Period 8: 1945-1980 Review

Post-World War II Continuity and Change

• The U.S. played a key role in post-World War II affairs, unlike after World War I.
• The U.S. joined the United Nations (UN) in 1945.
• The Atlantic Charter had similar ideas to Wilson's 14 points.

The Cold War

• Ideological, political, and military struggle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from approximately 1946 to 1991.
• The U.S. pursued a policy of containment, as articulated by George Kennan, to prevent the spread of communism.
• The U.S. provided military and financial assistance to countries resisting communism (e.g., Truman Doctrine).
• The Marshall Plan provided billions of dollars to rebuild Western Europe.
• The U.S. supported the Nationalist government in China but Mao's communists took over in 1949.
• The U.S. joined NATO, a peacetime military alliance.
• The CIA was used to remove regimes in Guatemala and Iran.
• The Nixon Doctrine shifted the responsibility of fighting to countries themselves, with the U.S. providing support (Vietnamization).

Military Buildup and Arms Race

• Military buildup was a key part of containing communism.
• Under Truman, the military was built up during the Korean War (NSC-68).
• Eisenhower's New Look policy emphasized nuclear weapons and massive retaliation.
• Kennedy implemented a flexible response strategy.

Space Race

• After Sputnik in 1957, the U.S. increased funding for NASA and education (National Defense of Education Act).
• Kennedy pledged to put a man on the moon, achieved in 1969.

Direct and Indirect Military Conflict

• The U.S. used direct military force in Korea to stop communism after North Korea invaded South Korea across the 38^{th} parallel.
• The Vietnam War escalated after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
• Operation Rolling Thunder involved bombing North Vietnam.
• The Tet Offensive in 1968 made the war increasingly controversial.

Détente

• There were periods of detente or relaxation of tensions during the Cold War.
• Eisenhower called for relaxed tensions and the Geneva Conference in 1955.
• A direct hotline was installed between Washington D.C. and Moscow after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
• Nixon visited China in 1972 and negotiated SALT I to limit nuclear weapons.
• SALT II was ruined when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Debates over Governmental Power and Civil Liberties

• Cold War policies led to debates over federal power and civil liberties.
• Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex.
• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution expanded presidential power.
• The War Powers Act of 1973 was designed to limit presidential war-making power.
• The Vietnam War divided the nation between hawks and doves.
• The bombing of Cambodia led to the Kent State protest.
• The Second Red Scare and McCarthyism caused widespread fear of communist influence.
• HUAC investigated communist influence in American life.

Post-War Decolonization

• The U.S. and the Soviet Union competed for influence in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East due to the collapse of colonial empires.
• In the Middle East, the U.S. had ideological support for Israel and anti-communist regimes.
• Eisenhower used the CIA to overthrow the Iranian government in 1953 (Operation Ajax).
• The Eisenhower Doctrine promised aid to Middle Eastern countries threatened by communism.
• OPEC was formed in 1960 to control the oil supply.
• The Camp David Accords in 1978 were negotiated by Carter, leading to a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
• In Latin America, the U.S. supported non-communist regimes.
• The CIA overthrew the Arbenz government in Guatemala in 1954.
• Castro's revolution in Cuba led to a U.S. embargo.
• The Bay of Pigs plan failed, and the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union close to war.