COLD WAR NOTES

1. The Consequences of World War II

1. Enormous human and economic costs.2. Germany was divided into occupation zones by the Allied powers as shown in the map

below. Additionally, Berlin - which was within the Soviet occupation zone - was divided among the Allies - as shown in the map to the right.

3. An "iron curtain" was drawn as Stalin expanded the USSR by installing pro-Soviet governments in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania; supporting communist governments in Albania and Yugoslavia; and barring free elections in Poland.

4. The creation of two visions of the post war world, both of which will contribute to the Cold War era:

o the American/Western vision in which a strong world organization would be created to deter agression (the United Nations) and collective security would ensure that member nations would not appease future aggressor nations.

o The Russian vision in which the USSR would be treated as a major world power, Germany's power would be reduced through division and demilitarization; and Russia would be surrounded by "friendly" governments in neighboring east European states that embraced socialism.

5. Introduction of nuclear weaponry and escalation of arms race - another characteristic of the Cold War era.

2. Myth versus Reality - Cold War Definitions

Common Belief - The Cold War was the postwar economic and ideological global rivalry between the United States and the Soviets during which each side fought - without engaging in military warfare - to reshape the world to conform to its own image.  Both sides used all their resources - short of war - to keep the other side from achieving its postwar goals.

In reality - During the 45 year-period of the Cold War, the Americans and Russians were involved in dozens of "hot wars" around the globe (Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, El Salvador, Honduras, etc.)  But because these were not wars in which the U.S. and Soviets were officially at war with one another, each nation could use the Cold War rhetoric to justify their involvement elsewhere.

Thus, the Cold War witnessed a political, social, economic, and military rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union - a rivalry that dramatically affected American foreign policy as well as American domestic policy.

3. Phases of the Cold War: Broadly speaking, the Cold War experienced by the U.S. can be divided into 2 phases:

International Phase: 1945 to 1991 - when foreign policy was shaped by U.S./Soviet tensions that erupted in a series of proxy wars

Domestic Phase: 1954 to 1991 - when the U.S. was wracked with anti-communist hysteri

4. International Phase: Both the USSR and the United States contributed to the Cold War through a variety of policy decisions and actions.

  Soviet Actions Contributing to the Cold War

Soviet control over Poland, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Hungary (early 1946) Stalin's "inevitability" of future wars thesis (Feb. 1946) Stalin's order that satellite nations end trade with Western nations (mid-46) Soviet refusal to halt work on nuclear weapons (June 46) Molotov Plan to incorporate Eastern Europe economies into Soviet system (1947) Soviet overthrow of Czech government and installation of communist government (Feb.

1948)

American Actions Contributing to the Cold War

Policy of Containment (1947) - In January 1947, George Kennan - U.S. Ambassador to the USSR - submitted a report to the U.S. Defense Secretary using the word "containment" for the first time: "In these circumstances [that the Soviets were in a perpetual war with capitalism] it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies." Containment fostered an ideological opposition to communism by creating a "us versus them" theme that divided the world into democratic versus autocratic governments.

Truman Doctrine  (March 1947).  Pledged the US to containing communism in Europe and elsewhere and impelled the US to support any nation with both military and economic aid if its stability was threatened by communism or the Soviet Union.  Became the foundation of Truman's foreign policy and places the U.S. in the role of global policeman. As Foner reminds us, the Truman Doctrine "set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union." (1st edition, p. 781; 2nd edition, p. 844)

American interests in Greece and Turkey (March 1947). The British had been propping up an anti-communist government in Greece for years. In February 1947, Britain informed the U.S. that it could no longer afford such aid and that it indtended to withdraw from Greece. In August 1945, the Soviets had already begun a series of naval maneuvers in the Black Sea and dispatched troops to the Balkans. Truman, invoking the Truman Doctrine, concluded that without U.S. intervention, Greece, Turkey, and the entire oil-rich Middle East would fall under Soviet control.

Marshall Plan (June 1947).  Designed by General George Marshall who became Truman's Secretary of State, the Marshall Plan pledged economic aid to help rebuild war-torn Europe. After several meetings with Stalin, Marshall became convinced that a weak, starving, disheartened Europe was precisely what Stalin wanted because it would offer the best recruitment for communism. The Marshall Plan's primary goal was to stop the socialist and communist electoral bids for power in northern and western Europe while, at the same time,

promoting democracy through the economic renewal of Europe. Sixteen nations signed the Marshall Plan and consequently, industrial production in those nations rose by 200% between 1947-52. Became the cornerstone of the US use of economic policy to contain communism.

"Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis as various crises develop. Any assistance that this Government may render in the future should provide a cure rather than a mere palliative. Any government that is willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full co-operation I am sure, on the part of the United States Government. Any government which maneuvers to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore, governments, political parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States."

National Security Act (July 1947).  Laid the foundation for expanded military forces and surveillance agencies within the federal government and was the first step in the creation of permanent, large-scale military spending as the basic stimulus for economic growth in America (the military industrial complex.)   The goal was to keep the nation in a ready state of preparedness for war. It became the first program of peacetime military preparedness in US history.  The NSA

Created the Department of Defense and National Security Council to administer and coordinate defense policies and advise the president.

Replaced the War Department with the new Department of Defense, led by a single secretary with cabinet-level status that supervised a united armed force - army, navy, air force.

Created the National Security Resources Board (NSRB) to coordinate plans throughout the government "in the event of war."

Established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) devoted to collecting political, military, and economic information for security purposes throughout the world.  Such information was classified - secret from both Congress and the public

5. Case Studies - Significant Foreign Events of the First Cold War Phase

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift - April 1948-May 1949. The end of the blockade cleared the way for the Western powers to merge their occupation zones into a single nation - West Germany.

o Newsreels of Berlin Blockade at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GoIL9gVonQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-UNWkbQk7Q&feature=related

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - April 1949. Ten western European =nations, the U.S., and Candada formed a military allince declaring that "an armed attack

against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all of them." Congress authorized $1.3 billion for military assistance to NATO countries and by 1952, 80% of all U.S. assistance to Europe was military. In resonse, the Russians formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

o See maps of Warsaw Pact countries and of bases and oil resources in the Gulf Region.)

The Iron Curtain - May 1949. After the Berlin blockade cleared the way for the western powers' creation of West Germany, the USSR countered by establishing the German Democratic Republic in their sector, thus creating what Winston Churchill called an "iron curtain" between free and unfree Germany and the free and unfree worlds.

o Map of former Iron Curtain boundaries and former USSR nations at http://www.yourchildlearns.com/online-atlas/continent/cold-war-map.htm

Chinese Civil War, Communist Victory, and the Sino-Soviet Alliance - February 1946-February 1950

o Map of Chinese Civil War at http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/chin-cw2.htm The Nuclear Race - 1945-1953. In January 1950, Truman ordered his scientific advisors

to develop a fusion-based hydrogen bomb hundreds of tiems more powerful than the atomic bomb. In November 1952, the U.S. exploded its first H-bomb in the Marshall islands. The Soviets exploded their first H-bomb 9 months later.

o Map of Nuclear Weapons states at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuclear_weapon_programs_worldwide_oct2006.pn

o Proliferation of Nuclear Power at http://www.truemajority.org/bensbbs/bb_tm.swf

The Korean "Conflict" - June 1950-July 1953 o Map of Korea at

http://www.atlapedia.com/online/maps/political/Korea_etc.htmo Interactive map of Korean War at http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/korea.htmo General Mac Arthur's firing and parade in New York City, 1951 at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvbD3Y38gkU&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh+div-1r-1-HM

The Cuban Missle Crisis - October 1962. In his speech to the nation on October 22, 1960, President Kennedy told the American people, "This government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensivemissile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island.  The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere."

The traditional interpretation of what happended with the Cuban missile crisis is that the Russians put missiles in Cuba aimed at the U.S. When the Americans found out, we got the Soviets to back down and we essentially won. But this was a much more dangerous and complex story than the public was led to believe. (See below "Events Pertaining to the Cuban Missile Crisi."

o President Kennedy's address to Nation on October 22, 1962 on Cuban Missile Crisis at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50RNAbmy3M

o Edward R. Murrow interview with Fidel Castro in 1959 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en5RenIJHDo&feature=related

Vietnam - 1954 - 1973. See http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist111/vietnam.html Sputnik - 1957. The USSR launched Sputnik in October, 1957. The 23 inch satellite

travelled at 18,000 miles per hour, took 96.2 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals that were monitored by amateur radio operators throughout the world. The signals continued for 22 days until the transmitter batteries ran out. Sputnik burned up on January 4, 1958 when it fell from orbit upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. It had traveled about 37 million miles during its three months in orbit.

Fall of the USSR - 1991

 

Consequences of the Korean War

1. The war lasted just over three years, involved 22 nations, and claimed 5 million lives.  Costs were over $54 billion.  About 6 million Americans served in Korea in some capacity; 54,000 died and more than 100,000 were wounded or reported missing.  MASH units, which were located close to the fighting fronts, reduced deaths due to battle wounds by 50% of the World War II figures.

2. The Korean War marked a series of "firsts:" the first shooting war of the Cold War; the first united Nations war; the first war fought with an integrated army; the first war to use helicopters; the first war to use MASH units; the first war that when it ended, the U.S. did not disarm.

3. The war dramatically divided Americans into two camps: those supporting the success of the "limited war" goal - to keep South Korea from falling to the Communists; and those supporting total victory - defeating North Korean Communists and moving into China, thereby ending Communist rule in both nations. From this division arose a greater division among the American people that lasted throughout the Cold War - Americans who did not want to get involved in other nation's political battles, even if they were communists  - and between Americans who were willing to support any effort to contain communism.

4. Containment policies changed after the Korean War. Before the war, containment primarily involved creating economic, social,

and political conditions that would stimulate Western European democracies and deter the military buildup of communism.

By the war's end, containment meant preserving military frontiers behind which conditions unsuited to communism and suited to democracy could evolve.

5. The powers of presidency increased when Truman sent troops to Korea without asking Congress to declare war.

6. The War solidified the role of the US as the world's police officer.

7. The War marked an important transition to the Cold War national security state.  During the war, the army expanded to 3.5 million troops, the defense budget incrased to $50 billion a year, and the US acquired distant military bases from Saudi Arabia to Morocco.  After the war, the defense budget had quadrupled and the US emerged as the most powerful military in the world.

8. The Korean peninsula remains one of the world's most dangerous flash points.  To maintain the uneasy armistice, some 37,000 American troops remain stationed in South Korea.

Events Pertaining to the Cuban Missile Crisis

October 1959 - US and Turkey signed an agreement for the deployment of 15 nuclear-tipped Jupiter missiles in Turkey.  The location in Turkey where the missiles were placed is as geographically near to the Soviet Union as Cuba is to the US.

May 1960 - Cuba and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

July 1960 - the US suspended the Cuban sugar quota, effectively cutting of 80% of Cuban exports to the US.  The Soviet Union agreed to buy sugar previously destined for the US market.

August 1960 - US initiated first assassination plot against Castro. The plan was the first of at least eight assassination atttempts devised by the US government between 1960-1965.  (1975 Senate Investigation hearings).  The US imposed an embargo on trade with Cuba.

October 1960 - Cuba nationalized approximately one billion dollars in US private investments on the island.

December 1960 - Cuba and the Soviet Union issued a joint communique in which Cuba openly aligned itself with the domestic and foreign policies of the Soviet Union and indicated its solidarity with the Sino-Soviet Bloc.

January 1961 - the US and Cuba severed diplomatic and consular relations.

On January 20, John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the US.  One of his first foreign policy decisions was to build up America's nuclear and conventional weapons systems.  Between 1960 and 1962, defense appropriations increased by nearly a third from $43 to $56 billion.

Next, he expanded Eisenhower's policy of covert operations by deploying the army's elite Special Forces (later known as the Green Berets) as a supplement to CIA cover operations in counterinsurgency battles against third world guerrilla armies that were trying to topple various dictatorships who were staunch anti-Communists.  Whenever the President believed Soviet influence threatened American interests, he could deploy these Special Forces soldiers to provide a  "rapid response."

April 1961 - A group of B-26 bombers piloted by Cuban exiles attacked air bases in Cuba.  The raid, coordinated by the CIA, was designed to destroy as much as Castro's air power as possible and was based upon the assumption that a US-led invasion would trigger a popular uprising of the Cuban people and bring down Castro.  On April 17, 1400 counter-revolutionaries led by CIA operatives landed at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba's south coast.  Cuba's army quickly subdued them and the Bay of Pigs became a foreign and domestic political disaster for Kennedy. Castro arrested 200,000 suspected dissidents to prevent internal uprisings.  Many intellectuals and professionals began to flee to the US.November 1961 - President Kennedy authorized a covert action program aimed at overthrowing the Cuban government - Operation Mongoose.  Within two months, the program declared it was developing "a strongly motivated political action movement" within Cuba capable of generating a revolt that would lead to the downfall of Castro.

April 1962  - US Jupiter missiles in Turkey became operational.  All positions were reported "ready and manned" by US personnel.  Later that month, Khrushchev began discussions in Moscow to deploy similar weapons in Cuba

May 1962 - a Soviet delegation to Cuba told Castro that the Soviet Union was prepared to help Cuba fortify its defenses against a possible US invasion, even to the extent of deploying nuclear missiles.  Cuba accepted.

Summer 1962 - Soviets shipped to Cuba a large amount of sophisticated weaponry, including intermediate-range nuclear missiles.  By August, US intelligence began receiving reports of Soviet missiles in Cuba.  On August 29th, a U-2 surveillance flight provided conclusive evidence of SA-2 SAM missile sites at eight different locations in Cuba.  Pressure on Kennedy favored an invasion and after the disastrous Bay of Pigs incident, he did not want to by accused of being weak and failing to stand up to the Soviets.

September 1962 - A plan was approved for a coordinated tactical air attack on Cuba in advance of an airborne assault and amphibious landing. with October 20th set as the date for completion of all preparations.

October 22, 1962 - President Kennedy announced on national television the discover of the missile sites, demanded the removal of all missiles, ordered a strict naval blockade of all offensive military equipment shipped to Cuba, and promised that any missiles launched from Cuba would bring "a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."

October 27 - Khrushchev yielded and ordered 25 Soviet ships off their course to Cuba which, in turn, avoided a challenge to the American blockade.  He then offered to remove all the missiles from Cuba if the US pledged not to invade Cuba.  Attorney General Robert Kennedy made a secret agreement with Khrushchev that the US would dismantle the Jupiter missiles in Turkey.

November 1962 - President Kennedy publicly announced the withdrawal of Soviet missiles and bombers from Cuba, pledged US respect of Cuban sovereignty, and promised that US forces would not invade the island.  The crisis was officially over.

Early 1963 - the Soviets, determined not to be intimated again, began the largest weapons buildup in their history.

June 1963 - President Kennedy called for a rethinking of Cold War diplomacy.  At an address to American University, he said that both sides had been "caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in which suspicion  on one side breeds suspicion on the  other, and new weapons beget counterweapons."  It was important "not to see only a distorted an desperate view of the other sideÖ . No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue."

August 1963 - the US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed the Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty prohibiting above ground, outer space, and underwater nuclear weapons tests.  It was more symbolic than substantive as testing continued - but it was a psychological breakthrough after three  intense years of Cold War actions.

  POINTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

1. It brought the US closer to a nuclear war than any other confrontation before or sense.

2. There are two very important sides to this crisis, not just the American side.  In fact, the US had been waging a war against Cuba since Castro's coming to power in 1959.  That war consisted of planned assassination attempts against Castro, and over a year's worth of foreign policy strategies designed to overthrow the Cuban government from within the nation.  The Soviet Union and Cuba had very good reasons to fear a US invasion - they knew Kennedy had greatly increased his defense spending and had rapidly built up our strategic forces.

3. The Soviet Union acted in a seemingly irrational way - by bringing missiles to Cuba even though they had very few and could not defend themselves against the US - because it feared the overthrow of Cuba.    Thus, the US should be more prudent in trying to overthrow or threaten other governments - as they will not always act rationally.

4. We did not avoid nuclear war with Cuba because the U.S.  forced the Soviet Union to back down; instead, we avoided war largely because the Soviets, in the words of Professor of International Studies at American University, Phillip Brenner, has written, because the Soviets "showed restraint throughout the crisis."

6. Domestic Phase. At the same time that the international arena was wracked by the Cold War, the U.S. experienced and internal period of domestic turmoil often referred to as the second American Red Scare.

Possible hooks include:

He May Be A Communist - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWeZ5SKXvj8 More Doctors Smoke Camels - http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PybgH_ItUik&feature=related The Trouble with Women - 1959 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=VOxGRuKFwJg&feature=related The Threat of Communism - Propaganda Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Ss0yaO6VJvU&feature=related

The Second Red Scare and the Federal Government

Three factors that began in federal circles launched the Second Red Scare - a period of hysteria that occurred within the United States throughout the Cold War era:  President Truman's anti-communist beliefs and rhetoric; Congressional anti-communist actions; and Senator Joe McCarthy's "Witch Hunt."

1. President Truman's anti-communist beliefs and rhetoric. When the Americans entered the war, the Soviets were our allies.  The American view of the Soviets during WWII was shaped by FDR's view:

His long-term goal was world order in which the U.S. played a major role and recognized diversity in that world.  As such, the US recognized that disagreement with the Soviet Union was inevitable and would require considerable negotiation and tactful diplomacy.

While FDR did not necessarily like the fact that the Soviets wanted to create an Eastern European buffer zone of communist states, he could understand and accept it as a legitimate security objective - much like U.S. intervention in Latin America.

But President Truman's view differed markedly from FDR's:

Since Truman's long-term goal was freedom and democracy for Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, China, and the undeveloped world, the U.S. was obliged to confront any disagreement aggressively - not with negotiation, but with military might.

Truman felt Soviet expansion was proof of its imperialistic intentions to spread communism throughout the world - intentions that threatened his belief that American national interests should comprise the primary foundations for world cooperation and peace.

Thus, Truman and his administration were directly responsible for changing national opinion - for transforming the Soviets from a great power that had goals that sometimes conflicted with the U.S. but were resolvable through negotiation and international diplomacy - into the "Soviet Anti-Christ" that threatened national security.

As the foreign events we have already discussed increased Cold War tensions, Truman's rhetoric helped to create a distinctly conservative mood - a mood that eventually required absolute security and adherence to the status quo.

To put some bite into his rhetoric, Truman then set out to prove to the American public that he was not, in fact, soft on Communism by creating the Federal Employee Loyalty Program.

2. Congressional anti-communist actions.  Between 1947 and 1952, Congress took two steps that bolstered the nation's anti-communist sentiments.

Empowered the House House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 to work with the FBI to root out communism in the government and within society as a whole. Hoover activated national fear by announcing that there was one American Commuinst for every 1,814 loyal citizens.  HUAC's first two official targets were the entertainment  industry and government spies.

Passed the The McCarran Internal Security Act in 1950 over Truman's veto.  The Act required organizations the attorney general deemed to be communist to register with Department of Justice and provide membership lists and financial statements; barred communists from employment in defense plants; made it a crime to conspire to establish a totalitarian government in the U.S.; empowered the federal government to deny passports to communists; and authorized arrest and detention during a national emergency of "any person as to whom there is reason to believe might engage in acts of espionage or sabotage."

3. McCarthyism.  During his first few years in the Senate, McCarthy tested the anti-communist waters with accusations. After the 1952 election, McCarthy became chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations and began a rampage through the nation's foreign affairs agencies.

Began by attacking Democrats employed by Voice of America and the US Information Agency (USIA).  USIA discharged government workers thought to be security risks,

pressured others to resign, and was directed to purge certain books and works of art of "any Communists, fellow travelers, etc." from U.S. information centers abroad - including Mark Twain.  Some books were even burned.

In 1954, McCarthy turned to the army when his aide David Schine was drafted.  After threatening to expose army favoritism toward communists if his aide did not receive special treatment, Eisenhower and Congress decided McCarthy had gone too far and scheduled the Army-McCarthy Hearings.  From April 22-June 17, 1954, 20 million viewers watched McCarthy's ruthless bullying for the first time.

On December 2, 1954, after the Democratic victory had deprived him of his chairmanship,  the Senate voted 67 to 22 (No negative Democrat votes and Republicans evenly divided) to "condemn" McCarthy.

The Powers of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI in the 1950s

1. He had the ear of President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, and both of their staffs.  “Not only did the White House react to his complaints and approve his suggestions; he was allowed, even encouraged to help shape policy, particularly in matters of law enforcement, internal security, and civil rights.”

2. The Justice Department gave him free rein.  If the President and Attorney General differed in opinion about Hoover’s powers, President Eisenhower always sided with Hoover.

3. He had control over important members of Congress.  “To a large extent, they were southern, conservative, and racist, as was Hoover, and again, much like him, long on seniority, and thus occupied the positions of greatest influence: majority and minority leaders, Speakers and the chairmen of key committees.”  (p. 407)

4. He exerted control over all three congressional committees that were investigating communists.  In addition to HUAC, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee.

5. He exerted control over a number of state investigating committees that were looking for Communist subversion.  “New York, Chicago, Detraoit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco all had police ‘Red Squads’ or intelligence units; at the university level, campus police, many of them former FBI agents, monitored student and faculty organizations, and conducted loyalty-oath investigations.  All had the director’s patriarchal blessing... ”

6. Hoover was tapped into every part of the State Department.7. The FBI cleared all U.S. Supreme Court nominees.  “During the Eisenhower years, the

president filled four vacancies on the Court.  Hoover approved all four, and himself picked one of them.”

8. Hoover presided over a “mail cover” program consisting of 8 separate programs that lasted over 26 years.  Hoovers agents opened millions of pieces of mail of ordinary citizens they felt were a threat to the U.S.

9. Hoover began COINTELPRO in the 1950s.  It began by investigating the tax returns of FBI suspects and continued by investigating personal information of over a half million Americans and more than 10,000 American organizations.

10. Hoover had a great deal of influence with several important American organizations:  the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Catholic War Veterans.  These organizations pledged to help Hoover’s fight against communism and attacked Americans who criticized the FBI or Hoover.

11. Hoover had great control over local law enforcement, especially through his creation of the FBI Academy.  The best and the brightest of local law enforcers were slected to attend the prestigious 12-training course.  In return, when they went back to their local agencies, they were made “to feel part of a very select fraternity” of men who were expected to help the FBI in the field.

In short, Hoover was “a despot who ruled his fiefdom with complete autonomy.”  (J. Edgar Hoover: the Man and his Secrets. Curt Gentry, p. 407-414)

Consequences of the Second Red Scare

1.  The origins of the second Red Scare involved the actions of Congressional conservatives you wanted to discredit Roosevelt's actions under the New Deal and governmental actions designed to spread anti-communist beliefs.

2.  Communists were active in American politics before, during, and after World War II.  Some clearly passed important information to the USSR.  However, the vast majority of rank-and-file communists were not involved in any type of espionage or disloyalty.  Remember, it was not - and still is not - against the law to be a "card-carrying member of the Communist Party."

3.  Based upon limited knowledge and a great deal of supposition on the part of influential congressmen and President Truman, the nation was engulfed in an anticommunist hysteria that lasted throughout the 1950s and part of the 1960s.  This hysteria infiltrated the federal government, corporate American, and the public at large.

4.  Such fear tactics were hardly revolutionary in American society.  Since colonial times forward, Americans have vilified various "enemies" - people whom they perceived endangered the social, political, economic, and ideological status quo:  witches, freed African Americans, Native Americans, anti-war activists, communists, terrorists.

 

7. Possible Case Study: The role of the television family in Cold War America - see powerpoint.

To view an outstanding 5 minute discussion of the way television changed the news and how Americans viewed the world in the 1950s, see this clip from Edward R. Murrow's

show See It Now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7N1BVaRjsI&feature=related