Chapter 26
East and West in the Grip of the Cold War
I. The Collapse of the Grand Alliance
The Collapse of the Grand Alliance
- Started in Europe
-US and Allies secured Western part of Europe
-The Polish government-in-exile (then based in London compromised with Stalin and two of those leaders got to be a part of the Polish Communist Regime
- Roosevelt died and left all of the problems to Truman
- Coalitions formed, but Communists unoffically took these over
- Leader of Yugoslavia (Josip Broz, also known as Tito) made the country and independednt Communist state
- Stalin was waiting for the next "wave of revolutions" to stage a takeover of Europe
B. Descent of the Iron Curtain
- Soviet takeover spread a panic
- Stalin replied that Churchhill's was a "call to war with the Soviet Union"
- Americans didn't want another war
- Thought Soviets would use their troops in Iran as a bargaining chip
C. The Truman Doctrine
- Civil War in Greece
-Truman Doctrine: said US would provide financial aid to countries threatened by Communist expansion
-Truman said of Communists were not stopped in Greece, they would begin to spread (see quote by Secretary of State Dean Acheson on page 264)
- fear tactic worked and Congress approved the financial aid
- Rumor that Moscow supported movement in Greece turned out to be false
D. The Marshall Plan
- Truman Doctrine was followed with Europe's equivalent in 1947: The Marshall Plan
- Soviets despised the "capitalist imperialism"
-said the US was trying to further imperialism
- Soviets also viewed the Marshall Plan as devious
-they couldn't counter the Marshall Plan, so they tightened control in Eastern Europe
E. Europe Divided
- The split of East and West became a fact of life by 1947
- Fear of the Soviets by Americans forced the US to be active in Europe
1. The Berlin Blockade
- The fate of Germany was a source of heated argument between East and West
- The only thing the allies agreed on was the denazification of Germany and the division of 4 occupied zones (page 766)
-Soviets were in charge of Communist reconstruction in Germany
- The 4 occupying countries kept meeting to come to an agreement, but they didn't
-to halt this, Soviets imposed blockade of West Berlin
- British, French, and US didn't want to use military force to break through the blockade
- Soviets lifted the blockade in 1949
2. NATO and the Warsaw Pact
- Desire for security during the Cold War led to a formation of alliances
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in April 1949
-agreed to provide mutual assistance if any one were attacked
- During this time, the US was in an arms build-up
- Eastern Europeans formed the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) for economic cooperation
- In 1955, Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union allied: Warsaw Pact
3. Who Started the Cold War?
- In the 1950s, scholars agreed that Stalin's aggressiveness was the cause
- In the 1960s, revisionist historians (from South East Asia) argued the fault was with the US
Cold War, but it has no credibility (according to our book)
-said Truman abandoned the Yalta Agreement and sought to encircle the
Soviet Union
- Recent historians say both countries took unwise steps to contribute to the Cold War
- Rivalry between the two stems from different historical perspectives and political ambitions
- Soviet satellites threatened Western Europe and blatantly disregarded Western human rights
II. Cold War in Asia
Slower presence in Asia than the rest of the world.
Roosevelt promised that Moscow would be granted “preeminent interests” for participation with the struggle against Japan.
Stalin also agreed not to assist Chinese Communists with a civil war.
Neither the U.S. nor the U.S.S.R. wanted to get embroiled in Asian conflict.
A. The Chinese Civil War
Relations between Chiang Kai-shek China and America lessened.
Despite Roosevelt’s wishes for using China to establish peace in Asia, U.S. officials became disillusioned with the corruption of Chiang's government.
U.S. military and economic aid to China had been substantial, and at war's end, the new Truman administration still hoped that it could rely on Chiang to support U.S. postwar goals in the region.
Communists were building up their strength in northern China.
By the end of World War II, 20 to 30 million Chinese were living under the administration of the Communists and their army consisted of around 1,000,000 troops.
After the war, attempts were made to renew civil strife in China
U. S. teams stationed in China, impressed by the Communists, were in support of the U. S. staying neutral or helping the Communist side instead of the Nationalists.
Truman Administration ultimately attempted to form a coalition government of all Chinese to prevent the spread of Communism.
1. The Communist Triumph
By 1946, war between the Nationalist government and the Communists resumed.
Fighting started out in Manchuria but soon spread to China.
Communists fought by surrounding and occupying Nationalist-controlled cities.
Chiang Kai-shek’s alienation of his people through suppression and inflation drove citizens to serve under Mao Zedong where they were promised land and social justice.
Manchuria under Communist control by the end of 1947.
Truman administration sent General George C. Marshall to China in a last-ditch effort to bring about a peaceful settlement but was unsuccessful in creating a coalition government.
U. S. responded with limited military support while following a “hands-off policy.”
Chiang’s troops had defected to the Communists by 1948.
At this time the PLA marched from Manchuria, took the capital of Beijing and the city of Shanghai, and secured China.
Chiang’s government + 2 million followers fled to Taiwan.
Truman administration placed most of the blame for the failure on Chiang Kai-shek's regime.
Republicans, instead, believed that the Soviet Union hindered the Nationalists and provided the Communists with weapons. (later proven that neither U.S. nor U.S.S.R. responsible for defeat)
U. S. finally adopted method of “containment” in Asia to prevent further spread of Communism.
Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong Exchange a Toast
The Chinese Civil War
American Propaganda
B. The New China
The new Chinese leaders aimed to recover old Manchu lands, such as Manchuria, Taiwan, and Tibet, and wanted influence in Korea and Vietnam.
China gained Manchuria and Xinjiang in January 1950 through negotiations with Stalin.
Also occupied and secured Tibet but provoked violence in Korea and Taiwan.
Truman administration no longer sought to prevent Communist takeover of Taiwan as the Cold War escalated. (1949-50)
For rise of Communism read “Who Lost China.” (page 771)
C. The Korean War
War in Korea intensified Asian Cold War.
Korea had belonged to Japan until the conclusion of WWII where half went to the U.S. and the remainder going to the U.S.S.R.. This caused a half Communist / half anti-Communist Korea.
June 25, 1950, Communist North Korea invaded the south. Truman sent troops to South Korea to resist.
In return, UN forces under control of General Arthur MacArthur marched north to try to unify Korea.
In approaching the Chinese line, Chinese forces sided with North Korea and drove the UN back south.
A static defense line was eventually established near the original dividing line at the 38th parallel.
This entrance in the Korean War proves China’s intent to spread Communism, and it shows potential fears of UN invasion.
The invasion led Truman to dispatch troops to Taiwan in order to prevent invasion, and it led to China’s isolation from the rest of the world.
D. Conflict in Indochina
China sought contact and forged a cease-fire with the non-socialist world in the mid-1950s.
Although, Indochinese Communist Party (Vietminh) seized power in Vietnam, causing war to break out against the French.
Vietminh waged a “people’s war” for the next three year, attracting little to no attention from the rest of the world.
This changed when the CCP came to power in China (1950); Beijing provided assistance to Vietminh, so the Truman administration gave the French aid.
Despite U.S. help, Vietminh began to overpower by 1954.
The two sides settled as of July, forming a northern, Communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam and a southern, non-Communist Saigon (Republic of Vietnam).
Cambodia and Laos were declared under neutral governments and the French withdrew.
U.S. signed mutual security treaty with Republic of China in case of Taiwan invasion.
Diplomatic talks collapsed when Beijing asked for U.S. to withdraw from Taiwan.
III. From Confrontation to Coexistence
- world teetering on nuclear holocaust
- capitalist and socialist viewed each other across divide
- sanity returned to leaders at the end of decade
- Malenkov (successor to Stalin) tried to improve Western relations; reduce defense expenditures, shift government spending
- Khrushchev (successor Malenkov) continued Western improvements
- called for policy of peaceful coexistence with West
- West was suspiscious
- Eastern European satellites: key to western front of Soviet Union
- countries became discontent
- Hungary, Poland, and Romania were bitter
- East Berlin- riots broke out against Communist rule
- public demonstrations against food price spread to everything
- Poland agreed to stay on Warsaw Pact
- Gomulka attempted to reconcile Polish soil issues
- adopted domestic reforms
- The Hungarian Revolution
development of Poland was shocking
student-led riots at Budapest over brutal
Nagy aided popular demand but placated Moscow
withdrew Hungary from the Warsaw Act
- left the Yugoslavia embassy under promise of safety
2. Different Roads to Socialism
freedom fighters rose up against Communists (Pg. 775)
US offered help
knew it could lead to nuclear war and limited responses
Soviets realized that they could only control satellites with leeway to Europe
Communists adopted reform programs for socialism
3. Crisis Over Berlin
Soviets launched first intercontinental missile
Khrushchev tried to take advantage of US frenzy to fix West Berlin
Khrushchev demanded West take forces out of East Berlin
Eisenhower refused to give to Communists; Khrushchev backed down
1950s- peaceful coexistence between East and West showed
- Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet in the US, West Side Story in Moscow
B. Rivalry in the Third World
Khrushchev viewed dismantling colonial regimes in Asia and Africa as advantage
Nehru in India founded the Nonaligned Movement
Khrushchev continues to promote Soviets in the Third World
declared to Kennedy that Soviet Union would be active in national liberation movements
- Castro threaten to transform country into an advance base for Soviet Union
C. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Move Toward Detente
Castro overthrew dictator
established Soviet totalitarian regime
Kennedy approved invasion of Cuba; ended in failure
Soviet Union began to station there with Castro’s approval
dispatched US warships to Atlantic because of Soviet missiles in Cuba
Khrushchev sent letter to Kennedy after standoff agreeing to turn back the fleet
both sides greatly affected by near nuclear annihilation
communication hotline installed between Washington and Moscow
- lessened tensions
D. The Sino-Soviet Dispute
peaceful coexistence had many effects
- undermined Moscow’s ties with China
- Beijing accepted Soviet Union as leader of socialists
- territorial disputes along Sino-Soviet border
- Soviet space programs caused Chinese to believe socialists were superior
- China applied Mao Zedong's concept of people's war (Pg. 779)
E. The Second Indochina War
- Chinese radicalism intensified with Indochinese war
- Eisenhower was unwilling to introduce US military
- US began to provide aid to South Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh returned to policy of revolutionary war in south
- National Front for the Lieration of South Vietnam; under secret leadership of high ranking Communists
- 1963- Vietnam on verge of collapse
- population was very alienated (autocratic mathods and economic inequality)
- President Johnson sent US troops to Vietnam to prevent total defeat of anti-Communist government
- The Role of China
- Chinese leaders happy to have firm Communist
- concerned about bloodshed
- tiptoes delicately through Indochina
- Beijing refused to operate with Moscow
- Communist in North Vietnam responded to US escalation by using more troops
- Johnson hesitant for war with North Vietnam
- did not want global nuclear conflict
2. The Quest for Peace
- Nixon pledged for honorable end to Vietnam
- US opinion divided
- relations between Beijing and Moscow intensified
- Soviets hinted at preemptive strike to intimidate Communists
- Nixon went to China and set aside their differences over Taiwan
3. The Fall of Saigon
- North Vietnamese leaders looked for temporary settlement of war
- Communists agreed to halt military operations
- country later unified under Communist rule
- severe humiliation for US
- did not achieve because of underestimation of determination and overestimation of ability
IV. An Era of Equivalence
- Washington's main concern was Beijing
- Khrushchev was a receptive ear in Moscow
- dedicated to promoting peaceful coexistence
- Moscow supported North Vietnamese to deflect Chinese charges
- Cold War tensions brewed in Eastern Europe
- Novotony placed inpower by Stalin policy led to widespread popular alienation
- supported by intellectuals and reformists
- "Socialism with a human face"
- relaxed restrictions on freedom of speech and press and right to travel abroad
- short-lived
- Czechs called for far-reaching reforms (neutrality and withdrawal)
- Red Army crushed reform movement
- Husak came into power and restored old order
- Berlin wall was built
- East Germsny became strongest economy among Soviet Union's Eastrn Europeaan satellite's
B. An Era of Detente
- continued to pursue peaceful coexistence
- new phase in Soviet-American relations called detente (reduction of tensions)
- symbol was Antiballistic Missile Treaty
- another was Helsinki Accords
- recognized all borders in Europe that had been established sine WWII
C. Renewed Tensions in the Third World
- protection of human rights became major foreign policy goal
- Soviet troops sent across border into Afghanistan to protect Marxist regime
- US had Carter Doctrine- stated US would use military power to safeguard oil reserves
- people too distracted by Vietnam Syndrome (fear of becoming involved with them again)
- Moscow became more aggressive
- growing suspicion of Soviets in US because of Soviet Union abandoning policy of quivalence
D. Countering the Evil Empire
- Reagan witnessed harsh rhetoric of Cold War
- introduced nuclear-tipped cruise missile (nicknamed Star Wars)
- adopted activist stance in the Third World
- provided material aid to El Salvador
- members of Congress afraid of involvement like Vietnam
E. Toward a New World Order
- Gorbachev elected secretary of Communist Party
- launched program restructuring to revitalize
- met with Reagan in Reykjavik and set aside differences
- effort too little and too late
- end of Cold War left people with hope of new world order and peaceful cooperation (Pg. 787)
- did not happen
- bitter war in Balkans demonstrated old fault lines
- growing gap between rich and poor
- guaranteeing survival of the human race is more complex after the Cold War
Activity
Essay Prompt
Harry Truman (1945–1953) Dwight Eisenhower (1953–1961) Richard Nixon (1969–1974)