J. George
05/08/15
Cold War & Containment
From this day go forth, I want students to relate Communism in the aftermath of Second World War era to a very contagious, malignant, deadly political, social, cultural, economical, etc., disease (at least in the eyes of the U.S. and the West/Democratic nations – the U.S./West wanted to do all they could to prevent this “disease” from going viral and then contaminate neighboring countries/regions. I am just the messenger). Now, shortly after the war came to a close, the Soviets (creators of the malignant disease) were spreading it throughout Eastern Europe and various weaker nations in Asia, etc. Keeping those things in mind, since the “doctors” (U.S. and other western nations) did not want this disease to spread and overrun the “free” and democratic world, and without a true “cure,” they decided to contain (quarantine) and treat it. That way the disease stop spreading, remaining stagnant to places it had already spread and nowhere else. Following through on their plan of containment (or the act of quarantining or stopping the spread of Communism), the United States implemented two very important doctrines, Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine.
Students should note that countries like Turkey and Greece would have fallen quickly under communist aggression, and the “Iron Curtain” would have continued to expand across a weakened Europe (post-WWII, an era when most of Europe was war torn and unstable in terms of socio-economics and political prowess).
Please note: Cold War issues between U.S. vs. U.S.S.R. dominated international politics for well over 50 years, from 1945 (shortly after WWII) till the early 1990s…. Don’t forget this piece of information.
What was the Cold War?
•No shots fired (hence its difference from a “HOT WAR” where actually/live rounds/bombs, etc., are fired/blown up) between Russia and the U.S.! That being said, the two “super powers” came close on several occasions, e.g., Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) = near Armageddon/end of the known world.
•Huge arms race (nuclear arms, hydrogen = possible end to the world).
•Fight wars with “Proxy Nations” (e.g. Korea, Vietnam, etc.)
•Lots of espionage = spying on one another – seeking “secrets”/military, educational, governmental, scientific, etc., intelligence.
•Bitter words on a regular basis
• Space Race = let’s see who can get to the moon/space first/fastest.
•Challenge Americans or Soviets to become much more proficient in Math & Science – yes, young padawans, pay close attention in both Yaccov and Mr. Edward Tan/Yiana/Erin’s classes.
•Nuclear weapons, fear of World War prevent huge armed conflict
Soviet Union
· They felt that they had won World War II. They had sacrificed the most (25 million vs. 300,000 total dead) and deserved the “spoils of war.” They had lost land after WWI because they left the winning side; now they wanted to gain land because they had won.
· They wanted to economically raid Eastern Europe to recoup their expenses during the war.
· They saw the U.S. as a threat to their way of life; especially after the U.S. development of atomic weapons.
United States
· U.S. thought that Soviet expansion would continue and spread throughout the world.
· They saw the Soviet Union as a threat to their way of life; especially after the Soviet Union gained control of Eastern Europe.
· Alarmed Americans viewed the Soviet occupation of eastern European countries as part of a communist expansion, which threatened to extend to the rest of the world.
· In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech at Fulton College in Missouri in which he proclaimed that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen across Europe.
· In March 1947, U.S. president Harry Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine.
The Truman Doctrine
Reasoning:
· Threatened by Communist influence in Turkey and Greece
· “Two hostile camps” speech
· Financial aid “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation”
· Sent $400 million worth of war supplies to Greece and helped push out Communism
· The Truman Doctrine marked a new level of American commitment to a Cold War.
Policy of Containment
Definition:
· By applying firm diplomatic, economic, and military counter-pressure, the United States could block Soviet aggression.
· Formulated by George F. Kennan as a way to stop Soviet expansion without having to go to war.
· Ironically, the Soviets were looking for insulation from the Capitalist West.
The Marshall Plan (1947-48)
· War damage and dislocation in Europe invited Communist influence
· Economic aid to all European countries offered in the European Recovery Program
· $17 billion to western Europe
· Soviets refused – The blame for dividing Europe fell on the Soviet Union, not the United States. And the Marshall Plan proved crucial to Western Europe’s economic recovery.
Dividing Germany (What was once ONE, became TWO due to the Cold War)
· U.S., Britain, and France merged their zones in 1948 to create an independent West German state.
· The Soviets responded by blockading land access to Berlin. The U.S. began a massive airlift of supplies that lasted almost a year. (7,000 tons a day) In May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade, conceding that he could not prevent the creation of West Germany.
· Thus, the creation of East and West Germany
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) vs. WARSAW
· Stalin’s aggressive actions accelerated the American effort to use military means to contain Soviet ambitions.
· The U.S. joined with Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to establish NATO, a mutual defense pact in 1949.
· Pledged signers to treat an attack against one as an attack against all.
· When West Germany joined NATO in 1955, the Soviet Union countered by creating its own alliance system in eastern Europe– the Warsaw Pact (1955)
42 During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the democracies in the West competed for influence in the Middle East because of its
(1) strategic location and valuable resources (2) vast fertile farmlands and rivers (3) large well-educated population (4) industrial potential
http://www.nysedregents.org/GlobalHistoryGeography/20030618exam.pdf