An effort to maintain autocratic rule in the Soviet Union
American policy continued to spread and the Soviet Union insisted that it wouldn’t give in to those policies
The Soviet Union had to be contained and containment justified the United States’ actions during the Cold War
The First Step: The Truman Doctrine
First part of carrying out containment policy
The Soviet Union was pressuring Turkey for joint-control of the Dardanelles and a communist civil war in Greece broke out
1947: British ambassador told U.S. G.B. couldn’t give aid to Turkey and Greece
Dean Cheson theorized that if Greece became communist then so would the rest of the Middle East/Mediterranean
In the Truman Doctrine, Truman said that the U.S. should support democratic nations don’t become communist and as a result of this doctrine, Truman gave $400 million to Turkey and Greece
Truman Doctrine was a clear sign of war and many criticized it because the U.S. didn’t have proof that the Soviet Union had any part in the civil war in Greece
The Next Steps: The Marshall Plan, NATO, and NSC-68
Since most of the countries after World War II were financially unstable, they were under the threat of becoming communist (e.g. France, Italy)
If the U.S. intervened, they could sell their products on European markets
George Marshall proposed that European countries should make aid programs so the U.S. could support them so that they wouldn’t become communist
$17 billion was divided among 16 nations in the next four years
At Yalta, it was agreed that Germany would be split into four occupation zones (U.S.S.R., U.S. Great Britain, France), but when power in Europe shifted, the U.S. and G.B. merged their occupation zones
Administrative duties were given to Germans (part of the goal that Germany would d become an anchor to Europe)
The U.S. created a military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization consisting of twelve other nations
Made a vow to defend one another
Military aid was given to NATO members
Chinese Civil War victory and Russian detonation of an atomic device to creating NSC-68, a document that described what was going on in the Cold War and that conflict was unavoidable
If the U.S. were going to be level with the Soviet Union, they would have to increase defense spending immensely
(882-885)
Containment in the 1950s
Central Intelligence Agency (1947) was an intelligence agency that dealt with matters abroad, usually in secret
Many of its affairs weren’t usually heard of
In the 1950s, it was used to establish good relationships with foreign countries and assist nations who supported the American stance
John Foster Dulles and Eisenhower made it clear that they wanted communism to be liberated (Dulles said that he was eager to counter the “Godless terrorism of communism,” while Eisenhower was more cautious and possibly more “realistic”)
He didn’t carry out what he said
Containment in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America
The effort to keep Europe stable expanded to the whole world as governments were falling apart
The Shock of the Chinese Revolution
Mao Zedong was the leader of a branch of the communist party (supported Marxism)
Jiang Jeshi was head of the Nationalists and by the 1940s, his regime was corrupt and Mao eventually gained control of China (gained support of the peasantry and fended off Japanese invaders)
The U.S. didn’t really understand what had been going on in China and when Mao declared China as the People’s Republic of China, the U.S. was scared that the Soviet Union was slowly gaining control of other parts of the world
The Chinese weren’t really under the Soviet’s wing, as many assumed
Korean War would raise tensions between China and the U.S.
Truman wanted to support the Nationalists, but he didn’t want to fight a war on a bunch of islands
Stalemate in the Korean War
After World War II, Korea was split on the 38th parallel line, which meant the Soviets could set up a government in the Northern part of Korea (they accepted Japanese surrender after the war and so did the U.S.)
The Americans also set up a government, but in the South
Both countries’ Koreas hoped to reunify the country on their own terms
North Korean army carried out an offensive, to which Truman responded with forces ready
U.S. had right to brand North Korea as an aggressor and defend South Korea to restore peace
U.S. forces went passed 38th parallel while an amphibious invasion was carried out
U.S. was able to progress because Chinese forces only appeared briefly in one year, but then were pushed back after Chinese forces pushed back
Truman wanted to continue a limited war, which MacArthur labeled as “wrong” and Truman had to relieve “the general for insubordination”
Korean War went into Ike’s presidency and he agreed to fight
Chinese were threatened with atomic bomb attack warnings
Armstice signed in 1953
First war where units were integrated (both whites and African Americans), military spending increased from $13 to $47 billion, Japan became the nation the U.S. relied for the balance of power in the Pacific,