Chapter 27 Chills and Fever During the Cold

Chapter 27 Chills and Fever During the Cold War, 1945 -1960 The American People, 5 th ed.

I. Origins of the Cold War

The American Stance/ Soviet Aims § The United States emerged from World War II more powerful than any other nation and it sought to use that power in the creation of a world order based on the ideals of democracy § Soviet aims included rebuilding after the ravages of war, and a restructuring of her borders to prevent a repeat German invasion

Early Cold War Leadership § Eisenhower saw Communism as a overreaching world force bent on domination through subversive activity § Joseph Stalin, the soviet Leader, possessed almost unlimited power and answered to no one § Americans distrusted Soviet political aims and generally equated Communism with the Nazi state

II. Containing the Soviet Union

Containment Defined § George Kennan is generally credited with defining Americas response to the aggressiveness of the Soviet Union § Containment theory taught that the Soviets would never turn from their plans of world domination unless hindered by force at every turn § Containment created the need for America to assist any country that was perceived to be falling under the influence of the Soviets

The Truman Doctrine § “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. ” --Harry Truman

The Next Steps § The Marshall Plan: rebuilding the devastations of war-torn Europe with massive American aid § NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a twelve-member alliance that vowed that an attack on one nationmember would be an attack on all

III. Containment in Asia and the Middle East

Asia § Internal conflict in China produced a revolution to Communism that the U. S. was in no position to stifle § War on the Korean peninsula produced a stalemate between a communist North and a democratic South that exists to this day § Vietnam, an American conflict inherited from the French, closely resembled the problems of Korea with one exception: communism won

The Middle East § The state of Israel, created by the United Nations as a homeland for the Diaspora Jews of the Holocaust, unfortunately displaced thousands of Palestinian Arabs from their traditional lands along the Mediterranean § This action solidified Arab hatred of the western sponsors of Israel and put in motion a series of war and death that survives to this day

IV. The Cold War at Home

Truman’s Loyalty Program § Truman, worried about the influence of communism within the borders of the U. S. , created the Employee Loyalty Program in 1947 § Although only dismissing several hundred employees overall, Truman’s program set a precedent for government review of who could be considered a threat due to a belief system

Joe Mc. Carthy § The key anti-Communist Senator of the 1950 s § Virtually unknown beforehand, he make a reputation uncovering Communist plots and targeting anyone outside his narrow version of “American” § General public alarm over the evils of Communism allowed Mc. Carthy the latitude to destroy many reputations needlessly