The Postdam Conference-**MAJOR ISSUE AT POTSDAM:

German Reparations!

The U.S. did not wanted reparations because they felt the German economy

needed to recover

The USSR wanted Germany to pay war damages!

CompromiseThe USSR was allowed to collect reparations from the territories in

their zone of occupation.

-Stalin also backed out of the Declaration of a Liberated Europe pledgeThe presence of the Soviet army led Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia to establish communist governments.

**SATELLITE NATIONSthe communist nations of Eastern Europe that had their own governments but had to follow Soviet policies!

Containing CommunismStalin’s refusal to live up to his promises led Truman to take a new stance

on the Soviet Union.

**Containment the strategy of keeping communism within its

present territory through diplomatic, economic, and military

actions.

Truman’s First Strike

**Truman Doctrine (1947) $400 million project to fight Soviet agression in Greece

and Turkey. This became the first pledge of the U.S. to stop communism in the world!

**President Truman felt the Truman

Doctrine was essential to carrying out containment!

Further U.S. attempts to Crush Communism-Truman wanted to convince European nations that communism was a flawed system

by showing the wonderful rewards that came from democratic governments and capitalistic economies!

**Secretary of State George C. Mashall proposed the……

**Marshall Plan the plan was an effort to fight hunger, poverty, and

chaos throughout the world by giving European nations aid to rebuild

The Marshall Plan gave billions of dollars in supplies, machinery, and food to Western Europe, which lessened the

appeal of communism!

Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union get NastyThe first U.S./Soviet showdown would take place in the German capital of

Berlin

-In 1948 the U.S. allowed the Germans in their zones of

occupation to have their own nation called West Germany. It

had an economy separate from the Soviet zone which became known

as East Germany.

**Soviet Response to West Germany?? In June ’48 soviet troops blockaded West Berlin hoping to force the U.S. to give up West Berlin. Stalin hoped to starve citizens of West Berlin until

the U.S. gave into his demands.

The Berlin AirliftTruman’s response to the Soviet

Blockade of West Berlin??

**Berlin Airlift for 11 months, cargo planes supplied Berliners with

food, medicine, and coal by flying over Russian troops and dropping

supplies to the ground with parachutes.

**The Berlin Airlift was important because it provided humanitarian aid to West Germans

and showed a strong U.S. stance against communist aggression!

The Fallout of the Berlin AirliftWith the threat of war still very present the American and Soviet

Governments set up military alliances in Europe.

**NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) a mutual defense system for Western Europe. Member nations agreed to come to the aid of any member who was attacked.

Joseph Stalin’s response to this alliance against Communism????

**Warsaw Pact A military alliance of the communist nations of Eastern

Europe.

The Cold War Spreads to AsiaIn early 1950 the People’s Republic of China (a communist nation) signed a

treaty of friendship and alliance with the Soviet Union. **China’s Communist Leader, Moa Zedong, became a leading spokesman for communism and

Joseph Stalin.

-Once the United States lost China as its main ally in Asia it began to pump

billions of dollars into Japan’s economy. The

U.S saw Japan as its key to defending Asia from

the spread of communism.

The Second Showdown between the Soviet Union and the U.S. would play out on a

tiny Pacific peninsular in Asia……..KOREA!

The Korean War (1950-1953)

-June 25, 1950…..backed with its Soviet trained army, North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel invading the South!

-Truman asked the UN to act against the Communist invasion

of South Korea to show a unified stance to the USSR and

China.

**THE KOREAN WAR PITTED North Korea and

China against the UNITED NATIONS!

At the end of WWII, US and Soviet forces were both stationed in Korea. **The Allies divided Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude. The USSR set up a communist government in

the North, while the Americans supported a democratic govt in the South.

UN forces quickly managed to push North Korean troops back

across the 38th parallel.

Bringing an End to the Korean War

By 1951 the war had reached a stalemate and Harry Truman deciding not to run for re-election in 1952.

-Dwight Eisenhower, republican, was elected President in ’52. Eisenhower threatened China with nuclear warfare if they did not sit down at the negotiation table!

North and South Korea maintained control of their governments…BUT…the 38th parallel was made a *Demilitarized Zonearea where no military fighting was prohibited. UN forces were put in patrol of this region.

The Hysteria at HomeThe New Red Scare

-In 1950 the Soviet Union produced their first atomic

bomb. **By 1957 the USSR had launched the first

satellite into orbit called SPUTNIK

-**Julius and Ethel were U.S. citizens and members of the communist party. They were arrested for passing along atomic secrets to the Soviets. Although

many believed they were innocent they were executed in June 1953 for treason (hmmm…sound like Sacco and Vanzetti??)

The Hysteria at HomeThe New Red ScareAn American politician looked to make a name for

himself by taking advantage of the country’s communist fear!

Joseph McCarthy, a Senator from Wisconsin, made a speech in West Virginia claiming he had a list of

over 205 communist working in the U.S. State Department.

McCarthy accused leaders of the Democratic Party of protecting Communists and even claimed

President Truman was working for the communists.

ESSAY????: Describe the tactics of Joseph McCarthy and explain why few challenged him.

McCarthy used his power in Congress to accuse government officials of communist activity

He turned his investigation into a witch hunt, insinuating disloyalty to the U.S. based on flimsy evidence. He destroyed reputations with vague and unproven charges. McCarthy’s claims that people working inside the government got him a great deal of media attention and because the public was also scared of a communist takeover in the U.S. they believed everything the Senator told them.

Even though many people knew his claims were false they were afraid to stand up to McCarthy because he had the power to destroy their reputation in the media as well.

By 1955 most of McCarthy’s accusations were proven false and his witch hunt came to an end…unfortunately so did many careers as a result of his malicious

claims!

Crisis in CubaFidel Castro, Cuba’s communist dictator, had struck up an alliance with Soviet leader Nakita Khrushchev, in the late 1950s. Before

leaving office President Eisenhower ordered the CIA to secretly train and arm Cuban exiles to launch an invasion of Cuba.

Bay of Pigs-Kennedy was assured by *CIA Director John McCone that the invasion would go off without

U.S. forces having to get directly involved. Kennedy only agreed to the invasion of Cuba based upon CIA assurance that he

would not have to order U.S. military forces onto the scene.

April 17, 19611,400 armed Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba and found themselves pinned down by Castro’s forces on the shores. They were

trapped……Kennedy had a decision to make.

Crisis in CubaKennedy had been given a boat load of bad information by the CIA. Castro was more

than ready for the attack and now the only chance those exiles had for survival was President Kennedy’s decision to use the U.S. Air Force.

The Decision? Kennedy halted air strikes on Cuba. This allowed Castro’s forces to

capture the exiles, exposed U.S. involvement, and brought a lot

of hostile backlash for Kennedy.

-The first major foreign relations issue was a disaster. Kennedy was being criticized by other nations for his actions and criticized at home for not being aggressive enough. Despite the fault being on the CIA for misinforming the President, Kennedy took full blame and did not fire JOHN MCCONE!

Crisis with the USSR!Having a country 80 miles off the coast of the U.S. with ties to the Soviet Union had Americans

terrified. In Early 1962 peace talks over Germany broke down between Kennedy and Khrushchev. The Soviets constructed a wall through Berlin that divided the city in two for the

next 30 years!….THE WORST WAS YET TO COME…..

Summer of 1962*The CIA discovered that Soviet technicians and equipment had

arrived in Cuba and construction was in the process.

*CIA photos proved that the Soviets had placed long-range missiles in Cuba. The Soviet

ICBMs discovered in Cuba could hit U.S. cities as far away as

Seattle, Washington!

The Cuban Missile Crisis—”The Thirteen Days”

News of the missiles in Cuba quickly hit the papers leading to nuclear holocaust hysteria across the country. Kennedy and his cabinet were frightened but realized immediate action was

necessary. The nearly 2 weeks of “chicken” played between the U.S. and the Soviet Union is the closest this nation has ever come to nuclear war….it became known as the CUBAN MISSILE

CRISIS!**Kennedy’s Initial Solution

A Quarantine of Cuba….all ships leaving or entering Cuba would be stopped and searched by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Soviet Union sent a number of

cargo ships en route to Cuba….it appeared a

showdown would be coming and nuclear war to follow…the

nation held its breath.Khrushchev ordered the ships to stand down and did not try to run the blockade.