Cold War, 1950s, Early 1960s

1. Cold War, 1950s, Early 1960s

2. Competition between ideologies of US and Soviet Union Roots of the Cold War

3. Yalta and Potsdam • February 1945 – Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta • Plan to reorganize Europe after the war • Agree to form United Nations • Germany divided in occupation zones • Free elections in countries liberated from Germany Roots of the Cold War

4. Yalta and Potsdam • Truman and Stalin met 6 months later at Potsdam in Germany • Serious differences emerge between the two leaders Roots of the Cold War

5. Soviets saw threat from capitalist governments • Stalin greatly distrusted the West • Create wall of satellites countries as buffer against future invasions • No free elections in Poland • US refused to share secrets of atomic bomb • Soviet troops continue to occupy Eastern Europe • Trade and contact between east and west Europe cut off Cold War Begins

6. An Iron Curtain fell over Eastern Europe • Next 40 years, travel and communication between east and west remained limited • Eastern European nations became “satellites” of the Soviet Union Cold War Begins

7. US developed policy of containment • Don’t try to overturn already communist countries but stop it from spreading any further • Communist rebels in Greece and pressure on Turkey, Truman sent military aid • Was not going to appease like what happened in Munich with Hitler Containment

8. After WWII, Europe faced famine • Truman felt desperate people attracted to communism • Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed massive aid to rebuild countries • Strong allies and trading partners • Aid Germany and Italy instead of demanding reparations • Extremely successful – speeded economic recovery and western Europe and created goodwill • 1948-1952 – European economies grew at an unprecedented rate Marshall Plan, 1948

9. 1948 – France, Britain, and US combined occupation zones to West Germany • Berlin, capital of old Germany, in Soviet zone • Divided into 4 sectors, each occupied by different power • Soviets announced blockade of West Berlin Berlin Airlift, 1948

10. Western Allies began massive airlift to feed and supply city • Within one year, Stalin lifted blockade • US and Allies showed would not retreat when faced by aggressive behavior by the Soviet Union Berlin Airlift, 1948

11. US, Canada, and 10 western European nations create North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 • Collective security – each defend if other is attacked • US extended nuclear protection to Western Europe NATO and Warsaw Pact

12. Soviet Union created Warsaw Pact with Eastern European satellites in 1955 NATO and Warsaw Pact

13. Pros • Influence international policy • Protect American interest • Protect American security • Assist other countries • Cons • Potential loss of American sovereignty • Potential loss of American security Pros and Cons of being in international organizations and treaties

14. US never intervened in Eastern Europe • Soviet leaders suppressed anti-Communist riot in Hungary in 1956 • Erected Berlin Wall in 1961 to prevent East Germans from escaping to the West • Invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 to overthrow Czech reform government Behind the Iron Curtain

15. China falls to Communism – 1949 • Communists sought to overthrow Nationalists government since 1920s • Helped by Soviets after 1945 • Led by Mao Zedong • Defeated Nationalists in 1949 • Nationalists fled to Taiwan • Fall of China seen as crushing blow for US Containment in Asia

16. China falls to Communism – 1949 • Truman refused to extend diplomatic recognition to Communist government • US used veto power and refused to let Red China into the United Nations • Truman promised to protect nationalistic government on Taiwan from Communist attacks Containment in Asia

17. Many Americans felt the US didn’t do enough to prevent China from falling to Communism • Korea, a former Japanese colony was split in two after WWII • North Korea – Communist; South Korea – non-communist elected government The Korean War

18. 1950 – North invades South to unite under one Communist rule • Stalin felt Americans would not care enough to become involved • South Korean Army inefficient and unmotivated • Fled South as North attacked The Korean War

19. President Truman felt like Nazi aggression before WWII • Decided to oppose N. Koreans • US forces sent to South to resist invasion • Soviet Union had walked out of the UN in protest so US able to pass a resolution to send UN troops (mostly US soldiers) to South Korea • First time an international peace organization used military force to stop aggression The Korean War

20. General Douglas MacArthur sent to command Korean forces • Landed in Inchon in the middle • Surprised North and cut off their main forces • Second largest seaborne invasion in history • MacArthur attacked N. Korea, advancing to border between N. Korea and China The Korean War

21. Threat brought large Chinese army into the war, forcing MacArthur to retreat • MacArthur wanted to free China from communism, even if need to use atomic weapons • President Truman refused; MacArthur criticized Truman to a Congressman, who reported to the media • Truman relieved MacArthur of his command • Needed to assert civilian control of the military • Very unpopular at the time The Korean War

22. 1952 – Dwight Eisenhower elected President • Armistice signed between US and N. Korea in 1953 • Demilitarized zone between N and S Korea and a transfer of prisoners of war • …Exactly the same division as it was before the war The Korean War

23. 1959 – Cuba come under the power of Fidel Castro • Castro made agreements with SU and made Cuba pro-Soviet Communist nation Bay of Pigs

24. Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) • Eisenhower approved plan to overthrow Castro • Secretly trained Cuban exiles and send them to invade the island • Kennedy became president, let plan continue but no air power • Exiles landed 3 months after Kennedy took office but were quickly defeated • Embarrassing failure for Kennedy Bay of Pigs

25. Kennedy met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna • Meeting did not go well and Berlin Wall construction started few weeks after • In 1961, the Soviet backedthe East German government (GDR) began constructing a fence to halt the flow of human resources from the East to the West. • The Wall was a symbol of the division of East and West for the remainder of the Cold War until it was taken down in 1989. Berlin Wall

26. Bay of Pigs exiles to say acting independently but disobeyed orders • Castro and Khrushchev took steps to protect Cuba • 1962 – US spy planes found Cuba preparing silos for missiles and nuclear warheads • Soviet missiles could not hit US from Europe or Asia • Cuba only 90 miles from Florida… • How to stop without nuclear war? Cuban Missile Crisis

27. October 1962 – Kennedy formed committee to get out of crisis • Kennedy decided naval blockade on Cuba to prevent arrival of weapons • One Soviet ship stopped and boarded • Kennedy threatened to invade Cuba if missiles not withdrawn Cuban Missile Crisis

28. Closest world came to nuclear war • After several days, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw missiles if US agreed not to invade Cuba • Kennedy also agreed to remove missiles from Turkey • Afterwards, special hotline telephone set up • Agreed to ban further nuclear testing except for underground Cuban Missile Crisis

29. 1945 – US sole atomic power • 1949 – Soviet Union developed own bomb • Nuclear “arms race” begins! • 1952 – US develops hydrogen bomb • Much more powerful than atomic bomb • Soviets get one only a year later… Arms and Space Race

30. 1950s – nuclear weapons used for defense instead of large military force • Deterrent – SU as deterred from attacking US because US could destroy it with nuclear weapons • Cheaper than large military force • Most situations, nuclear weapons couldn’t be used… Arms and Space Race

31. Sputnik – 1957 • Nazi scientists made great strides in building rockets • Each Superpower began own missile program • SU launched first man-made satellite into space – Sputnik • Size of basketball, weighed 184 pounds, orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes with a radio transmitter that did little more than issue a beep to be tracked Arms and Space Race

32. Space race is on! • Fear SU would use missiles to send nuclear bombs to US • Americans felt they were falling behind • Federal government started new programs in science and education • Launched own first satellite in space in 1958 Arms and Space Race

33. House Un-American Activities Committee • Americans feared Communist menace in US • Truman ordered Loyalty Review Boards • Investigate “un-American” activities • Such as participating in the American Communist Party • Many accused with little or no evidence • Victims unable to defend selves or know who accused them • Violated constitutional rights Cold War at Home

34. House Un-American Activities Committee • Congress conducted loyalty checks through special House Un-American Activities Committee • Questioned actors, directors, writers, and others about possible Communist sympathies • Present or former members of Communist party “blacklisted” and lost jobs • Some like Alger Hiss were later persecuted for perjury • People who cooperated had to inform on others Cold War at Home

35. Rosenberg Trials • 1950 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg charged with selling secrets to SU about how to make atomic bomb • Found guilty and executed for spying • Many Americans doubted guilt • 1997 – Verona Papers showed messages sent to Soviet Union • Julius had spied for the SU • Some Soviet agents had penetrated American government, science, and industry during Cold War Cold War at Home

36. McCarthy Hearings • Fall of China caused fear of internal subversion • Senator Joseph McCarthy shocked Americans by claiming he knew names of hundreds of Communists who had infiltrated the government • 3 years of hearings never found any proof • Censured (formally criticized) by the Senate • McCarthyism – making harsh accusations without evidence Cold War at Home

37. Foreign policy given to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, devoted anti-Communist • 1957 – US send troops to any middle eastern nation that needed help fighting communism • Called Eisenhower Doctrine Eisenhower 1953-1960

38. 1950s time of recovery and growth • Special benefits for vets • Low mortgage rates • Educational grants • Interstate Highway Act (1956) – create system of federal highways • Defense spending remained high and middle class grew Eisenhower 1953-1960

39. Housing Boom • Time of high birth rates – “baby boom” • GI Bill • Cheaper, mass produced homes • Home ownership increased 5% • Middle class families > suburbs; declining urban tax base and decaying inner cities Eisenhower 1953-1960

40. Provided federal aid to help veterans adjust to civilian life in: • Unemployment pay (up to 52 weeks at $20/wk. – less than 20% of funds set aside for this were used) • Purchase of homes, farms, & businesses – zero down, low interest (2.4 million loans 1944-1952) • Education • Subsidized tuition, fees, books, educational materials, & living expenses while attending college or other training institutions • 7.8 of 16 million veterans used this 1944-1956 • In 1947, 49% of college admissions were for veterans of WWII Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944

41. Economic Prosperity • Demand for consumer goods at all-time high • Millions of autos and tvs sold • Refrigerators and appliances became widespread • GDP doubled between 1945-1950 and dominated world trade Eisenhower 1953-1960

42. Conformity • Greater emphasis • Unusual ideas regarded with suspicion • Fear of Communism led to dislike of non-conformist attitudes Eisenhower 1953-1960

43. Success of antibiotics • 1953 – Jonas Salk • First polio vaccine • Streptomycin – first antibiotic to treat tuberculosis • Measles vaccine • First heart transplant Advances in Medicine

44. The Beat Generation • Rebelled against conformity of era • Young writers in New York and then San Francisco • Care-free, often reckless, and fresh approach to literature • Founders: Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac • Howlby Ginsberg for seized for obscenity Music and Culture

45. The Beat Generation • Experimented with sexuality and drugs • “Beatnik” – Artistic lifestyle with men in beards, berets, and sandals and young women in leotards • Recited poetry and discussed European philosophy • Early form of counter-culture Music and Culture

46. Rock and Roll – a form of popular music that evolved in the 1950's from rhythm and blues, characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics • Artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley Music and Culture