Untitled Flashcards Set

Events, Organizations, and Foreign Policy

United Nations

• Founded by 50 countries at the end of World War II

• Goal is to secure international peace and security through discussion and collaboration. 

• Security Council is charged with interceding directly if necessary to preserve peace or protect lives

  • 5 permanent members of the security council are U.S, U.K, France, China, Russian

Long Telegram/X-Article

• George Kennan wrote a telegram with concepts that became the foundation for American Cold War policy

• A combination of the Long Telegram and the Clifford-Elsey report was published as the X article

  • Report created by the Truman Administration that took the analysis of the Long Telegram and transformed it into policy recommendations

  • Detailed “Soviet disregard” for post-WWII agreements and developed a program for “restraining and confining” (containment) Soviet influence

• Americans began to view Communism as a threat

• Article/Telegram presented ideas of Containment

Containment

• The idea/concept that the U.S must work with allies to stop the spread of communism

Iron Curtain Speech

• Churchill described a metaphorical divide between the West and the Soviet Bloc

  • Western Bloc: Group of countries allied with the U.S

  • Eastern Block: Group of eastern European countries allied with the Soviet Union

• He called for all democratic, capitalist nations to join together to oppose the spread of communism

Truman Doctrine

• The British asked the U.S. to take over support of Turkey and Greece

  • The Soviet Union was trying to force the Turkish government to share control of a key shipping channel between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean called the Dardanelles 

  • The Greek government was fighting a communist revolution(U.S.S.R not involved) 

• Truman convinced Congress to raise taxes to provide military aid to support those nations 

• The idea the the U.S must help all free people who were resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures became known as the Truman Doctrine

  • The U.S was compelled to assist free people in their struggles against totalitarian regimes because the spread of authoritarianism wound undermine foundations of international peace and hence the security of the U.S

    • Preserve political integrity of Democratic nations
      

NSC-68

• Entitled the United States objectives and programs for national security 

• Argued that the most pressing threats confronting the United States was the hostile design of the Soviet Union

Marshall Plan

• WWII had been over for two years yet most Europeans were struggling to survive; millions were sick, homeless, and hungry and those conditions were leading to the growth of communist movements 

• Great humanitarian effort

• George Marshall issued a call for a program to help financially rebuild Western Europe. 

  • 17 billion dollars was spent in five years

  • U.K and France received the most money 

Division of Germany

• At the end of WWII British and Soviet military forces divided and occupied Germany

Berlin Blockade/Crisis

• The U.S.S.R responded to the division by cutting off access to Berlin

Berlin Airlift

• For eleven months aircraft brought in supplies to citizens held captive in West Berlin

• Over 277,000 flights brought in over 2,000,000 tons of supplies

• Led Stalin to call off blockade

North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)

• Created to provide collective security and to counter military power of the USSR

  • Policy stance in which countries agree to defend each other

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization(SEATO)

• Formed to right communism in Asia

• Ineffective and eventually disbanded

Chinese Communist Revolution

• Communist revolution led by Mao in China

• The new government signed a defense pact with the Soviet Union

• The fall of China fueled the fear of Communism in the United States

Division of Korea at the 38th Parallel

• Korea divided at the 38th Parallel

• The north becomes communist and the south a pro-western democracy

• China entered the Northern part of Korea

Korean War

• June 25th 1950, North Korea invades South Korea

• Truman's response was to fight, he ordered air and naval forces to Korea without the congressional approval 

  • Congress does not stop Truman for fear of being considered soft on Communism 

  • Invades policy of containment

• Beginning of proxy wars

Space Race

Sputnik

• The first Soviet satellite 

  • As a response to Eisenhower created NASA

Nuclear Arms Race

• Mass development of nuclear weapons in USSR and USA

Massive Retaliation

• If the USSR attacks anyone they will be instantly nuked

• Flaws: Either nuke or nothing

Mutually Assured Destruction

• Any nuclear attack means everyone dies

Brinkmanship

• Means the U.S and USSR are at the edge of war

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

• President Truman created the CIA in 1947

• CIA not allowed to spy on U.S citizens or people in the U.S 

• CIA workers were allowed to do anything necessary to protect national security abroad

• CIA had the right to spend unlimited money without reporting their financial records

American Interventions

• Iran

  • The west boycotted all Iranian oil, the country quickly went bankrupt

  • U.S installs dictator to protect American oil interests

  • Operation AJAX: 

    • Eisenhower used the CIA to get rid of P.M. Mossadeg

    • Pro-West Shah Reza Pahlavi regained power; no popular support from Iranians

    • Pahlavi stayed in power until the 1979 revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini 

    • Planted the seeds of Iranian hatred towards the U.S

• Guatemala 

  • The U.S creates a civil war to protect our economic interest

• Dominican Republic

  • The U.S works with revolutionaries to assassinate the president to protect American economic interests

• Indonesia

  • The U.S. government attempted to assassinate Indonesian president Sukarno

  • After failing to spark a revolution, the U.S. helped Sukarno purge revolutionaries

• Zaire

  • The CIA assassinated the president because he refused to trade diamonds

• Cuba 

  • U.S. had controlled Cuba since Spanish-American War (Platt Amendment)

  • 90% of Cuba was owned by U.S. businesses causing great poverty for the people

  • Fidel Castro led a popularly supported Nationalist Revolution in 1959

    • Kicked U.S. businesses out

    • Allied with USSR

  • Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

    • Cuban revolutionaries called La Brigada trained by the CIA to overthrow Castro

    •  Boats ran aground on reefs; U.S. promised air support, but it was not provided

    • Botched Bay of Pigs invasion was an embarrassment for U.S.

  • Operation Mongoose (1961)

    • Cut off Cuban trade

    • Organize uprisings and raids

    • Assassinate Fidel Castro (who was in power until 2008)

  • Cuban Missile Crisis (October 15th-28th, 1962)

    • The U.S discovered society nuclear missiles in Cuba

    • The U.S quarantines (blockades) Cuba

    • Soviets agree to remove missiles from cuba if the U.S removes missile from Turkey and American promise to never interfere with Cuba

People and Domestic Policies

Capitalism

• an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

Socialism

• a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole

Communism

• an economic ideology that advocates for a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally owned instead of being owned by individuals

Joseph Stalin

Joseph McCarthy

• Republican senator from Wisconsin (1947-57)

  • Used fear of communism to advance his political career

  • The Wheeling Speech (February 9, 1950): claimed to have a list of 205 communists working in the U.S. State Department

• The Tydings Committee was formed in the Senate to investigate McCarthy's charges

• Chairman Millard Tydings (D) was targeted by McCarthy as a communist sympathizer

  • No evidence was found to support McCarthy's claims

• McCarthy also began targeting homosexuals working in government because he said they could be "subject to blackmail" if their sexual orientation was exposed

  • Lavender scare: Fear that gay people were a threat to the U.S government

• McCarthy lobbied heavily for many Republicans nation-wide in the election of 1950 and they did very well in the election

  • Herbert Block (Herblock) created the term McCarthyism in a cartoon published in 1950

• McCarthy was re-elected in 1952 and was put in charge of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (SPI) to investigate communist threats

“The List”

• Mccarthy claimed to have a list of 205 communists working in the U.S. State Department

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

• Investigates citizens accused of being disloyal

• People would testify before HUAC about their activities

  • People were presumed guilty by association 

•  Investigated the film industry 

• The hollywood ten

  • Refused to answer HUAC questions 

  • Sent to jail and blacklisted

McCarthyism

• the use of intimidation and unfounded accusations in the name of fighting communism

Harry S. Truman

• Truman and democrats get blamed for the spread of communism 

• Labeled as a Pinko: Communist sympathizer

Executive Order 9981

• Truman ordered the desegregation of the military when he issued Executive Order 9981

• Executive Order 9981 also required equal opportunity for advancement and training and made it illegal, per military law, to make racist remarks

• Though it did not eliminate racism in the military, it was a huge step 

• All-black units lasted through the Korean War; the last were disbanded in 1954

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Eisenhower emphasized nuclear weapons and covert operations

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address

• Eisenhower warned the American public to be wary of the Military-Industrial Complex, which he felt could threaten freedom in the U.S.

“Duck and Cover”

• What to do if an atomic bomb goes off

• Helped ease public 

• Turtle video