Origins of the Cold War and the Second Red Scare

Administrative Updates and Course Overview

• Regis Style Short Writing Problem:     * The assignment has a final due date of Friday.     * Class time will no longer be allocated for this task.     * Students must schedule individual time to finish and submit the problem by the deadline.
• First Regents Review Assignment:     * Topic: Early days of American colonial history.     * Status: Due today. Some students have not yet turned it in and must do so immediately.
• Second Regents Review Assignment:     * Topic: Continued historical review.     * Details: Consists of $11$ multiple-choice questions.     * Submission: This is the shortest assignment in the series, but future assignments will be longer and more frequent.     * Deadline: This task is also due on Friday.

World War II Contextual Review

• Wartime Societal Changes:     * A critical change during World War II was that women replaced men in essential wartime industries as men were deployed for combat.     * Historical clarifications on incorrect assumptions:         * Military Draft: World War II did not see the first military draft; drafts were previously enacted during the American Civil War and World War I.         * Combat Units: Women were not allowed to enter combat units during World War II.
• Evolution of Armed Forces Integration:     * The United States Armed Forces remained segregated throughout World War II.     * African Americans were not granted equality or integrated into the military until $1948$, three years after the war ended.

The Formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

• Foundational Principles:     * Established in $1949$, NATO was originally comprised of nations bordering the North Atlantic Ocean.     * Modern Context: Today, NATO has expanded to include nations that were formerly part of the Soviet sphere, such as Poland and Hungary.
• Article 5 (Mutual Defense):     * The charter includes a collective security clause: "an attack against one is an attack against all."     * Historical Usage: Article 5 has been enacted exactly once in history—following the attacks on the United States on $09/11$.     * Response to $09/11$: When the U.S. responded by attacking Al Qaeda training grounds in Afghanistan, NATO members including Canada, Britain, and France contributed troops, supplies, or financial aid.
• Economic Military Commitments:     * NATO members are expected to spend at least $2 \%$ of their total economic activity (GDP) on their military.     * This ensures that even smaller nations can contribute specialized forces or supplies when the alliance is called to action.
• Shift in American Foreign Policy:     * The creation of NATO represents a massive turning point in U.S. history.     * From the late $1700s$ until the mid-$20th$ century, U.S. foreign policy was defined by neutrality and a lack of formal alliances.     * Joining NATO was the first time the U.S. entered a permanent peacetime defensive alliance, driven by a fear of Russian (Soviet) expansion.
• Current Geopolitical Relevance:     * Recent presidents have debated the value of NATO and discussed potential withdrawal, though such an action would require Congressional approval.     * The Ukraine Conflict: A primary driver of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was Ukraine's movement toward joining NATO. Russia views NATO membership as a barrier to aggression, as attacking a member would trigger a collective response.     * Recent Expansions: Sweden and Finland, which remained neutral throughout the Cold War (the $1950s$ through the $1990s$), have pursued NATO membership following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Soviet Response and the Iron Curtain

• The Warsaw Pact:     * In response to the formation of NATO, the Soviet Union created its own collective security agreement.     * This alliance included Eastern European countries under communist influence.     * It was named after Warsaw, the capital of Poland, where the agreement was signed.
• The Iron Curtain Metaphor:     * Coined by Winston Churchill in a speech, the "Iron Curtain" refers to the divide between Western Europe and the Soviet-influenced Eastern Europe.     * Restrictive Measures:         * Travel was heavily restricted; citizens within the Soviet sphere were generally not allowed to travel to the West.         * Economic trade between the two regions effectively died off, sealing the Soviet sphere off from the rest of the world.

U.S. Cold War Policies: Containment

• The Policy of Containment:     * The overarching U.S. goal during this period was to stop the spread of communism.     * Key components of this policy included:         * The Truman Doctrine: A policy of providing aid to any nation fighting foreign (communist) aggression.         * The Marshall Plan: A massive economic initiative to rebuild Western Europe and prevent communist parties from gaining traction in war-torn economies.         * NATO: The military arm of containment designed to protect Western Europe from Soviet invasion.

The Second Red Scare in America

• Comparison to the First Red Scare:     * The first Red Scare ($1910s$-$1920s$) focused on radical immigrants and used deportations as a primary tool.     * The second Red Scare (Post-WWII) focused on American citizens, government employees, and the Hollywood film industry.
• The Smith Act:     * Legislation that made it a crime to advocate for the overthrow of the government.     * Conflict with Liberty: While intended to maintain order, it was used to criminalize individuals simply based on the organizations they joined, which challenged the First Amendment right to free assembly.
• House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and Hollywood:     * Congress launched high-profile investigations into Hollywood, fearing that communist writers were poisoning scripts with propaganda.     * The Hollywood Ten: A group of ten witnesses who refused to answer whether they were members of the Communist Party, citing their constitutional rights. They were arrested for "Contempt of Congress" and served jail time.     * Blacklisting: Major studios (e.g., Universal Pictures) refused to hire anyone suspected of communist ties to protect their public image. This led to destroyed livelihoods, writers using pseudonyms for lower pay, and even suicides.     * Witnesses: The hearings featured "friendly witnesses" like Ronald Reagan (then president of the Screen Actors Guild) and