7) Increasing Cold War Tensions Flashcards
the House of un-American activities committee
a committee in the US government for dedicated to finding communist infiltration
Most brought before the committee were innocent and sacrificial victims
Both Alger Hiss and Edgar Hoover (head of FBI) were prominent cases
Julius and Ethel Rosenburg
Conviction- June 1953
spies
US atomic secrets
proclaimed innocence right up to the time of their death
Greenglass snitched
only spies to be executed in cold war history
what was McCarthyism
an intense fear of communism fuelled by senator Joseph McCarthy
Both the Alger Hiss affair and the “loss” of China caused Truman to be criticised for being too soft on communism
A lot of false accusations but many resigned or were fired due to backlash
Fall of McCarthyism
McCarthy targeted many prominent figures and went to claim that “The Reds” had infiltrated the American army. In a televised interview he was ridiculed by Joseph Welch ‘haven’t you done enough’
Impact of McCarthyism
Pushed for an Asia first policy because he believed it was the most vulnerable
Believed the Korean war wouldn’t of happened if Truman had helped China
Britain was not secure with the USA’s policy in Asia and viewed it as aggressive, believed it could cause Stalin to destabilise Europe- policy also meant an increase in British defence spending
Impact of McCarthyism in Europe
-Britain did not like, thought an Asia first policy detracted from Europe and required England to increase spending in a time of financial difficulty
US dominance of the UN in 1950s
-membership between 1945-55 did not change, US had lots of influence in these years
-Decolonisation had not fully started yet, therefore any colonised country was loyal to the US via Europe. This also prevent any of these states becoming independent, potentially communist members
-the people’s Republic of China was not allowed to take the Chinese seat, rather Taiwan
-Poland was the only eastern European member, not much support for the USSR
-use of veto diminished US power, USSR used it 75 between 1946-55
Communism as a global threat (USA opinion)
communism is a global threat, therefore it needs a global response
Isolation of China
-US refuse to recognise, especially after the treaty with the USSR
-Japan becomes increasingly more important to the US
-not allowed to become a member of the UN
-After the outbreak of the Korean war, the US order a fleet to be positioned between China and Taiwan (7th Fleet)
How did the USSR use China
-strengthen the USSR’s control in the far East
-promoted the USSR as a cold war protagonist
-use of Chinese troops in the Korean war and not Soviet weakened the Chinese international status
-shifted the US focus onto Asia (albeit not planned by the USSR) which helped relieve pressure in Europe, good for USSR
Impact of Cold War Tensions 1949-50
-USA no longer has nuclear monopoly
-China becomes communist
-Sino + Soviet alliance
-N.Korean invasion of the South
-Asia first policy
-McCarthyism
-Europe feels threatened by US focus on Asia
-US adopts a globalist stance
-bad/non-existent Sino-US relations
How many communists did McCarthy claim infiltrated the state department
1950- claimed there were 250 communists, start of “witch hunts”
How much more powerful was the soviet atomic bomb
US bomb = 12,000 tonnes of TNT
Soviet bomb = 22,000 tonnes of TNT (also 50% more explosive than intended)
How many member did the US communist party have
70,000 members by 1947
What was the impact of both the USSR and USA possessing nuclear weapons
most wars were likely to be proxy ones that were not fought on European soil (for example Korea) and that civilian populations would be affected more and more by this conflict
