USA- Truman (Foreign Policy)

Question 1

What is the Domino theory?

Answer 1

If one country falls to communism it will spread to its neighbours

Question 2

What is the policy of containment?

Answer 2

Stopping the spread of communism

Question 3

What is the Truman Doctrine?

Answer 3

The US would come to the military defence of any country threatened by communism

Question 4

What was the Marshall plan?

Answer 4

Approved and offered to all European countries, including those who were communist financial aid to rebuild the shattered economies

Question 5

What is the significance of the Marshall plan?

Answer 5

Help seal the divisions of Europe.
In response to American aid to Western Europe the USSR tightened hold over Eastern Europe.

Question 6

How did the Soviet tighten hold over Eastern Europe?

Answer 6

-established full communist party domination
-ordered the West European communist parties to do all they called to bring down their national governments

Question 7

What was the Berlin blockade?

Answer 7

1948 Stalin took the opportunity to cut the allies out of the Eastern block by blocking Berlin on technical difficulties as a reason for shutting down routes to into the city.

-Any attempt to enter Berlin on the ground with involve US troops invading east Germany in Stalin was sure Truman would not risk this

Question 8

How did Truman respond to the Berlin blockade?

Answer 8

-1.5 million tons of supplies
-275,000 flights to be flown into Berlin over the next 324 days.
-Flights every 90 seconds
-Basics flown in along with extras
-Candy bomber
-A goat as a mascott

Question 9

How did Stalin respond to the flights to Berlin?

Answer 9

The only way Stalin could stop the alert was by attacking the planes directly so May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade.

Question 10

How did Berlin Airlifts help the USA

Answer 10

It was Truman‘s finest hour.
-Won both moral and the propaganda victory.
-Justified the creation of NATO and deployment of B-29 bombers.
-The Truman doctrine as basis of US foreign policy.
-Demonstrated western economic strength
-Humiliated the soviets
-Hurt Soviets financially

Question 11

What was the significance of the Marshall plan?

Answer 11

Put industrial production at a high growth of 35% investment in Europe.

Question 12

How did NATO lead to tensions

Answer 12

-Made the iron curtain a reality and completed the divisions of west and eastern europe.
-Soviets retaliated by creating the Warsaw pact (military defence for soviet bloc)

Question 13

How much did the US give to China for support

Answer 13

$2 billion

Question 14

What happened in the Fall of China

Answer 14

-Chiang kai shek lost his supporters to Mao Zedong communist
-Communist forces defeated the nationalist

Question 15

What was the result of the fall of China?

Answer 15

-Republicans blamed the democrats for the loss

Question 16

What was the US involvement in Indo-China

Answer 16

Ho Chi Minh thought that Truman would support Vietnamese independence but instead the backed the French
-They covered 78% of the cost of the French involvement

Question 17

Why was Truman being hypocritical with Ho Chi Minh

Answer 17

The US had gained independence from the British Empire and now refused to support vietnams (a lack of democracy)
- Truman claimed that Ho chi minh was a puppet for stalin

Question 18

What were the failures of the Korean War

Answer 18

-US failed to reunite Korea
Cost of war:
-138,000 killed or injured
-Cost 14% of the US GDP in the final year
-Korean war ended in a stalemate on going to Ike.

Question 19

Significance of Korean War

Answer 19

-Bittered Chinese-American relations
-Intensified American anti communist hysteria

Question 20

What was the Korean war also called?

Answer 20

Truman’s war. The war became unpopular and rendered him powerless to control congress.

Question 21

Reason Truman entered the Korean war

Answer 21

Partly because he feared the Republicans attacks for ‘losing Korea’ as he was anxious about the congressional mid-term elections