5) US containment in Asia Flashcards
Hollywood films about communism
I married a communist (1949)
Iron Curtain (1948 based of Gouzenko)
Evidence of the Red Scare in America
Alger Hiss affair
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
General Douglas Mac Arthur
American military leader who oversaw the reconstruction of Japan
Hirothio
Japanese Emperor Showa
Became a constitutional monarchy in 1947
Less traditional in his role as a figurehead after the American occupation
Why did the US want Japan as an ally
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
Why did the US need to approach Japan with a 3 stage reformation
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
Punish and Reform of Japan
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
Revival of Japanese Economy
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
San Francisco treaty
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
Jiang Jieshi
also known as Chiang Kai-Shek
head of the nationalist party in China
lost support from the Chinese people in his passivity towards Japan
Goumindang
KMT or GMD
nationalist party of China
spell KMT
Gounmindang
First Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship and alliance
august 1945
Jieshi and Stalin
agreed not to help CCP and to recognise Jieshi as the leader
Chinese communist party
CCP
led by Mao Zedong
had the peasants support
What was both the US and USSR’s view of the Chinese civil war
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
Marshall Mission
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
US support of Jieshi
Airlifted KMT troops
provided financial assistance
wary of war so sent material aid
Soviet support of Mao
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
Second Sino-soviet treaty
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)
What happen to the KMT after they loose the civil war
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
Dean Acheson
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
When did China invade Tibet
March 1950
Look like a threat, expansionism!
Chinese White Paper
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
Why was the white paper necessary
published to the public, from whom Acheson and Truman had received a lot of criticism because of the situation in China
What was the defensive perimeter strategy
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
what did the defensive perimeter strategy signify
Acheson reviewing American policy towards the far east
shift from Eurocentric policies
Why was the defensive perimeter criticised
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
What was NCS-68
April 1950
national security council 68
a review of American strategic objectives and priorities
Why was NCS-68 created
the Soviet’s developed their own atomic bomb
the loss of China
Sino-Soviet alliance
Key points of NCS-68
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
why, according to NSC-68 was a war not the best strategy
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
Why could America not return to isolationism (NSC-68)
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
Why would negotiations with the soviets fail (NSC-68)
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
What was the solution NCS-68 offered
the rapid build up of political, economic and military strength of the free world
