Notes on Truman and the Cold War

Period 8: 1945-1980

  • The United States emerged from World War II with a strong economy.
  • Americans wanted to return to civilian life, but global changes impacted their lives.
  • The Cold War against Communist governments dominated U.S. foreign policy.
  • Frustration over the Vietnam War and domestic programs weakened the Democratic majority.

Key Concepts

  • 8.1: The U.S. maintained global leadership, leading to domestic and international consequences.
  • 8.2: New movements for civil rights and liberal efforts generated political and cultural responses.
  • 8.3: Postwar economic and demographic changes affected American society, politics, and culture.

Truman and the Cold War, 1945-1952

  • The Cold War was a conflict between the Communist Soviet Union and the United States.

Postwar America

  • Returning soldiers faced the challenge of finding jobs and housing.
  • The war years had increased the per-capita income of Americans.
  • Consumer demand and government projects led to economic growth.
  • By the 1950s, Americans had the highest standard of living in history.

GI Bill

  • The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) helped veterans transition to a peacetime economy.
  • GIs used the bill to continue their education and buy homes and farms.
  • The bill stimulated postwar economic expansion.

Baby Boom

  • Younger marriages and larger families resulted in 50 million babies between 1945 and 1960.
  • The baby boom affected social institutions and economic life.
  • More women continued to enter the workplace.

Suburban Growth

  • High demand for housing led to a construction boom.
  • William J. Levitt developed Levittown, mass-produced, low-priced family homes.
  • Low interest rates on mortgages made suburban living affordable.
  • Inner cities became increasingly poor and racially divided.

Rise of the Sunbelt

  • Americans moved to the Sunbelt states for warmer climates, lower taxes, and economic opportunities.
  • Military spending during the Cold War financed the shift of industry and people.

Postwar Politics

  • Harry S. Truman became president after Roosevelt's death.

Economic Program and Civil Rights

  • Truman's proposals for full employment and civil rights faced opposition.
  • Employment Act of 1946: Created the Council of Economic Advisers.
  • Inflation and Strikes: Truman urged Congress to continue price controls.
  • Civil Rights: Truman challenged racial discrimination and ordered the end of racial discrimination in the federal government.

Republican Control of the Eightieth Congress

  • Voters elected Republican majorities in both houses of Congress in 1946.
  • Twenty-second Amendment (1951): Limited a president to a maximum of two full terms.
  • Taft-Hartley Act (1947): Checked the power of unions.
    • Outlawed the closed shop.
    • Permitted states to pass "right to work" laws.
    • Outlawed secondary boycotts.
    • Gave the president power to invoke an 80-day cooling-off period before a strike.

The Election of 1948

  • Truman's popularity was low, and Republicans were confident of victory.
  • Liberal Democrats formed the Progressive party, and Southern Democrats formed the States' Rights party (Dixiecrats).
  • Truman won a decisive victory, reuniting Roosevelt's New Deal coalition.

The Fair Deal

  • Truman launched an ambitious reform program called the Fair Deal.
  • Congress blocked most of the proposed reforms, except for an increase in the minimum wage and the inclusion of more workers under Social Security.
  • Most bills were defeated due to political conflicts and foreign policy concerns.

Origins of the Cold War

  • The Cold War dominated international relations from the late 1940s to 1991.
  • The conflict centered around the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States.

U.S.-Soviet Relations to 1945

  • The wartime alliance was a temporary halt in poor relations.
  • The United States refused to recognize the Soviet Union until 1933.
  • Nonaggression Pact of 1939: Stalin and Hitler agreed to divide up Eastern Europe.

Allies in World War II

  • Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor led to a U.S.-Soviet alliance.
  • Conflicts over Central and Eastern Europe were evident at Yalta and Potsdam.

Postwar Cooperation and the U.N.

  • The United Nations was founded in 1945.
  • The Security Council was given responsibility for maintaining international security.
  • The Soviets rejected the Baruch Plan for regulating nuclear energy.
  • The Soviets declined participation in the World Bank.

Satellite States in Eastern Europe

  • Soviet forces remained in occupation of Central and Eastern Europe.
  • Communist dictators came to power in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.
  • These states served as buffer zones against Western invasion.

Occupation Zones in Germany

  • Germany and Austria were divided into Soviet, French, British, and U.S. zones.
  • The eastern zone evolved into the German Democratic Republic.
  • The Soviets wanted a weak Germany, while the U.S. and Britain wanted economic recovery.

Iron Curtain

  • Winston Churchill declared that “an iron curtain has descended across the continent” of Europe.
  • The metaphor referred to the Soviet satellite states of Eastern Europe.

Containment in Europe

  • Truman adopted a policy to "contain" Soviet aggression.
  • The policy was formulated by George Marshall, Dean Acheson, and George F. Kennan.
  • Kennan advocated for a long-term containment of Russian expansive tendencies.

The Truman Doctrine

  • Truman implemented containment in response to threats in Greece and Turkey.
  • He asked Congress for 400 million in aid to assist the "free people" of Greece and Turkey.

The Marshall Plan

  • George Marshall outlined a program of U.S. economic aid to help European nations revive their economies.
  • In 1948, 12 billion in aid was approved for distribution to Western Europe.
  • The Marshall Plan helped Western Europe achieve self-sustaining growth and bolstered U.S. prosperity.

The Berlin Airlift

  • The Soviets cut off all access to Berlin by land in 1948.
  • Truman ordered U.S. planes to fly in supplies to West Berlin.
  • The Soviets opened up the highways in 1949.
  • The crisis led to the creation of two Germanies: West Germany and East Germany.

NATO and National Security

  • Truman broke with tradition and joined a military defense pact.
  • Ten European nations joined the U.S. and Canada to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  • NATO was a military alliance for defending members from outside attack.
  • The Soviet Union countered with the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

National Security Act (1947)

  • The Act provided for:
    • A centralized Department of Defense.
    • The creation of the National Security Council (NSC).
    • The creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
  • The Selective Service System and a peacetime draft were instituted.

Atomic Weapons

  • The U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in an arms race to develop superior weapons systems.
  • The Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in 1949.
  • The U.S. developed the hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) in 1952.
  • NSC-68 recommended increased defense spending and alliances with non-Communist countries.

Cold War in Asia

  • The containment policy in Europe could not be duplicated in Asia.

Japan

  • Japan was under the control of the United States.
  • A new constitution set up a parliamentary democracy and renounced war.
  • Japan depended on the military protection of the United States.

U.S.-Japanese Security Treaties

  • Japan surrendered claims to Korea and islands in the Pacific in 1951.
  • The U.S. ended formal occupation of Japan.
  • U.S. troops remained in military bases in Japan for protection against enemies.

The Philippines and the Pacific

  • The Philippines became an independent republic in 1946, but the U.S. retained naval and air bases there.

China

  • Chiang Kai-shek controlled China's Nationalist government.
  • A civil war renewed between the Nationalists and the Chinese Communists led by Mao Zedong.
  • The Nationalists lost support, while the Communists gained support from the poor.

U.S. Policy

  • The Truman administration sent George Marshall to negotiate an end to the civil war.
  • In 1948, Congress gave the Nationalist government 400 million in aid.

Two Chinas

  • By the end of 1949, the Communists controlled all of mainland China.
  • Chiang and the Nationalists retreated to Taiwan.
  • The U.S. continued to support Chiang and refused to recognize Mao Zedong's regime until 1979.

The Korean War

  • Korea was divided along the 38th parallel after WWII.
  • The North was occupied by Soviet armies, and the South by U.S. forces.

Invasion

  • On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army invaded South Korea.
  • Truman applied his containment policy and called for a special session of the U.N. Security Council.
  • The U.N. authorized a force to defend South Korea, with U.S. troops making up most of the force.

Counterattack

  • General Douglas MacArthur reversed the war with an amphibious assault at Inchon.
  • Chinese troops crossed the border into Korea and overwhelmed U.N. forces.

Truman Versus MacArthur

  • MacArthur called for expanding the war, including bombing China.
  • Truman recalled MacArthur for insubordination in April 1951.

Armistice

  • The war was stalemated along the 38th parallel.
  • An armistice was signed in 1953 during Eisenhower's presidency.
  • More than 2.5 million people died in the Korean conflict, including 54,000 Americans.

Political Consequences

  • Truman's containment policy in Korea worked.
  • The U.S. expanded the military and stationed more troops overseas.
  • Republicans characterized Truman and the Democrats as "soft on communism."

The Second Red Scare

  • A second Red Scare followed U.S. victory in World War II.

Security and Civil Rights

  • The Truman administration set up a Loyalty Review Board to investigate federal employees in 1947.

Prosecutions Under the Smith Act

  • Leaders of the American Communist party were jailed for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government.
  • Dennis et al. v. United States (1951): The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act.

McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

  • The Act made it unlawful to advocate a totalitarian government.
  • It restricted employment and travel of those joining Communist-front organizations.
  • It authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives.

Un-American Activities

  • The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated government officials and organizations for Communist influence.

Cultural Impact

  • The Second Red Scare had a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
  • Loyalty oaths were required of writers and teachers.

Espionage Cases

  • Cases of Communist espionage supported the fear of a Communist conspiracy.

Hiss Case

  • Whittaker Chambers testified against Alger Hiss, who was convicted of perjury.

Rosenberg Case

  • Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of treason and executed in 1953.

The Rise of Joseph McCarthy

  • Joseph McCarthy used concern over communism in his reelection campaign.
  • He accused Communists of working for the State Department.

McCarthy's Tactics

  • McCarthy used unsupported accusations to discredit the Truman administration.

Army-McCarthy Hearings

  • McCarthy's tactics were exposed on television in 1954.
  • The Senate censured McCarthy, and the "witch hunt" for Communists played itself out.

Truman in Retirement

  • Truman decided to return to private life in Missouri.