American Foreign Policy Part 1 Flashcards
Potsdam July 1945
As the war ended in 1945, the allied leaders met in Yalta and Potsdam
They agreed to divide Germany and it’s capital Berlin into 4 zones, each run by one of the allies, the USSR, the US, Britain and France
Nazis were tried for war crimes
In 1948 the three western allies joined their zones together , accepted marshal aid and began to develop a democratic German government
In 1949 this became west Germany
Stalin refused to let his zone accept marshal aid and imposed a communist dictatorship on it, it became East Germany
There was a transfer of land from Germany to Poland
Atomic bomb raised tensions
Eastern Europe and the US response?
Despite the differences between them the two countries joined together to defeat Hitler but once peace came their differences returned
Stalin was worried about invasion
The US had hoped that all countries in Europe would become capitalist democracies but……
Between 1946 and 1948, Stalin imposed communist dictatorships on the countries in eastern Europe that his army controlled
There was growing concern about the spread of communism
In France an Italy communist parties did well in elections
In Greece a civil war broke out between communists and royalists, the US sends in military supplies
The diving line between the west and Russia known as the iron curtain ran through Germany. This created a number of crises During the cold war
What was the Truman doctrine ?
March 1947 aid was sent to Greece and Turkey
Truman and his advisers thought that these developments showed that Stalin planned to take over all of Europe
To stop him they adopted a policy of “containment”. This ment containing Soviet power within th wares it controlled in 1945 - not letting it expand any further
They issued the Truman doctrine . It promised American aid to any government fighting a communist take over
They sent military help to the Greek government
To stop the Soviets taking over the rest of Europe they decided to keep US troops in Europe
And give billions of dollars in marshal aid to European governments to rebuilt their economies
What was Marshall plan
Economic recovery in Europe was key to stopping the spread of communism
Western European governments accepted marshal aid and developed their econo its along capitalist lines
German recover triggered economic growth
Stalin would not let the eastern European countries he controlled accept Marshall aid. He forced them to become communist
This divided Europe into the pro-american capitalist west and the Soviet controlled capitalist East
What happened with the Berlin blockade?
Berlin was deep inside the Soviet zone, In 1945 it too was divided into 4 zones
2 million people lived in there areas the western allies controlled (west berlin)
To get to west berlin, the western allies had to use road, rail and air transport which crossed Soviet controlled territory
Marshall plan created a new currency the Deutschmark which triggered crisis
In 1948 as tension rose between the two sides, Stalin closed all land routes. He did not think the western allies could supplies Berlin by air alone
Truman decided to challenge Stalin’s blockade. For 11 months, US aircraft carried food, fuel, and other supplies to the people of west berlin - operation vittles- massive airlift
In 1949, Stalin gave in and allowed land transport to resume
Results of the crisis and 1949 the crucial year?
As well as the Berlin blockade, a number of developments made 1949 the crucial year in the cold war
China becomes communist
When ww2 ended Chinese nationalists led by chaing Kai-shek caught a civil war with the Chinese communists, led by mao Zedong
In 1949 th communists won
For many years they refused to let communist China take China’s place on the United nations security council
The Berlin blockade, Stalin’s treatment of western Europe and communist victory in China encouraged the US, Canada and 10 democratic countries to form NATO
It was an American led military alliance that aimed to stop Soviet expansion in Europe
What was McCarthyism ?
The start of the cold war and the expansion of communism in Europe and Asia led to a “red scare “ in America
People saw communist conspiracies everywhere. A “loyalty programme” was set up to root out government workers who were suspected of communist sympathies
In 1947 the house of representatives set up the “House un American Activities Commitee (HUAC)”. It searched out communist sympathisers especially in the film industry
Artists and writers were called before it and asked about their involvement in left wing activities
The panic increased in 1949 with the communist victory in China and the Soviet A bomb. Many believed there were communist spies in the US government
Republicans accused democrats of being to soft on communism and blamed Truman for losing China
Anti communist hysteria reached its peak between 1950 and 1953 under leadership of senator Joseph McCarthy
The Korean war
Before ww2 Korea was a Japanese colonie. When the Japanese surrendered the Soviets occupied the north of Korea as far as the 38th parallel, Americans occupied the south
The partition was ment to be temporary but as cold war developed it became permanent
In north Korea Stalin backed a communist dictator Kim Il Sung and Americans supported a capitalist dictator in South Korea
In 1950 Kim invade south Korea aiming to unite the country under his control
With the support of the UN, Truman sent an American led army to defend south Korea and uphold his policy of containment
In forces led by general Mcarther defeated the north Koreans at the battle of Inchon but Mcarther invaded north Korea against Truman’s wishes
This brought the Chinese into the war and forced in forces back to the 38tn parallel
When Mcarther publicly suggested invading China Truman sacked him
In 1953 Stalin died and the new us president, Eisenhower agreed to a truce, with both sides going back to where they started at the 38 th parallel
Results of the Korean war
2.5 million people died , 30,000 American soldiers
Concern about the war helped Eisenhower become president
US spending on arms increased greatly
