Cold War: The Early Years Chapter 26 Section 2

The Long Telegram  Long Telegram – American Embassy in Moscow attempt to explain Soviet b/h  Written by George Kennan – explained his views of Soviet goals  Long Telegram stated: –Soviet views came from a traditional Russian sense of insecurity and fear of the West –Intensified by the ideas of Lenin and Stalin –B/l they were in a long term struggle against capitalism –It was impossible to reach any permanent settlement w/ the Soviets

The Long Telegram  Kennan proposed what b/c the basic American policy throughout the Cold War –A long term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies –If the US could keep the Soviets from expanding their power it was only a matter of time until the Soviet system would fall apart  Communism could be beaten w/o going to war  The Long Telegram gave rise to the policy of containment –Containment – keeping communism w/i its present territory through the use of diplomatic, economic, and military actions

The Truman Doctrine  March 1947 – Truman went b/f congress to ask for $400 million to fight Communist aggression in Greece and Turkey  Goals of the Truman Doctrine –Aid free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures –Immediate effect – to stabilize the Greek govt. and ease Soviet demands in Turkey –Long run effect – it pledged the US to fight communism world wide

The Marshall Plan  June 1947 – Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program –B/c known as the Marshall Plan  Marshall Plan –Give European nations American aid to rebuild their economies after the destruction of WWII  To prevent them from b/c communist out of desperation –Soviet Union and it’s satellite nations in E. Europe rejected the offer and developed their own economic program  While America pumped money into Western Europe –Western Europe’s recovery weakened the appeal of communism and opened new markets for trade

The Formation of West Germany  The US, Britain, and France announce they were merging their zones of Germany and allowing the Germans to have their own govt.  They also merged their zones in Berlin –Which was located in the Soviet zone of Germany  New nation – Federal Republic of Germany –B/c known as West Germany –Economy completely separate from the SU zone –Not allowed to have a military, but other than that it was independent  The Soviet zone of Germany b/c known as East Germany

The Berlin Crisis  June 1948 – Stalin cut all road and rail traffic to West Berlin –The creation of West Germany had convinced Stalin that he would never get the reparations he wanted –Truman then sent long-range bombers w/ atomic weapons to bases in Britain  The challenge – to keep West Berlin alive w/o provoking war w/ the Soviet Union  June 1948 – Truman ordered the Berlin Air Lift to b/g –For 11 months cargo planes supplied Berliners w/ food, medicine, and coal –Stalin finally lifted the blockade in May of 1949 –America was determined to stand by Berlin

The Creation of NATO  Berlin blockade convinced many Americans that the Soviets were bent on conquest  April 1949 – agreement to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) –A mutual defense alliance  NATO members agreed to come to the aid of any member who was attacked –1 st time America had committed itself to maintaining peace in Europe –6 years later NATO allowed West Germany to rearm themselves and join its organization

Soviet Response to NATO  Allowing West Germany to rearm and join NATO upset the Soviets  The Soviet Union responded by organizing the Warsaw Pact –Alliance b/w Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, etc –Now Europe was once again divided into hostile alliances

The Korean War  At the end of WWII US and Soviet forces entered Korea to disarm the Japanese troops stationed there  Korea was divided at the 38 th parallel line of latitude –The Soviet Union controlled the North  North Korea had a communist govt. –The US controlled the South  South Korea had an American-backed govt. –Both govt. claimed authority over all of Korea  June 25, 1950 – N. Korean troops invaded S. Korea –They quickly drove back the poorly equipped S. Korean forces

Korean War: US Intervenes  Truman saw the invasion of S. Korea as a test to America’s containment policy –Truman ordered the US navy and airpower into action –Truman then called on the UN to act  He succeeded b/c the Soviet delegate was boycotting the Security Council  Under the leadership of General MacArthur, American troops were sent from Japan to the Korean peninsula –The troops fought the N. Koreans back across the 38 th parallel and beyond all the way to the border w/ China

Korean War: China Enters  The Chinese saw the advancing UN troops as a threat and warned forces to halt their advance –UN troops ignored the warning  China launched a massive attack across the border driving the UN forces back across the 38 th parallel  MacArthur then demanded approval to expand the war against China, he asked for… –A blockade against Chinese ports –The use of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces –Bombing of Chinese cities w/ atomic weapons

Korean War: MacArthur is Fired  Truman refuses MacArthur’s demands b/c he did not want to expand the war into China or to use the atomic bomb –MacArthur publicly criticized the president –Truman fires MacArthur for insubordination  Truman remained committed to limited war –Such as containing communism

The Korean War: Cools down  Truman chose General Matthew Ridgway to replace MacArthur  By mid 1951, UN forces had pushed the Chinese and N. Korean forces back across the 38 th parallel –The war settled into a series of small battles  November 1951 – peace negotiations b/g but an armistice would not be signed until July 1953

Armistice Finally Signed  When Eisenhower becomes president in 1953 he was committed to ending the costly and unpopular war in Korea –Ike quietly let the Chinese know that the US might continue the war “under circumstances of our own choosing”  A hint at nuclear attack – Ike’s use of brinkmanship!!!

Korean War: The Ending  July 1953 – negotiators sign an armistice –The battle line b/w the two sides b/c the border b/w N. and S. Korea  Very near the prewar boundary –A demilitarized zone separated them  There was no real victory but… –The war had stopped the spread of communism in Korea  The goal of containment is reached!!!

The Korean War: Effects  33,600 American soldiers died in action  2,800 American soldiers died from accidents or from disease  The Korean war… –1 st time the US went to war to contain communism –After the Korean war the US b/g to buildup the military –Expanded the Cold War to Asia –American aid b/g to flow to the French forces fighting Communist guerillas in Vietnam