8.2 Flashcards
Cold War
- Rivalry between Soviet Union and US because of communists in Europe after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.
- conflict through armed forces in other countries and diplomacy
- never direct military conflict
- 1940s-1991(Soviet Union collapse)
Nonagression Pact of 1939
- The United States refused to recognize the Soviet
Union until 1933. After the brief honeymoon period, this pact confirmed their suspicions. The countries agreed that they would not attack each other and secretly divided the countries that lay between them.
Alliance in World War 2 between Soviets and US
The Soviets and US allied during World War 2 out of convenience. Half of all deaths in World War II were Soviets. Conflict was evident in the Postdam and Yalta conferences but Roosevelt tried to solve things through diplomacy until Truman showed up.
Postwar Cooperation (United Nations)
-1945
The General Assembly of the United Nations was created to provide representation to all member nations
15-member Security Council was given the primary responsibility within the UN for maintaining international security and authorizing peacekeeping missions.
Security Council
5 great powers - United States, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union are given permanent seats.
United Nations Plans
- Atomic Energy Commission (accepted) and Baruch Plan (rejected)
Atomic Energy Commission
agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology.
Baruch Plan
the Atomic Development Authority would oversee the development and use of atomic energy, manage any nuclear installation with the ability to produce nuclear weapons, and inspect any nuclear facility conducting research for peaceful purposes. This was rejected by the Soviet Union and increased tensions.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (world bank)
-1944
- bank’s initial purpose was to fund rebuilding of a war-torn world.
- provides financial products and policy advice to help countries reduce poverty and extend the benefits of sustainable growth to all of their people.
- soviets refuse to join as they see it as capitalism
Nuremberg Trials
- 1945-1946
- trials of 22 top Nazi leaders for war crimes and violations of human
rights. - Soviets join Allies
Satellite States
- 1946
- Soviet forces remained in occupation of the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe.
Elections were held by the Soviets—as promised by Stalin
at Yalta coference—but the results were manipulated in favor of Communist candidates. - Soviets argue that Russia needs satellites (states under control of a large nation) for protection for an invasion from the West.
- British wants independence for Poland and them and the US see this as violations of democracy
Occupation Zones in Germany
- Germany and Austria are divided into into Soviet, French, British, and U.S. zones of occupation. This meant to be temporary.
- Soviets keep control over Eastern Germany so that it evolves into a Communist State.
- CAUSE: Soviets want weak Germany for security and large war reparations. US and UK see strengthening of Germany as integral to stability in Central Europe.
- ## Soviets tighten control of Berlin and attempt to force Americans, British, and French to give up their assigned sectors of the city.
Iron Curtain (Metaphor)
- News of a Canadian spy ring stealing atomic secrets for the Soviets and continued Soviet occupation of northern Iran further encouraged a get-tough policy from the US.
- Prime Minister Winston Churchill uses the iron curtain metaphor in a speech in 1946.
- The Iron Curtain metaphor was later used throughout the Cold War to refer to the division between the U.S. allies in Western Europe and Soviet allies of Eastern Europe.
Iron Curtain (Speech)
- Churchill’s speech in 1946 that called for a partnership between Western democracies to halt the expansion of communism.
Truman’s Containment Policy
plan which would guide U.S. foreign policy for decades. It was formulated by three top advisers
Three Top Advisors for Containment Policy
Secretary of State General George Marshall, Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson, and an expert on Soviet affairs, George F. Kennan.
Critics of Containment Policy
Walter Lippman, they said that it was too ambitious and some governments deserved US support while others did not.
Supporters of Containment Policy
- They believed containment was necessary and communism must be challenged because appeasement did not work with Hitler.
Containment Policy
- Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift, and NATO
Truman Doctrine
- 1947
- the principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection.
Causes were:
1) Communist uprising in Greece
2) Soviet demands for control of the water route in Turkey. Truman asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid to assist the “free people’’ of Greece and Turkey against “totalitarian” regimes.
Marshall Plan
- 1947
- by George Marshall.
- The United States provides economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe.
- Causes included
1) Europe’s ruined state leading to discontent which encouraged growth of communism in Italy and France.
2) $12 billion in aid was approved for distribution to the countries of Western Europe over a four-year period.
The plan was offered to the Soviets but they rejected it because they did not want to depend on the US.
Effects of Marshall Plan
- Europe was able to self sustain itself by the 1950s, and the threat of communism ended. US exports to Europe increased which bolstered US prosperity. It deepened the rift between the non Communist west and communist east.
Berlin Airlift
- 1948
- The Soviets cut off all access by land to the German city. Truman orders US planes to fly in supplies to the people of West Berlin. Truman also sends 60 bombers to bases in England. Stalin did not challenge the airlift and the blockade ended in 1949
Effects of Berlin Airlift
- creation of two Germanys: the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, a U.S. ally) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, a Soviet satellite). Berlin is also divided into sectors supported by the US or the Soviets. This also started the arms race
NATO
- 1949
- Truman joins North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- a military alliance for defending all members from outside attack. Eisenhower is NATO’s first commander.
Warsaw Pact
- 1955
- the Soviets’ response to NATO, military alliance for the defense of Communist states in Eastern Europe.
National Security Act
1947, goal was to modernize military capability. It provided for a:
–Centralized department of defense to coordinate the operations of the army, navy, and air force
the creation of the National Security Council (NSC) to coordinate the making of foreign policy
-the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather information on foreign governments.
-In 1948, the Selective Service System and a peacetime military draft were instituted.
Atomic Weapons
(1945-1949) the US is the only nation with atomic bombs during this period before the Soviets tested their first bomb in 1949.
NSC-1968
1968 - National Security Council report that said the following measures were necessary to fight the Cold War:
-quadruple U.S. government defense spending to 20 percent of GNP
-convince the American public that a costly arms buildup was imperative for the nation’s defense
-form alliances with non-Communist countries around the world
Hydrogen Bomb
1952, In response to Soviets testing their first bomb. Truman approves the H bomb (thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima)
Cold War in Asia
The success of the containment policy failed in Asia because the nations resented Western colonialism. They resisted US influence.
Japan
Japan is solely under the control of the US. The emperor is forced to give up his claim to divinity and a parliamentary democracy is established. Under the new constitution, war is renounced as an instrument of national policy and only limited military capability is allowed so that Japan is dependent on the protection of the US.
General Douglas McArthur
Leads reconstruction of Japan, tries and executes seven Japanese generals for war crimes.
US - Japanese Security Treaties
1951, Japan gives up its claims to Korea and some Pacific islands. The United States ended its occupation of Japan, but U.S. troops remained in military bases in Japan for that country’s protection against external enemies, particularly Communists
Effects of Treaties and Occupation of Japan
Japan becomes a strong US ally and prospers under American influence.
Philippines
1946 - Philippines becomes an independent republic, but the US retains air and naval bases throughout the Cold War.
Pacific Islands
US controls trustee islands taken from Japan which make the Pacific Ocean look like an “American lake”.
China and the US in WW2
Chiang Kai-shek receives military aid from the US to keep Japan out. Once the war is over, Kai shek takes control of China’s central government.
Post WW2 Civil War China
Ages long war between Communists led by Mao Zendog and Nationalists breaks out. Nationalists are losing because of corruption and inflation.
American Policy
1946 - Marshall is sent to China to negotiate a compromise, but it falls apart in a few months. Chiang’s army starts retreating and Truman rules out an invasion because of this.
US Economic Aid
1948, Congress votes to give the Nationalist government $400 million in aid, but 80 percent of the U.S. military supplies ended up in Communist hands because of corruption and the collapse of the Nationalist armies.
Effects
Two Chinas and Political Chaos in US
Two Chinas
Nationalists retreat to Formosa (Taiwan, island under Japanese rule) and claim to be the head of China from there. The US agreed to this until recognizing the communist government in 1979.
Political Debate in US
Republicans blame Democrats for the loss of China to communism
Sino Soviet Pact
1950, Stalin and Mao sign a pact which increases fears of a communist conspiracy.
Post WW2 Korea
Japan’s former colony is divided at the 38th parallel and Soviets are in control North of the line and US is in control of the South.
North Korea
Armies withdraw and North is a communist state in hands of Kim II Sung.
South Korea
Armies withdraw and South is in the conservative nationalist hands of Syngman
Invasion
1950 - North Korea invaded South Korea. Truman calls for a special session of the UN Security Council and a UN force is authorized to defend the South. General Douglass McArthur commands this expedition. The US uses troops but does not declare war.
MacArthur and China
1950, UN forces destroy much of the North Korean army and go up to China’s border. MacArthur disregards China’s warnings that they will attack if threatened and so Chinese troops cross the border into Korea and overwhelm US troops out of NK.
Truman vs McArthur
1951, MacArthur calls for expanding war efforts and attacking China even when Truman tells him to stop. Truman, with the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled MacArthur for insubordination.
Republicans in response to Korean War
They understand MacArthur better than Truman’s concept of limited war. Critics attacked Truman and the Democrats as appeasers for not trying to destroy communism in Asia.
Stalemate
1951, peace talks begin since neither side is winning.
Effects of Korean War
Truman uses it as justification for
dramatically expanding the military
funding a new jet bomber (the B-52)
stationing more U.S. troops in overseas bases
Election of 1952
Republicans and Eisenhower win because the situation in China and Korea characterizes Truman as soft on communism.
Dulles’ Diplomacy
Dulles considered containment too passive and advocated a “new look” that challenged China and the Soviet Union. He talked of Nationalist government of Taiwan to assert itself against “Red” (Communist) China.
Brinkmanship
Dulles’ idea that if the United States pushed Communist powers to the brink of war, they would back down because of American nuclear superiority. Eisenhower prevented this approach from being taken to the extreme.
Massive Retaliation
Dulles policy that revolved around spending more air forces and nuclear weapons than conventional military methods. Nuclear weapons became a huge factor in war not breaking out. Even in brushfire wars, smaller nuclear weapons were not used for fear of escalation.
Korean Armistice
1953, Eisenhower visits UN forces in Korea and negotiates the end of the war. CAUSES - diplomacy, threat of nuclear fallout, and the death of Stalin push China and NK to agree to a truce and exchange of prisoners. North and South Korea remain divide
US- Soviet Relationships during Eisenhower
Spirit of Geneva, Soviet suppression of Hungarian Revolt, Sputnik Shock, Camp David, U-2 incident, Communism in Cuba
Spirit of Geneva
1955, CAUSE - After Stalin’s death, the Soviet Union showed willingness for peace and withdrew troops from Austria and established peaceful relations with Turkey and Greece. Eisenhower calls for a slowdown in the arms race and an “atoms for peace” plan.
Open Skies Policy
A meeting in Geneva is held where the US suggests an open skies policy - other countries can aerially photograph countries to eliminate chances of nuclear attacks. It is rejected.
Nikita Khrushchev’s speech
1956, the new Soviet leader makes a speech in which he denounced the crimes of Joseph Stalin and supported “peaceful coexistence” with the West.
Hungarian Revolt
1956, Hungarians succeed in overthrowing a government backed by Moscow and demand to leave the Warsaw Pact. Nikita sends in troops to crush the rebellion and restore peace. The US takes no action in the crisis as Eisenhower fears doing so will lead to war.
Effects of Hungarian Revolt
US inactivity gives recognition to the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and ends Dulles’s talk of “liberating” this region.
Sputnik Shock
Soviet Union launched Sputnik I and Sputnik II, into orbit around the earth. Suddenly, the technological leadership of the United States was open to question. To add to American embarrassment, U.S. rockets designed to duplicate the Soviet achievement failed repeatedly. Criticism of the education system in the US ignites.
Effects of Sputnik Shock
1958 - National Defense and Education Act - authorizes hundreds of millions in fed dollars for math, science, and foreign languages.
1958- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to direct the U.S. efforts to build missiles and explore outer space.
Fears of nuclear war are increased
Second Berlin Crisis
1958-1959 - Khrushchev gives West six months to pull troops out of West Germany and turn the city over to East Germany. The US declines. Eisenhower invites Nikita K. to Camp David and they agree to meet up in 1960 at Paris to discuss it again
U-2 Incident
- 1960, Before the Paris conference, the Russians shoot down a spy plane from the US named the U-2. It was revealed that the US had been illegally using spy planes to find out about the enemy’s missile program.
U-2 Incident
- 1960, Before the Paris conference, the Russians shoot down a spy plane from the US named the U-2. It was revealed that the US had been illegally using spy planes to find out about the enemy’s missile program.
Effects of U-2 Incident
Nikita K. walks out of the Paris summit and the incident temporarily ends the thaw in the Cold War.
Communism in Cuba
959, Fidel Castro, a revolutionary, overthrows the Cuban dictator, and nationalized American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba. Eisenhower retaliated by cutting off U.S. trade with Cuba. Castro turns to the Soviets for support and sets up a Communist government.
Communism in Cuba
959, Fidel Castro, a revolutionary, overthrows the Cuban dictator, and nationalized American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba. Eisenhower retaliated by cutting off U.S. trade with Cuba. Castro turns to the Soviets for support and sets up a Communist government.
Eisenhower’s Response to Cuba
Eisenhower authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to train anti-Communist Cuban exiles so they could invade the island and overthrow Castro. The invasion would happen during the presidency of John F. Kennedy.
1958 Arms Limitation
1958, Eisenhower initiates first arms limitation by voluntarily suspending above ground testing of nuclear weapons.
Eisenhower’s Farewell Address
Eisenhower indicates the negative impacts of the Cold War and warns the nation to guard against a military industrial complex. He feared the arms race and supported US citizens who saw the country going down an imperialistic/militaristic path like Rome.
Military Industrial Complex
The close relationship between the U.S. Military and the giant corporations that built its weapons.
Election of 1960
Kennedy wins after attacking Eisenhower for the “recession in the arms race”. The missile gap Kennedy attacked was in US favor but it granted him a victory.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
1961, Kennedy approves the CIA invasion of Cuba. The agents arrive in Cuba but fail to start a general uprising. Kennedy does not support the agents in Cuba, and Castro asks for more soviet aid.
Meeting in Vienna
1961, Nikita K and Kennedy meet in Vienna as Nikita renews demands to withdraw US troops out of Berlin. Kennedy refuses and this starts the building of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin Wall
The East Germans and Soviets build a wall around West Berlin to keep East Germany from fleeing to the other side. US and Soviet tanks fought in Berlin. Kennedy did not take major action to stop the building of the wall. He visited West Berlin to assure their citizens of US support. The wall came to be a gloomy symbol of the Cold War.
Cuban Missile Crisis (effect of bay of pigs)
Castro invited the Soviets to build underground missile sites that could launch offensive missiles capable of reaching the United States in minutes. Kennedy finds out and announces a blockade of Cuba until the missiles are removed. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for Kennedy’s pledge not to invade the island nation and to later remove some U.S. missiles from Turkey.
Effects of Cuban Missile Crisis
a telecommunications hotline was built between Washington and Moscow so the countries’ leaders could talk directly during a crisis. The Nuclear Test Ban treaty was signed in 1963.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
1963, ended testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. Signed by the US, Soviet Union, and 10 other nations.
Laos, Congo, Vietnam
These were all governments with close ties to the US that were challenged by the Soviet Union.
Kennedy’s Flexible Response Policy
McNamara and Kennedy wanted options less likely to escalate into destruction compared to Dulles’ massive retaliation. The flexible response increased spending on conventional arms and mobile military which reduced the risk of nuclear war but also increased the temptation to send elite special forces, such as the Green Berets, into combat all over the globe.
Johnson succeeded Kennedy
1963, Kennedy is assassinated and Lyndon Johnson succeeds him as President.
Lyndon B Johnson
He is more focused on New Deal like domestic policy and his foreign policy is dominated by the Vietnam War. He continues the containment policy.
Soviet Union and US relationship during the late 1960s
The Soviet Union seeks closer relationships with the US because of its worsening relationship with China and the costly arms race.
Outer Space Treaty
1967, bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space, prohibits military activities on celestial bodies, and details legally binding rules governing the peaceful exploration and use of space.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
1969, The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds of talks and agreements: SALT I and SALT II.
Non Proliferation Treaty
1968, Britain, US, and Soviet signed this and it agreed not to help other countries develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
