5) US containment in Asia

Question 1

Hollywood films about communism

Answer 1

I married a communist (1949)
Iron Curtain (1948 based of Gouzenko)
Evidence of the Red Scare in America

Question 2

Alger Hiss affair

Answer 2

1948
Member of FDR’s pre-war government
accused of being a communist
Acheson supported him publicly but this only heightened the fear of communist infiltration

Question 3

General Douglas Mac Arthur

Answer 3

American military leader who oversaw the reconstruction of Japan

Question 4

Hirothio

Answer 4

Japanese Emperor Showa
Became a constitutional monarchy in 1947
Less traditional in his role as a figurehead after the American occupation

Question 5

Why did the US want Japan as an ally

Answer 5

geographically closer to the USSR
Containment
a strong capitalist ally in Asia would be needed if they wanted to stop the rise of communism in Asia

Question 6

Why did the US need to approach Japan with a 3 stage reformation

Answer 6

If Japan was not punished it would cause up roar, they had been very brutal in the war
Too fast of a reform could mean Japan would revert back to previous governing styles
Prevented America from looking like economic imperialists

Question 7

Punish and Reform of Japan

Answer 7

Trials for war crimes
Arms industries dismantled
soldiers recalled from abroad
new constitution put in place
Japan renounced its right to wage war
education system revised
Emperor reduced to a ceremonial staus

Question 8

Revival of Japanese Economy

Answer 8

British style prime minister system
Land reform program bought land and gave in to farmers
Right to strike (increased union membership)
Zaibatsu (business combines) banned
new exchange rate
more universities

Question 9

San Francisco treaty

Answer 9

September 1951
Recognised the full sovereignty of the Japanese people
renounced Japanese claims to neighbours
bilateral security agreement: US had unrestricted use of Japanese military bases and the right to veto Japan from offering military bases of to other countries
DID NOT
restrict the Japanese economy or future political system
identify Japan’s responsibility for the war
impose rep payments to the nations occupied by Japan
Both the USSR and China refused to sign

Question 10

Jiang Jieshi

Answer 10

also known as Chiang Kai-Shek
head of the nationalist party in China
lost support from the Chinese people in his passivity towards Japan

Question 11

Goumindang

Answer 11

KMT or GMD
nationalist party of China

Question 12

spell KMT

Answer 12

Gounmindang

Question 13

First Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship and alliance

Answer 13

august 1945
Jieshi and Stalin
agreed not to help CCP and to recognise Jieshi as the leader

Question 14

Chinese communist party

Answer 14

CCP
led by Mao Zedong
had the peasants support

Question 15

What was both the US and USSR’s view of the Chinese civil war

Answer 15

that the CCP would not win the war and the GMD would reassert control
The US also believed that is Mao did win he would become a stand alone communist state like Tito’s Yugoslavia

Question 16

Marshall Mission

Answer 16

December 1945 to January 1947
Truman announced support for the KMT but not a military intervention
Sent Marshall to negotiate a compromise but he failed

Question 17

US support of Jieshi

Answer 17

Airlifted KMT troops
provided financial assistance
wary of war so sent material aid

Question 18

Soviet support of Mao

Answer 18

Mao had access to the leftover Japanese weaponry which greatly improved the CCP’s chance of a takeover
While Mao rejected the USSR’s offer for mediation Stalin did show some support

Question 19

Second Sino-soviet treaty

Answer 19

February 1950
Mao and Stalin
treaty of friendship, solidarity, and mutual assistance
USA did not believe this would happen, they look stupid (allowed China to fall to communism)

Question 20

What happen to the KMT after they loose the civil war

Answer 20

Jieshi flees to Taiwan were he continues to govern a nationalist Chinese government, recognised by the US as the official Chinese government
USSR boycott the UN as they do not accept the PRC as the official government

Question 21

Dean Acheson

Answer 21

US Secretary of State 1949-53
Unpopular with the public as they believed his colleagues were spies (Alger Hiss) but he refused to fire them

Question 22

When did China invade Tibet

Answer 22

March 1950
Look like a threat, expansionism!

Question 23

Chinese White Paper

Answer 23

August 1949
Acheson
renounced support for Jieshi but continued to support him secretly as not to be seen as an ‘imperial menace’ to China, which would enforce communist view of America
USA’s justification of it’s withdrawal from direct military support for Jieshi
Implies that the fall of China to communism was inevitable, American did all they could reasonably and that the communist take over was default
Domino effect

Question 24

Why was the white paper necessary

Answer 24

published to the public, from whom Acheson and Truman had received a lot of criticism because of the situation in China

Question 25

What was the defensive perimeter strategy

Answer 25

Jan 1950
part of US foreign policy
US policy should ensure the safety of the pacific
USA were responsible for the military defence of Japan, this would be achieved by the creation of a defensive perimeter on the south pacific coast

Question 26

what did the defensive perimeter strategy signify

Answer 26

Acheson reviewing American policy towards the far east
shift from Eurocentric policies

Question 27

Why was the defensive perimeter criticised

Answer 27

Korea was omitted from the perimeter, resulted in the invasion of S.Korea as the USSR did not think it was important to US foreign policy

Question 28

What was NCS-68

Answer 28

April 1950
national security council 68
a review of American strategic objectives and priorities

Question 29

Why was NCS-68 created

Answer 29

the Soviet’s developed their own atomic bomb
the loss of China
Sino-Soviet alliance

Question 30

Key points of NCS-68

Answer 30

urgency to build up the USA’s political, economic and military power
globalisation of the cold war
military emphasis on containment
argued one of the most pressing threats was the ‘hostile design’ of the Soviet union

Question 31

why, according to NSC-68 was a war not the best strategy

Answer 31

Soviets had the stronger bomb and more land, a preventative strike from the US would only provoke more violence and make them less popular among Europe

Question 32

Why could America not return to isolationism (NSC-68)

Answer 32

The economy of Europe would begin to fail, with this so would the economy of America
Europe and Asia could fall to communism and that would make them a threat to America and isolate the US

Question 33

Why would negotiations with the soviets fail (NSC-68)

Answer 33

there would never been an answer or agreement they both 100% supported due to ideological differences
Soviets had previously broken alliances and deals, unlikely to compromise with America

Question 34

What was the solution NCS-68 offered

Answer 34

the rapid build up of political, economic and military strength of the free world