The Close of World War II• As World War II
approached the end, the US, British, and Soviets could not resolve the issue of freedom for Europeans.
• As a result, the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences tried to solve some of the postwar issues.
Yalta Conference•FDR, Stalin, Churchill•Poland
▫FDR and Churchill: Free elections▫Stalin: Matter of “life and death” for
friendly gov’t▫Agree to let Soviets set up gov’t
•Liberated Europe▫Right all of people to decide the form of
gov’t▫Democratic elections with no Nazism or
Fascism
Yalta Conference (continued)•Germany
▫Divided into four zones (US, Britain, France, USSR)
▫Berlin split into four zones even though it is in USSR zone
The Cold War Begins•Soviets in Poland: no free elections and
only 3 non-Communist Poles in 18-member Polish gov’t
•Germany▫Soviets want Germany to pay heavy
reparations; also want them weak and countries in between communist and under control
▫US have reparations of goods and keep it based off what Germany can afford to pay
Potsdam Conference• US-Soviet standoff over Germany
▫Truman: Economy key; no heavy reparations
▫Stalin: Heavy reparations▫Ultimately, Stalin accepts the terms
• Other issues▫Soviets refused to back down on
Communist governments in Eastern Europe (satellite nations)
▫Iron Curtain: Communist nations of Eastern Europe
Long Telegram•George Kennan’s Long Telegram
explained his view of the Soviets▫Insecurity, fear of West, no
permanent deals due to struggle with capitalism, continuing to acquire land
▫Use long-term containment policies Keep communism within its
present territory Keep them from expanding power,
the system would fail completely
Iran: Kennan’s ideas proved right•Soviets refuse to remove
troops from Northern Iran, push for oil and Communist government
•US tells Soviets to withdraw forces, sends USS Missouri into Mediterranean Sea
•Soviets withdraw
Truman Doctrine•Stop Communist
advances around the world
•Used in many places, including Turkey and Greece
Europe’s Economic Woes
Marshall Plan• Sec. of State George
Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program, which gives aid to Europe to rebuild economies▫Western European
countries accepted plan and economies recovered
▫Ultimately, this weakened the appeal for communism
Berlin Airlift• Dispute of Germany continues,
so US, France, and Britain merge into one (West Germany)▫Soviets realize they will never
get the reparations they want, so they cut all traffic to West Berlin off
▫Goal: Make US reconsider decision
▫US Response: Truman sends supplies to Berlin until Stalin lifts blockade
Review from Friday•What did it feel like
to be pointed out as a “red” in society?
•How can a simple label change the path of your life in society?
“Is This Tomorrow” was a comic book that talked about the dangers
of a communist takeover.
The Red ScareMcCarthyism
Red Scare•Rumors of Communists in the US and
Communists in government lead to fears that Communism is trying to take over the world
•Igor Gouzenko Story▫Ottawa’s Soviet Embassy▫Documents showing effort toget into US/Canada governments▫Reason: A-bomb info
What it all meant•Did spies infiltrate
America’s government?
•Fear of Communist subversion began▫Subversion: effort to
weaken a society secretly and overthrow its government
A quick poll•Raise your hand if you’ve read any book
by George Orwell, such as Animal Farm or 1984
•Raise your hand if you have ever traveled to Europe
•Raise your hand if you have ever seen either the movie Apocalypse Now or A Clockwork Orange
The Loyalty Review Program•Screened all federal employees
▫Result: Public believed this confirmed that Communism had gotten inside the US Gov’t
•Who got screened?▫More than 6 million workers▫Suspects picked by reading books,
belonging to a group, traveling overseas, seeing particular movies
▫2,000 workers quit, 212 fired
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)•J. Edgar Hoover wanted this committee
expanded to stop Communist growth in US▫Expose both Communists and symphathizers
•Film Industry▫Worried that it will manipulate people▫Reagan testified and said there were
Communists in Hollywood▫“Blacklisting”: Refusal to hire anyone who was a
Communist, believed to be one, or refused to cooperate with HUAC
Red Channels•151 actors, directors,
broadcasters, and screenwriters listed in this book▫Leonard Bernstein▫Orson Welles
•Ultimately, they found it near impossible to find work
Review•What was the Loyalty Review Program?
HUAC? Red Channels?
•What were some of the things the government looked into as they search for Communists?
The Hiss Saga• Whittaker Chambers: Editor of
TIME, Former Communist Party Member▫HUAC Testimony: Government
has Communists in it, including Alger Hiss
▫Alger Hiss, who was active in Roosevelt and Truman administrations denied accusations and sued Chambers
▫Ultimately, the “pumpkin papers” led to Hiss being charged with perjury
Red Scare Continues to Grow•The Soviets created their own version of the atomic
bomb, which caused more concern and fear among U.S. citizens.▫HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?▫WAS IT A SPY?
•The case of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg▫Accused of selling secrets to the Soviets on how to
make an atomic bomb▫Convicted and executed for their acts
Other Results of the Scare•Univ. of California: Loyalty
oaths of all faculty members
•Taft-Hartley Act: Union leaders must take oaths they were not communists
•US prepares for nuclear war▫Fallout Shelters▫“Duck and Cover”
Joseph McCarthy•1950, after the Hiss conviction, McCarthy makes
a speech saying that he has a list of 205 State Department members who were Communists▫Never released his list▫Continued to make charges▫Helped him gain attention
•“The Party of Betrayal”▫Booklet accusing Democratic Party members of
being corrupt and protecting Communists
McCarran Act• Internal Security Act fought
Communism ▫ Required all Communist Party and
Communist organizations to register with US attorney general.
▫ Required the groups to publish records
▫ Denied Communists passports to travel abroad
▫ Arrested and detained Communists and sympathizers in national emergency
• Vetoed by Truman, overridden by Congress
McCarthyism• McCarthy becomes chairman of Senate
subcommittee on investigations▫ Forces testimony about alleged
Communist ties▫ Essentially a witch hunt
• McCarthyism: tactic of damaging reputations with vague and unfounded charges▫ Press followed him and wrote about his
actions▫ McCarthy would badger witnesses▫ Few challenge him (Why do you think
this is?)
McCarthy’s Downfall•McCarthy decided to focus on military
•Army-McCarthy hearings▫Challenged military officers▫Lost public support
•McCarthy challenged lawyer for Army who had a young member that used to be in a Communist organization▫Welch challenged him and asked “have you left
no sense of decency?”
The End of McCarthy• Censured by Senate in
1954▫Formal disapproval of
actions▫One of biggest
punishments that can be given to a member of Senate
• Lost all influence in Senate and public
• Died in 1957
RECAPLoyalty Review ProgramHUACMcCarthyism
Cold War Continues…•Truman opts to not run for reelection
▫Eisenhower v. Stevenson
•Eisenhower, a war hero, wins easily▫Cuts defense budget, makes military smaller▫Why? More money to make nukes (increased
from 1,000 in 1953 to 18,000 in 1961)
•Massive Retaliation▫Threaten to use nuclear weapons to prevent war
from happening
Sided Discussion
In your notes, make a “T Chart” outlining the pros and cons of the idea massive
retaliation
Brinkmanship• Willingness to
go to brink of war to force other side to back down
• What many critics called Eisenhower’s “massive retaliation” plans
Korean War Ends• Eisenhower goes to Korea, threatens to continue
war “under circumstances of our own choosing”▫Threat of nuclear war?▫Worked…negotiators created “Demilitarized Zone”
or DMZ separating North and South
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