Incresing Cold War Tensions Flashcards
1
Q
What was the Alger Hiss Affair?
A
- in 1948, he was accused by a journalist of being a member of the communist party
- when hiss was finally convicted of perjury in January 1950, his friend, D.Acheson still publicly offered him his support
- this only served to heighten belief in the notion that the USA leaders were somehow tainted with communism
2
Q
What was the House Of Un-American Actives committee?
A
- founded in 1938
- supposed to investigate communist infiltration
- people came to believe communist infiltration into the very core of US society existed, and therefore feared it
- those brought before the committee were often perfectly innocent but served as sacrificial victims that fed public paranoia
- film industry became a particular target
3
Q
How did this damage Truman’s reputation?
A
- accused of being too soft on communism
- blamed for the loss of China
4
Q
Who was Joseph McCarthy?
A
- republican senator from Wisconsin
- ruthlessly exploited and fermented the anti communist anxieties
- in 1954 he was discredited after he accused the US army of being too soft on communism
-his reign of terror never resulted in even one government being uncovered as a communist
5
Q
What did McCarthy claim was happening in the US?
A
- promoted the idea that there was an army of communist conspirators working within the US government, influencing its policy
-he targeted the film industry, the Democratic Party and universities
6
Q
Who was another significant figure during the McCarthy years?
A
- head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover
- hoover often referred to teachers as “Reducators” - a reference to the “Reds” (communists)
- hoover spouted his rhetoric that such people threatened American way of life and customs
7
Q
Why did McCarthy attack the UN?
A
- claimed they favoured left wing and liberal causes
8
Q
What claim did McCarthy make in 1954?
A
- that the Reds had infiltrated the US army
- a legal defence by army counsel Joseph N. Welch finally destroyed McCarthy
- by December - McCarthy was completely discredited
9
Q
What influence did McCarthyism have?
A
- McCarthyism emphasises the urgency of moving US policy away from Eurocentric focus and towards policies with a more determined “Asia first” viewpoint
- argued that containment had consolidate the West’s position in Europe but Asia was much less secure
- the prioritisation was especially urgent due the creation of a new communist monolithic state in china in 1949 and the alliance of mutual cooperation formed between china and the USSR
- McCarthy feared that Truman’s apparent indifference to the spread of communism in Asia may become an element of USA’s Asia policy
- his anti communist rhetoric coincided with the fact that Truman was reluctant to support Jiang Jieshi in the face of growing communist power during the Chinese Civil war
- also argued that Korean War would’ve never happened if Truman supported Chinese nationalists against mao (Truman had tried to resolve the Chinese civil war by bringing the communists and nationalists together rather than through aiding the nationalists against the communists)
10
Q
What influence did McCarthyism have in Britain?
A
- by the early 1950s, Britain was becoming increasingly concerned about what it saw as the USA’s more aggressive Cold War thinking
- for example, Britain was concerned that the USA’s aggressive stance over Korea might lead to the USSR destabilising Europe while the international community was focused on Asia (disliked the Asia first policy)
- necessitated increased defence spending
- the globalisation of the USA’s role was not what Britain saw as being in its interest - but Britain aimed to remain a close ally of the US
- As such,Britain made a significant military contribution to the allied war effort in Korea
11
Q
When did the United Nations come into being?
A
- October 1945
12
Q
What was the nature of the United Nations?
A
- headquarters in New York
- composition of membership did not reflect the emergence of two ideologically divided strategic power blocs in international relations
- 20 members of the 50 original members were dawn from capitalist central and South American states
- members from the Middle East were also pro western, included Iran, Iraq and Egypt - and therefore the USA’s natural allies
13
Q
When did the process of decolonisation begin?
A
- mid 1950s
14
Q
What were the consequences of decolonisation for the US in the UN?
A
- this limited the number of potential new member and it ensured that the USA had the support of these states because their imperial European masters were allies if the USA
- the absence of newly colonised states removed any possibility of them functioning as non-aligned or pro Soviet states in the UN - served to protect the USA’s dominance over the UN
15
Q
How else was the USA’s dominance in the UN amplified?
A
- when the USA insisted that mainland china, a communist state from 1949, could not take chinas seat in the UN
- this was to remain occupied by the nationalist regime based in Taiwan - a potential challenge to US dominance was excluded on the grounds that the PRC had been an aggressor during the civil war and used force to establish its regime, which disqualified it from UN membership
16
Q
Who was the only Eastern European state to join the UN?
A
- Poland in 1945, one of the few allies the USSR had in the UN
- clearly - composition of UN membership favoured the West + US interests
17
Q
Who was the executive decision making arm of the UN?
A
- The security council - which consisted of 5 permanent members : USA, Britain, France, China + USSR
- this structure further enhanced the power of the USA in the UN although the power of veto did enable any one member to block UN intervention, which served to control US power
- between 1946-55, the pattern of use of the veto was:
- china = 1
- France = 2
- Britain = 0
- USSR = 75
18
Q
Why was the UN an advantage to the US?
A
- because the USA saw it as an opportunity to use the UN as a vehicle for intervention on a global scale - in order to enhance its foreign policy aims
- however the use of Veto weakened US influence in the UN
19
Q
What did the UN do during the Korean War?
A
- at the request of the USA+ in absence of the USSR, the security council met and passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and the return of northern forces to North Korea
20
Q
What country recognised Mao’s regime in 1950?
A
- Britain
21
Q
Why was the alliance between china and the USSR alarming for the US?
A
- the most alarming element of the alliance was the commitment to mutual security guarantees to combat any aggression from japan or “any other state that may collaborate with japan in any way in acts of aggression”
- alliance appeared to consolidate communist control, military and political in the region - therefor reinforcing the USA’s need to develop its own power base in that part of the world
- japan therefore became crucial
22
Q
How did Stalin view the alliance between the USSR and china?
A
- aimed to reduce the influence of China - did not aim to open up wider international opportunities for china
- the consolidated the USSR’s control in the far east + strengthened the USSR’S power as a Cold War protagonist, forcing the US to review its policies towards Asia + was an advantage for Stalin because pressure of the Cold War in Europe was reduced
23
Q
How did the Korean War reinforce china’s isolation?
A
- Stalin’s refusal to commit soviet troops but his willingness to see Chinese troops involved served to weaken chinas international status
24
Q
What did Acheson’s defensive perimeter strategy not outline?
A
- did not include the USA’s commitment to defending Taiwan + Korea - SK invasion by NK undermined this plan
25
