1. Chapter 24 The Cold War and American Globalism, 1945–1961

2. I. From Allies to Adversaries
Decolonization
WWII’s destruction destabilizes Eurasia
Power vacuums (Germany, Japan)
Civil wars (Greece, China)
Decolonization (India, Pakistan)
USA and USSR, different:
ideologies
economic/strategic needs 3

4. I. From Allies to Adversaries (cont’d.)
Stalin’s Aims
Expand communism, but
Top priority = security:
fear another invasion
warm-water ports
Fear revived Germany/Japan
Control areas USSR has at war’s end:
esp. East Europe

5. I. From Allies to Adversaries (cont’d.)
U.S. Economic and Strategic Needs
Strongest post-WWII power
Fear potential threats:
esp. if USSR dominate Eurasia
To stop surprise attacks:
need foreign bases
Rebuild Germany and Japan
Assume economy need global free trade
World Bank/IMF rebuild world economy 4

7. I. From Allies to Adversaries (cont’d.)
Stalin and Truman
HST accept “them” vs. “us” worldview
Wants simple answers to complex issues
First clash over Poland 5

8. Post WWII Poland

9. I. From Allies to Adversaries (cont’d.)
Warnings from Kennan and Churchill
Encourage Churchill’s “iron curtain” speech (‘46) on blocking USSR expansion
Tensions stymie UN
1947, HST aids British client Greece
Proclaims Truman Doctrine:
alarmist rhetoric
early domino theory
Act globally to block spread of communism
$400 Million 8

11. “A Guy Named Joe” cover story of Look magazine by
Ralph Parker, June 27, 1944.
p719

12. II. Containment in Action (cont’d.)
Marshall Plan
prevents depression/spread of communism
$12.4 billion in credits for US goods
spurs growth
causes inflation
National Security Act (1947)
Secretary/Department of Defense
NSC, CIA 10

14. II. Containment in Action (cont’d.)
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
USSR response:
more Eastern Europe repression
Each see acts by other as threats
(1948) USA, England, France agree to:
form West Germany/West Berlin as ally
USSR responds with blockage
HST defeats with airlift
USSR forms East Germany (1949) 11

16. Under official postwar relief and recovery programs, including the Marshall Plan, the United States shipped
billions of dollars’ worth of food and equipment to Western European nations struggling to overcome the
destruction of the Second World War. Private efforts, such as this one in 1950, also succeeded. The people of Jersey
City, New Jersey, sent this snowplow to the mountainous village of Capracotta, Italy.
p725

17. II. Containment in Action (cont’d.)
Berlin Blockade and Airlift (cont’d.)
Military alliance:
deters Soviet invasion
ties Western Europe to USA
Cold War divides Europe (Map 24.1):
Warsaw Pact forms (1955)
Twin Shocks
Soviet A-bomb and Mao’s win shocks USA
Increases Republican criticism of HST
HST responds (1950) with H-bomb and major military buildup (NSC-68) 12

18. Cold War Europe

19. III. The Cold War in Asia Chinese Civil War
Ally Chiang Kai-shek loses (‘49) despite billions in aid
Jiang’s government alienates peasants:
corrupt
refuse to address landlessness
Mao rallies peasant majority 13

20. III. The Cold War in Asia (cont’d.)
Chinese Civil War (cont’d.)
Mao gets no USSR aid during civil war
US officials:
dismiss his independence
reject overtures (1945, 1949)
Mao signs alliance with USSR (1950)
Republicans claim HST “lost” China
Does not recognize People’s Republic (PRC) 14

21. III. The Cold War in Asia (cont’d.)
Vietnam’s Quest for Independence
Ho Chi Minh leads fight to end French control:
adopts communism to help win independence
Form Vietminh during WWII:
some US aid (OSS); none from USSR
HST ignore Ho’s nationalism (1945–46):
supports French return (Cold War ally)
War starts (1946): France vs. Vietminh 15

23. Mao Zedong was a military
theoretician who also involved
himself in day-to-day military
decision making. He was
responsible for, or at least
approved, all of the major
strategic moves the communists
made on their way to power. This
image shows him applauding
soldiers and other supporters on
Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
p727

24. Soldiers from Company D, First Marine
Division, mounted on an M- 26 tank,
spearhead a patrol in search of guerrillas
during the Korean War.
p728

25. IV. The Korean War U.S. Forces Intervene HST orders troops to Korea
Orders navy to protect Chiang Kai-shek (Formosa / Taiwan)
Intervenes further in Korea and China
No consulting with Congress (UN):
expands exec power 17

26. IV. The Korean War (cont’d.)
Chinese Entry Into the War
UN troops do poorly at 1st
Inchon turns tide
Cross 38th to unify Korea
Enter wars (1950); drive UN back to 38th
Truman’s Firing of MacArthur
MacArthur calls for full war with China
HST/JCS reject; fire MacArthur (1951) 18

28. IV. The Korean War (cont’d.)
Consequences of the War
War dead: USA (54,246); PRC (more than1 million)
North Korea (2.5 million, mostly civilians)
South Korea (1.1 million, mostly civilians)
War militarize containment:
military budget $14 billion (1949)
$44 billion by 1953 = more than 3x
More anticommunism at home (McCarthy) 19

29. President Eisenhower (left) confers with
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (1888–1959),
known for his strong anticommunism and his
often self-righteous lecturing style. Dulles once
remarked that the United States “is almost
the only country strong enough and powerful
enough to be moral.”
p731

30. VI. The Struggle for the Third World (cont’d.)
Interests in the Third World
Many in 3rd World want nonalignment
Ike/Dulles:
reject neutralism
3rd World must ally with USA
adopt US models
view 3rd World via race-, age-, gender-based stereotypes 25

31. VI. The Struggle for the Third World (cont’d.)
Intervention in Guatemala
CIA topple leftist Arbenz (Guatemala, ‘54):
because interfered with United Fruit
result: civil war
The Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro
Misinterpret Cuban Revolution (1959):
ignore nationalism
popular anger with Batista
US actions:
economic, assassination, exile invasion
push Castro toward USSR 27

33. VI. The Struggle for the Third World (cont’d.)
Arab-Israeli Conflict
Debate on Jewish state grow post-1945:
Arabs oppose creation of Israel (Palestine)
USA quickly recognize Israel (1948):
memory of Holocaust
domestic politics
Displaced Palestinian Arabs:
become point of contention
USA try to:
ensure Israel’s survival and
form ties with oil-rich Arab nations

35. XXVII. US Interventions in Middle East (1950s)
Suez Crisis
CIA topple Iran’s government (1953):
return shah to power
gain oil concessions
Egypt’s Nasser lead Arab nationalism:
seek end of European imperialism
Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower Doctrine (1957):
rationale for military intervention in Middle East 28

36. VI. The Struggle for the Third World (cont’d.)
Geneva Accords on Vietnam
By 1954, France losing war with Vietminh
Ike does not intervene at Dienbienphu because:
British and Congress resist
France grants independence (Geneva, ‘54)
Ho accepts temporary division at 17th
National Liberation Front
USA:
blocks 1956 reunification elections
back repressive Diem to lead South Vietnam
Civil war develops with formation of NLF/VC 29

37. Dien Bien Phu

38. French troops capture a
Vietminh soldier during an
operation in the Red River Delta
in Tonkin (northern Vietnam)
in March The Vietminh
were adept at camouflage, but
this soldier could not escape
detection while hidden in a dyke.
p740