chapter two- the USA as a superpower

Question 1

why do the USA and USSR oppose each other?

Answer 1

there is ideological tension and the USA would be worries about communism due to the threat of democracy being harmed
they would also economically and politically be harmed.

Question 2

what was the long telegram?

Answer 2

this was George Kennan in 1946 writing as a Secretary of State and he would highlight the the threat of the USSR would be too great to ignore.
America needs to have a plan.

Question 3

who was Dean Acheson?

Answer 3

he was a democrat leader and administrator up until 1945 and would be a key advocate for the theory of domino theory and the idea that if one falls to communism they all go. He would serve for the USA abroad. He would be a key delegate at the brenton woods conference and would found the IMF.

Question 4

who was George Kennan?

Answer 4

lawyer and diplomat with service in Europe and the 1944 in Moscow. he would develop deep concern about the USSR and would advocate for containment.

Question 5

Churchill’s iron curtain speech?

Answer 5

this was made in front of Truman in March 1946 and this outlined how Churchill was worried about the spread of communism and saw the divide between east and west as both imaginary and real.
though in 1946 the US will start to distance itself from Britain so this is a strange time in relations.

Question 6

Greece and turkey

Answer 6

in 1947 civil war will break out in these countries and there will be a definite fear that they will fall to communism due to the rise of communist countries in these nations. 12 March 1947 Truman would ask for $400 million in military and economic assistance to help these countries and people would see it as a clear campaign against communism.

Question 7

what are the key aspects of the Truman doctrine?

Answer 7

this was the policy of containment.
America has not yet committed to military aid.
this is an open commitment to containment.
turkey and Greece will set the precedent for future actions.
the US would finally be involved in countries that were outside the western hemisphere and many would believe that the Truman doctrine would help the Cold War to begin. up until this moment Truman has not led foreign policy.
it is important to note that the Truman doctrine would not just view communism as a threat.

Question 8

what were the key aspects of the Marshall plan? what was its significance?

Answer 8

1948-51
would offer $13 billion in aid to countries
US was seen as being a friend
US was able to make capitalism appealing and the GDP of the countries that accepted would grow by 25%
this is containment economically.
strengthened the fear of influence on both sides.
George Marshall would say that his policy is directed against poverty.
this would identify the parameters of the Cold War
this would also signify that the US would need to do all that it could in terms of policy to stay clear of the USSR

Question 9

CONTEXT- how did china develop?

Answer 9

moving from a monarchial imperial state to a proto-democratic republic.
The nationalist leader was jiang jeshi and he would be pro-americas
he would lead the nationalists 1949-48
America would provide aid to this side when it would be insufficient in 1949 when the PRC was created.
Taiwan- 1949-75

Communism will take over 1949-now
Mao Zedong would be the communist leader.
this will be a diplomatic failure of the Truman Doctrine.
the largest country and the most populous had become communist.
China will enter ww2 on the side of the USA though Russia will have greater control at Yalta.
Marshall would be unsuccessful in finding a resolution.
this would be seen to be a failure by many critics of Truman and republicans who would say that Truman would “lose” China, this would also exacerbate the claims that would be made by Senator McCarthy.

Question 10

US occupation of Japan

Answer 10

1945-52
US would claim that they had a choice between invading and dropping the bomb.
the atomic bombs would cause trauma and 100,000 people would die instantly.
relationship between the two countries would be tested, force Japan to surrender.

September 1945- Douglas mcauthur will take 350,000 troops to occupy Japan
Japan will be forbidden from having an army, navy or air force.
communists would be banned from government posts and war would be announced as an instrument of policy. though after the Chinese victory in 1949 a more wealthy Japan would be more desirable.
1947- there is a desire for rehabilitation in Japan and the US will want China to be a friend.

1952- the treaty of san fransico was signed an this would formally end the occupation of Japan.
Japan would make the US more involved in Asia.

Question 11

The US and their involvement in Indonesia-china

Answer 11

collapse of French empire in Indonesia-china (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) would lead to the first war. Ho Chi Minh was the communist leader of north Vietnam and would want communism and Vietnam to be free, he would fight using guerrilla warfare.

the US would not support this due to the communist leader, displaying that containment was only as far as communism.

viet Minh would Vietnam to be free and independent

August Revolution 1945- the communist Ho Chi Minh would establish the democratic republic.

1950- the US would commit to the side of the French, the side that will lose. the US would cover 78% of the costs of their fight, Truman would believe Ho Chi Minh to be a puppet of Stalin.

Question 12

American defence that was created 1947-49

Answer 12

1947
Department of defence
secretary of defence would oversee the air fore
CIA
investigate illegal activity both home and abroad and understand what will do America harm.
NSC
brings together all people that are concerned with the safety of America.
this will become more important.
it would increase its spending to $50 per year.
NATO-
1949
this would be international.

Question 13

America and the Korean War

Answer 13

1945 Korea was freed from Japan.
1948 would be divided among the 38th parallel.
1950 the north will capture the capital city of the south.

75% of the American people would approve of the decision to join the war, if the US did nothing there was a tangible fear of communism.
it was believed that Korea was like the Greece of the far east.
A UN army would be approved and this would include troops from 16 different countries.
1950- the UN troops would move into the north. this was allowed to take place due to the boycott of the USSR and China’s seat would be taken by nationalist- pro USA.
china will send 250,000 troops.
Mcauthur will choose to go past containment and will instead do a policy of roll-back.
he will threaten to use the atomic bomb and this will lead to him being sacked in 1951, many people felt that he was going too far. 1951 there would be a reach of stalemate
in 1953 Korea would end on the 38th parallel.
Truman would display that he was willing to use military defence though it would be futile war as there would be 138,000 US troops that would die and it would 14% of the GDP.
his approval rating would decrease to 22% when the final year of his presidency began due to the damage that the stalemate in Korea caused

Question 14

what does Korea expose?

Answer 14

the difficult relationship between east and west
USA is in the field of battle
USA faces problems when it is facing war.
Korea would establish that the Cold War was now military.

Question 15

Trumans character and policies

Answer 15

Truman is said to be a plain speaking southerner and his presidency would be characterised as him trying to continue the success of FDR. he would be inclined to lean on the advice of people of key people around him.

Question 16

the Yalta conference, why was it significant?

Answer 16

feburay 1945, Churchill Stalin Roosevelt
there were key agreements such as the splitting of Germany into four zones and free elections in liberated countries in Eastern Europe. Roosevelt would discuss the creation of the UN in order to promote world peace.
Poland would also be a key topic and it would be generally agreed that Poland should be able to become a free country, though the USSR would ignore these claims as they would create a communist Poland anyway.

Question 17

The Potsdam conference, why was it significant?

Answer 17

July-august 1945
Attlee, stalin and Truman
there would be plans to hold free elections in Poland though with the rising tensions this would be lightly agreed
though there would be agreements over the reparations of germans and the trials of Nazis.
though Truman would fail to alert Stalin to the use of the bomb, the nuclear age would become a reality.
this would be a personal success for Truman as he would seem to get on with heads of state and would be able to argue his case.

Question 18

why were the two conferences different?

Answer 18

the two conferences would have different tensions due to the scope of the agreements and by the time that Potsdam would take place the personnel had also changed. the bomb would cost $2 billion to produce and no one could be clear of the long term impacts of using the bomb.

Question 19

the Berlin airlift and why was it significant?

Answer 19

the western parts of Berlin in early 1948 would join together and create the deutmark, Stalin would view this as dollar imperialism and would on 25 March 1948 cut the allies out of the eastern bloc and would blame technical difficulties on the matter. Truman would respond with his commitment to the doctrine and but he would also display the wealth and military capacity that America had by supplying the needs of 2.5 million people by air and 1.5 million tons of supplies would be delivered over 275,000 flights. 12 May 1949 Stalin would lift the blockade and this would prove to have been one of Trumans most successful foreign policy moments he could justify the creation of NATO and the deployment of b-29 bombers.

Question 20

what was passed in 1947?

Answer 20

The National Security Act, would unify the navy, army and air force under the department of defence, this would also create the CIA and NSC

Question 21

why was Henry Wallace dismissed?

Answer 21

in 1946 he would make a speech that would go against the administration and their claim for anti-soviet policy

Question 22

what was the significance of the Kremlin growing their nuclear energy?

Answer 22

the USSR would reject the idea that the making of nuclear weapons would fall under the control of the UN and they would make plans to build a bomb which would come to fruition very quickly. the USSR would successfully test a bomb in 1949 and this would mean that the US would have to approve a document under the NSC68 which would stress that the US would need to expand their weaponry.

Question 23

what would be the UN’s most successful accomplishment during the Truman administration?

Answer 23

this would be the Korean War, there would be a multilateral effort to make sure that the invasion of south Korea would be stopped, the US would be able to provide a number of military men. though, this action was also made possible by the VETO of the USSR.