Chapter 26 Section 2

The Cold War Heats Up

Marshall Plan

Program of American economic assistance to Western Europe

Begun in 1947 Developed by Sec of State

George Marshall Wanted to develop strong

democracies rather than struggling nations that might turn to Communism

Invested $13 billion in Western Europe

Berlin Blockade

1948- Allies announce plans to unite Western zones in Germany

Created West Germany Soviets respond by

creating East Germany People in east escaped

through West Berlin So Stalin closed West

Berlin Willing to let them

starve if U.S. did not abandon West Berlin

Berlin Airlift

Moving supplies into West Berlin by American and British planes during the Soviet blockade in 1948-1949

13,000 tons of supplied delivered daily

Soviets gave up, but Berlin remained a source of conflict

How did Berlin’s location make it difficult to

supply? It’s about 100 miles

deep in Soviet controlled East Germany

Difficult for Western Allies to get to

What was the importance of the

airlift? Allowed West Berlin to

remain free from Communist domination

Allowed President Truman to avoid military force

Show European allies that the U.S. would honor its commitments in Europe

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NATO 1949 alliance of nations

that agreed to band together in the event of a war and to support and protect each nation involved

Led by a U.S. general Large commitment of

American troops An attack on one was

seen as an attack on all

Collective Security

The principle of mutual military assistance among nations

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance between the Soviet Union and the nations of Eastern Europe

Soviet response to NATO

Formed in 1955 Stalin dead by then

Soviet Atomic Threat

Soviets successfully detonate an atomic bomb in 1949

In response, Truman wants to move ahead to develop a new weapon

Hydrogen bomb-more powerful than atomic bomb Have one by 1952

So do the Soviets

China Falls to Communists

1949 Communists lead by Mao

Zedong take over in China Assumed to be a failure of

Containment and the Truman Doctrine

Anticommunist forces under Chiang Kai-shek have to flee to Taiwan Claimed to be the

legitimate government of China

Represented China in UN

House Un-American Activities Committee

Established in 1938 Investigated

disloyalty in the U.S.

Hollywood 10

Group of people in the film industry who were jailed for refusing to answer Congressional questions regarding Communist influence in Hollywood

Blacklist

List that circulated among employers

Began in 1947 Contained the

names of persons who should not be hired Usually because of

a connection to Communism Real or imagined

McCarran-Walter Act

Passed by Congress in 1952

Reaffirmed the quota system

Discriminated against potential immigrants from Asia, Southern, and Central Europe Vetoed by President

Overridden and passed by Congress

What did the HUAC hearings and the McCarran-Walter Act

show about American attitudes?

They demonstrated the paranoia and distrust on the part of Americans toward Communism

Spies in the U.S.

Alger Hiss Former state

department employee FDR advisor at Yalta Truman administration

defended Hiss for 2 years

Eventually proven to be a spy by a young lawyer named Richard Nixon

Spies in the U.S.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Members of the Communist Party

Accused of helping the Soviets obtain the atomic bomb

Executed Both Hiss and the

Rosenbergs were proven to be guilty years later