LECTURE #21: ORIGINS OF THE

COLD WAR & 1950s AMERICA

(1945-1961)

Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JDAdvanced Placement United States

History,School for Advanced Studies

The Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference was the first conference where Truman met Stalin and British Prime Minister Clement Atlee. Unlike FDR, Truman lacked a personal relationship with Stalin or Atlee’s predecessor, Winston Churchill, which led to the U.S. being somewhat handicapped in its diplomacy.

The Potsdam Conference Truman and Stalin discussed the future of

Eastern Europe at the conference and they decided the following: Trials would be held against former Nazi

Leaders for war crimes. The revelation of the atomic bomb.

Truman expressed the view that he wanted free elections to occur in Eastern Europe., but Stalin expressed the view that these countries should serve as satellite countries which could serve as a buffer to potential invasions of the Soviet Union.

The Iron Curtain During 1946 and 1947, the Soviet Union tightened its

hold on Eastern Europe (Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany). Promised elections in Europe didn’t actually take place for two years. In some cases, communists backed by Stalin forced non-communists who had been freely elected out of office.

In march 1946, Winston Churchill made a speech at a college in Fulton, Missouri, where he noted that the Soviet Union had established an “iron curtain” that divided the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites from Western Europe.

Many political scholars, like George F. Kennan, argued that the U.S. needed to form a long range and long term containment policy to stop communism. He believed if communism was contained, it would eventually crumble under its own weight. Kennan’s policy would become the driving philosophy for the U.S. Government for the next 45 years.

The Iron Curtain The Soviets desperately desired to control the

Dardanelles Straits so it could allow Soviet ships to go from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

In February 1947, the British stated that they could no longer financially support the Turkish and Greek governments and they suggested that the United States steps in.

In March of 1947, Truman announced the “Truman Doctrine,” which stated that it was that it was the duty of the U.S. to assist all democratic nations of the world who resisted communism.

Congress authorized $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey.

The Marshall Plan

Most Americans applauded Truman’s decision to help countries resisting communism. However, several observers stated that Hitler was able to rise to power because of the lack of stability in both the German government and economy in the era following WWI.

To prevent such a situation from happening again, George Marshall, in 1947, outlined an extensive program of U.S. economic aid to help the nations of Europe revive their economies and also strengthen democratic governments.

The Marshall Plan By the terms of the Marshall Plan, the United

States provided nearly $12 billion in economic aid to help rebuild Europe.

Seventeen Western European nations received aid under the Marshall Plan; several of them became valuable trading partners of the U.S. in the early part of the 1950s.

The Soviet Union was invited to apply for aid from the Marshall Plan, but he refused and ordered the Soviet satellite countries to do the same.

The Berlin Airlift

The first major crisis of the Cold War focused on Berlin. In 1948, the Soviets cut off all access by land to the German city.

Truman dismissed any plans to withdraw from Berlin, but he also rejected any idea of using force to open up the roads through the Soviet-controlled eastern zone.

Instead, Truman ordered U.S. planes to fly in supplies to the people of West Berlin. Day after day, week after week, the massive airlift continued.

The Berlin Airlift

At the same time, Truman sent 60 bombers, capable of carrying atomic bombs to bases in England.

The world waited nervously for the outbreak of war, but Stalin decided not challenge the airlift. By early 1949, the Soviets finally opened up the highways to Berlin, thus bringing their 11 month blockade to an end.

A major consequence of the Berlin crisis was the division of Germany into two separate countries (West Germany and East Germany).

The Election of 1948

Truman’s popularity was at a low point as the 1948 Presidential election started. Republicans were confident of victory.

Liberal Democrats thought Truman’s aggressive foreign policy threaten world peace. They formed a new Progressive Party headed by for former Vice President Henry Wallace.

Southern Democrats also abandoned Truman over his support for civil rights. These Democrats formed the Dixiecrats and nominated Strom Thurmond to lead the party.

Republicans once again nominated New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Dewey looked so much like he would be the winner that he conducted an overly cautious and unexciting campaign.

The Election of 1948

In contrast, Truman campaigned hard by touring the nation attacking the “do-nothing” Republican Eightieth Congress.

Surprisingly, Truman emerges victorious with 303 electoral votes (24,179,347 popular votes) to Dewey’s 189 electoral votes (21,991,292 popular votes) and Thurmond’s 39 electoral votes (1,175,930 popular votes).

Truman confounded the polling experts, who all predicted a Dewey victory.

The Fair Deal Fresh from victory, Truman launched an

ambitious reform program, which he called the Fair Deal. In 1949, he urged Congress to enact national health care insurance, federal aid to education, civil rights legislation, funds for public housing, and a new farm program.

Conservatives in Congress managed to block most of the proposed reforms, except for an increase in the minimum wage and the inclusion of more workers under Social Security.

Most of the Fair Deal bills were defeated for two reasons: Truman’s political conflicts with Congress The pressing foreign policy concerns of the

Cold war. Nevertheless, the liberals defenders of Truman

give him credit for at least maintain the New Deal reforms of FDR and making civil rights part of the liberal agenda.

Heating Up The Cold War In 1949, two events occurred that rocked American

postwar confidence. In September, the Soviets announced that they

exploded an atomic bomb. The potential threat of nuclear annihilation was an underlying fear for many Americans throughout the 1950s.

Truman authorized the creation of the hydrogen bomb, which was more powerful than the atomic bomb.

The second event that shocked the nation was the fall of the Nationalist Chinese forces, led by general Chiang Kai-shek, to the Communist forces, led by Mao Tse-tung.

Mao establishes the Peoples’ Republic of China after capturing Beijing.

Nationalist forces were forced to flee to Formosa (Taiwan). Despite this, the question of “Who lost China” would be repeatedly used to attack Truman and the Democrats for the next ten years.

The Korean War

After WWII, Korea was divided into a communist North Korea and a democratic South Korea a long the 38th Parallel.

In 1950, the North invaded South Korea. The UN Security Council voted to send in a peacekeeping force. Douglas MacArthur is appointed to lead the UN troops.

The Korean War U.N. forces under McArthur drove northward

into North Korea. In late November, forces from communist China forced MacArthur’s troops to retreat. By 1951, his troops were on the offensive again.

MacArthur was very critical of Truman’s handling of the War, demanding a greatly intensified bombing campaign and suggesting that Truman order the Nationalists Chinese to attack mainland China.

In April of 1951, Truman fires MacArthur for insubordination.

Armistice talks to end the war dragged on for nearly two years. In the end, it was decided to divided North and South Korea back at the 38th Parallel.

More than 57,000 Americans died in this war.

Rise of McCarthyism

From 1949 to 1950, many Americans felt a sense that the tides of the Cold War were somehow shifting over in favor of the Soviet Union. There became a fear that the Soviets were receiving help from within the U.S.

The trials of Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs indicated to many Americans that there just might be a communist spies infiltrating America.

Rise of McCarthyism Alger Hiss, a former official in the state

department and an advisor to FDR, was called out as a communist. He was convicted of perjury and spent four years in jail.

In 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were charged with passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. They were found guilty of espionage in 1952 and executed.

As a result, there was a tremendous effort to rid the U.S. of a perceived internal communist menace.

Many idealists dabbled in communism in the 1930s. This dabbling would come back to haunt them.

The Truman administration began to jail the leaders of the American Communist Party under the 1940 Smith Act, which made it illegal to advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government by force.

Rise of McCarthyism Loyalty Review Boards were created to

determined who in the government were sympathetic to communism. These boards did not just hound people who were suspected of being communists, but they also hounded federal workers who were homosexuals.

While Truman was investigating the executive branch, Congress formed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to investigate the government and entertainment industry.

Many actors were black listed as a result of HUAC’s investigations.

Seeing an inability to decisively defeat communism abroad and at home led to the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.

In a speech in West Virginia, on February 9, 1950, McCarthy announced that he had the names of “205” known communists working in the State Department.

Rise of McCarthyism From his speech McCarthy led a campaign to

ruthlessly search for communists in the government, largely with little to no evidence.

For four years, McCarthy reigned supreme in Washington, with few in power or in the news media being willing to challenge him. The Republican Party reluctantly embraced McCarthyism, but they saw it as an election winner against Truman and the Democrats.

In 1954, McCarthy would accused the U.S. Military to be full of communists. He ran into opposition from President Eisenhower who was a former general. At this point, even Eisenhower felt it was time for McCarthy to be stopped.

The Election of 1952

In 1952, the last year of Truman’s presidency, Americans were looking for relief from the Korean War and an end to political scandals.

The Republicans, having been out of power for 20 years, were looking forward to a chance to regain the Whitehouse.

In the Republican primary, voters had the choice between Senator Robert Taft and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ultimately, the Republicans settled on Dwight Eisenhower. But appease conservatives, Eisenhower was persuaded to accept a young senator, Richard M. Nixon, as his running mate. Later, Nixon would almost be dropped from the ticket due to a minor scandal. However, he gave the “Checkers” speech, which saved his career.

The Election of 1952

The Democrats nominate Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson who made a name for himself in facing down McCarthyism.

The real difference between the two parties’ candidates was that Eisenhower made it known that he would go to Korea and end the war.

This difference allowed Eisenhower to emerge victorious with 442 electoral votes (34,075,529 popular votes) to Stevenson’s 89 electoral votes (27,375,090 popular votes).

President Dwight D. Eisenhower Born: October 14, 1890 Died: March 28, 1969 Term in Office: (1953-1961) Political Party: Republican

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidency

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidency

OFFICE NAME TERM

President Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961Vice President Richard Nixon 1953–1961

State John Foster Dulles 1953–1959  Christian A. Herter 1959–1961

Treasury George M. Humphrey 1953–1957

  Robert B. Anderson 1957–1961Defense Charles E. Wilson 1953–1957  Neil H. McElroy 1957–1959  Thomas S. Gates, Jr. 1959–1961

Justice Herbert Brownell, Jr. 1953–1957  William P. Rogers 1957–1961

Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield 1953–1961

Interior Douglas McKay 1953–1956  Fred A. Seaton 1956–1961Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson 1953–1961Commerce Sinclair Weeks 1953–1958  Lewis L. Strauss 1958–1959

  Frederick H. Mueller 1959–1961

Labor Martin P. Durkin 1953  James P. Mitchell 1953–1961HEW Oveta Culp Hobby 1953–1955  Marion B. Folsom 1955–1958  Arthur S. Flemming 1958–1961

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidency

Supreme Court Appointments by President Eisenhower

Earl Warren (Chief Justice) – 1953John Marshall Harlan II – 1954

William J. Brennan – 1956Charles Evans Whittaker – 1957

Potter Stewart – 1958

States Admitted to the UnionAlaska – January 3, 1959Hawaii – August 21, 1959

Postwar America Develops

There was an explosion in marriages and births after the WWII. Younger marriages and larger families resulted in 50 million babies entering the U.S. population between 1945 and 1960.

As the baby boom generation gradually passed from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, it would profoundly affect the nation’s social and economic institutions.

Some economists feared that a recession would occur after WWII. However the U.S. economy enjoyed tremendous growth from 1945 to 1960.

The main reason for this growth was the ever growing spending on defense during the cold war era. The military-industrial complex was responsible for billions of dollars in new spending during the 1950s.

America also saw the re-emergence of the consumer middle class. Credit cards became available and new products, like television, became accessible. The automobile industry flourished and the G.I. Bill of 1944 made it so many ex-servicemen and their families could afford low mortgage rates for housing.

1950s Culture

Culturally, we saw the rise of rock and roll music with stars like Elvis Pressley, Chuck Barry, Little Richard and Buddy Holly. New movie stars like Marlon Brando and James Dean, also emerged. There films embraced the sense of rebellion that capitalized on the rebellious spirit of rock and roll.

Beatniks also embraced the spirit of rebellion. They were writers and intellectuals. Led by Jack Kerouac and poet Allen Ginsberg, they advocated spontaneity, use of drugs, and rebellion against societal standards.

Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy

Eisenhower personified the 1950s. As President, Eisenhower adopted a style of leadership that emphasized the delegation of authority.

He was often criticized by the press for golfing and fishing more than handling the duties of the presidency

The Eisenhower Administration’s foreign policy was designed by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who felt that the policy of containment was not aggressive enough. According to Dulles, the goal should not be to contain communism, but it should be to force communism to retreat.

In 1953, Stalin dies and Nikita Khrushchev becomes the Soviet Primer. Khrushchev was different than Stalin in some respects. He often talked about peaceful co-existence with the West.

Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy

However, in 1956, Khrushchev orders a brutal put down of a revolt in Hungary. When the anti-communist forces of Hungary looked to the U.S. for help, Dulles advised against sending U.S. troops because this might provoke a war.

By August 1953 both countries had exploded hydrogen bombs and both conducted nuclear tests.

The Soviets concentrated on building up their missile capabilities, creating a fear among Americans that there was a “missile gap.”

Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy

The startling fact that the Soviets might be ahead in technology was demonstrated by their launching of Sputnik, the first man made satellite that could orbit the Earth. The Russians succeeded where the U.S. had failed.

A final humiliation for the U.S. came in 1960, when Russians shot down an American U-2 spy plane. Pilot Francis Gary powers was captured and taken prisoner by Soviet forces. The U.S. denied sending a plane for a few days. Eventually, Eisenhower confessed and took full responsibility.

Origins of the Vietnam Conflict

In Southeast Asia, there was a fear that if that region was to fall into the communist hands others would fall. This became known as the Domino Theory.

In 1954, French forces in Vietnam were being overrun by nationalist forces led by Ho Chi Minh. The French asked Eisenhower for aid but he refused to commit American combative troops. As a result, the French were finally defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

After they left, an international conference took place and the Geneva Accords, established North Vietnam under the control of Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam under control of Emperor Bao Dai.

Origins of the Vietnam Conflict

The Eisenhower Administration supported the South Vietnam government and sent military advisors.

By the terms of the Geneva Accords, a national election was scheduled for 1956 on the potential unification of the country. However, a coup took place which overthrew the emperor and sabotaged the planned election. The U.S. continued to send support for South Vietnam.

The Suez Canal Crisis In the Middle East, the Eisenhower

Administration had to deal with the Suez Canal crisis.

The U.S. helped Egyptian leader Colonel Gamal Abdul Nasser build the Aswan Dam. The Egyptians wanted to purchase arms from the U.S. as well. When the U.S. refused, the Egyptians went to the Soviets with the same offer.

In response, the U.S. and the U.K. cut off all loans to Egypt. In response, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal which was owned by the U.K.

The U.K. and France retaliated by attacking Egypt. When this occurred, the Soviets threatened to enter the conflict on the side of Egypt.

Eisenhower’s Administration managed to get the U.K. and France to retreat from Egypt.

The Fall of McCarthy The Army-McCarthy hearings appeared on

network television on a daily basis. Over the course of the hearings, it was

discovered that McCarthy doctored photographs and used bullying tactics on a regular basis.

McCarthy’s public image shattered when Joseph Welch, attorney for the army, asked McCarthy if he had any “decency” and when Edwin R. Morrow went on CBS News with a negative report on McCarthy.

In 1954, McCarthy was formally censured by the Senate. He would died three years later as a broken man.

The Election of 1956

Towards the end of his first term, Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in 1955 and had major surgery in 1956.

Democrats questioned his health and viability for a second term.

Four years of peace and prosperity made Ike more popular than ever and the Republicans re-nominated him.

The Democrats set the stage for a re-match, by once again nominating Adlai Stevenson.

The Election of 1956

Once again, Eisenhower defeats Stevenson with 457 electoral votes (35,579,180 popular votes) to Stevenson’s 73 electoral votes (26,028,028 popular votes).

Civil Rights Movement

Many African American veterans who had gone overseas to fight for democracy were appalled to find that conditions for blacks had remained largely unchanged during the war years.

After speaking to many NAACP and CORE leaders in 1948, President Truman outlawed discrimination in the hiring of federal employees and ended segregation in the military.

Black athletes achieved a status of inspiration among the black community. Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson’s victories inspired other blacks to aim for equality.

Civil Rights Movement

Black leaders wanted to strike down Plessy v. Ferguson, which state that “separate but equal” was constitutional.

In many southern schools, blacks and whites were segregated. They were separate but far from being equal. White schools would get 80% to 85% of the financial allocations.

Plessy v. Ferguson was finally challenged by Oliver Brown in his suit against the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. Brown’s daughter had to walk by an all white school to get to a bus that would take her to a black school all the way on the other side of town.

Civil Rights Movement In 1954, Brown v. the Board of Education went all the

way to U.S. Supreme Court and Brown was represented by NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregation in schools were unconstitutional. Writing the opinion of the Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that local districts should desegregate “with all deliberate speed.”

Many in the south reacted very negatively towards the Court’s ruling. President Eisenhower had his own doubts about the wisdom of the ruling, but he enforced the Court’s decision any way.

The main battlefield for civil rights in 1955 was Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks, a secretary for the Montgomery NAACP, refused to give up her seat for a white man to sit in, and she was arrested.

Civil Rights Movement This led to the Montgomery bus boycott, during

which blacks in the city refused to ride the city buses and they carpooled instead. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled that segregation on buses were unconstitutional.

A 27 year old minister by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. became the main spokesperson for the blacks of the city.

Another major battle took place in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. A small number of African American students were set to enroll in Central High School. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, sent the National Guard to Central High School to keep out the African American students.

President Eisenhower, who had his misgivings about the Brown v. the Board decision, saw Faubus’ actions as a direct challenge to a Supreme Court decision and to the authority of the federal government. Eisenhower sent in federal troops and federalized the National Guard. Under armed guard, the black students attended Central High School.

The Rise of Castro

In 1957, the Eisenhower Doctrine was formally unveiled, which stated that American arms would be used in the region to prevent communist aggression.

This doctrine was used in Beirut, Lebanon and in Latin America.

In 1959, Fidel Castro orchestrated the removal of dictator Fulgencio Batista from power. He then seized American businesses located in Cuba and began trade negotiations with the Soviet Union.

As a result, the U.S. cut off trade with Cuba in 1960, and eventually cut off diplomatic relations with the island.

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address

In his farewell address, Eisenhower warned of the extreme challenge to peace posed by massive “military-industrial complex” that existed in the U.S. in the 1950s. Although it was much broader, Eisenhower's speech is almost entirely remembered for its reference to the military-industrial complex.

The phrase gained acceptance during the Vietnam era. Despite Eisenhower's warnings, a number of the fears raised in his speech have come true, as noted by a number of commentators. The size of the military-industrial complex would not decline in the 1960s.

THE END OF LECTURE #21