel

First major armed conflict of the Cold War

• North Korea (USSR + China)

• South Korea (US + UN)

  • left Korea divided

  • US commitment to military intervention in Asia

    • inspired Vietnam (went horribly)

General Douglas MacArthur

Controversial yet influential military leader during WWII and Korean War

• oversaw Japanese post-war occupation and democratization

  • provoked Chinese intervention in Korean War

    • advocated to bomb China, leading Truman to fire this man

• influenced Cold War military policies and US engagement in Asia

Richard Nixon / Alger Hiss

Young congressman and member of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

• aggressively pursued former State Department official accused of being a Soviet Spy

  • intensified Cold War paranoia

    • helped propel him to Vice Presidency and Presidency

House Un-American Activities Committee

Congressional committee tasked with investigating alleged communist influence in the US during the Cold War

• fear grew because of Soviet espionage

  • targeted government employees, Hollywood figures, academics

    • huge role in McCarthy era

McCarthyism

the face of anti-communist hysteria in the early 1950s

• often claimed communists infiltrated the US government

  • destroyed numerous careers

    • essentially the foundation of the Second Red Scare

Employment Act of 1946

Act signifying Federal government’s commitment to promoting economic stability and full employment

• emphasized government spending to stimulate country growth (Keynesian economic policies)

• Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

  • resistance from Conservatives in the government

Harry Truman

33rd president famous for his Fair Deal

• ambitious domestic program aimed at expanding New Deal policies

  • faced opposition

    • struggled under the Cold War

• sought universal health care, Social Security, minimum wage, civil rights

  • vision of an active government

White Flight

After WWII, there was a “baby boom” in the population

• many white Americans migrated from cities to suburban areas

  • fueled by economic prosperity and segregated communities

  • culture shift for suburban life