The Cold War
--Yalta Conference in 1945 was a meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin; resulted in
decision to partition Germany and provide Russia with Polish territory in exchange for German
territory; Stalin wanted future conflict to be fought on Polish soil rather than Russian soil and for
control over government; Roosevelt pressed for free elections and a democratic government
--Roosevelt died in April 1945; Truman takes position and has little experience with foreign
policy or knowledge of atomic bomb; Hitler died and left German leaders scrambling to form
government for surrendering; leaders, military servicemen, and civilians wished to escape west
and surrender to British or Americans; feared brutality and retaliation from Russians
--European war ended in May 1945 with expectation that forces would not stray in place for
extended period of time; Truman wished to continue policy of Roosevelt, but shift began to take
place in the coming year; people that were brought in under Truman were organized more along
a hardliner stance; even with emergence of hardliners, conflict still would take time to develop
--Orthodox school involved America being the good side and Russians being the bad side;
Conservative Revisionists argued that Roosevelt allowed the Russians to become aggressors
through soft stance at Yalta, thereby forcing Americans to defend their good cause; Radical
Revisionists of the New Left declared that Americans were aggressors and that Russians were
defending themselves against neo-colonialist efforts; Post Revisionists declared that both sides
should share the blame for being equally provocative and aggressive
--events happened that gave Washington sense that things were turning sour; Duclos Letter came
from French communist party and was sent to American communist party with criticism over
collaboration with government administration during war; criticism against American communist
party convinced Russian communist party that working with the west was coming to an end
--Stalin gave election speech in February 1946 before Supreme Soviet Council that was in charge
of election process; speech covered the incompatibility of communism with capitalism; intent
was telling Soviet people that playtime was over, not that third world war would begin
--Canadian government busted Soviet spy ring involved in America; two events combined to
convince American people that viable threat existed; George F. Keenan of the State Department
and working at American embassy in Moscow was asked to analyze the Stalin speech; Keenan
sent off Long Telegram, which explained that goals were based upon ideology and desire for
expansion over resources; policy advocated was containing of Soviet threat through blocking
expansion so that pressure would build to point of forced change or destruction
--Churchill lost position as prime minister in elections; went on tour and gave speech in March
1946 that became known as Iron Curtain Speech; declared that Iron Curtain had descended on
Europe; called for Anglo-American alliance to block Soviet expansionism, which raised problem
as Stalin perceived great cause for danger against Russia reeling from devastation of war
--Iran Crisis occurred in 1946; fear arose during war that Germans might overtake oil fields,
which led British and Russians to jointly occupy country and agree to leave after war; British
slowly moved to withdraw while Russians made no effort to leave; Russians argued that problem
entailed not having enough transport material for troops and supplies
,--Iranians raised great fear over Russian slowness and came to American government; did not
expect forces to stay, but wanted buffer against British ownership of petroleum; American effort
at United Nations brought agreement to soon leave and allowed country to move into Iran and
take share in ownership of petroleum
--Truman came to believe through crisis that Soviets have aggressive intent and that firmness
will cause them to retreat; Clark Clifford became special advisor to president and received
assignment to study opinion in defense establishment for idea of how to handle Soviets; Clifford
Report produced negative assessment and declared that key Soviet aim is destruction of
capitalism, belief is that war will be inevitable, and any agreements would be broken
--Americans were interested in developing economic integrity of Germany so aid would not be
continuously funneled; French and Russians feared revival of any sort for possibility of invasion
and opposed such decisions; British and Americans decide to head forward with economic plan
and combined into area known as Bizonia; French came to reluctantly agree and combined zone
with British and Americans to form Trizonia
--Montreaux Convention barred Russians from using the Turkish Straits as transport route;
agreement arose during war that Russians could use straits upon conclusion of war, but
conclusion of war brought denial of agreement; naval forces were mobilized to prevent Soviets
from advancing through straits
--in effort to educate public about Soviet actions, X Article (The Sources of Soviet Conduct) was
published by Keenan; built upon Clifford Report and Long Telegram by declaring that Soviet
expansion must be contained to force change in system through moderation or breakup; speech
concerned political threat of subversion and real danger of communist rise in governments
through election by concerned and revolutionary people; proposed dealing with situation by
sending economic aid to build up countries and quiet unrest
--almost everyone reading article misinterprets purpose to concern military solution to contain
military threat of Soviets; misreading also involves perception that Soviet threat is universal and
must be opposed everywhere; Keenan only believes that America, Britain, Central Europe,
Japan, China, and Soviet Union are concerned; strategy is holding five areas for assured victory
and leaving other areas alone for lack of importance
--Greece had been occupied by Germany during war; bitterness over occupation led to split in
civil war between royalist and communist resistance forces; British came to back royalists and
inform Americans that lack of finances means having to pull back; Americans conclude that lack
of aid will mean Stalin taking control of Greece
--Truman went to Congress and gave speech that declared peoples resisting subjugation by
minorities or outside pressure must be given aid; Truman Doctrine received support from
Senator Arthur Vandenburg by giving speech that sought to scare everyone else into believing
threat existed and meant something; aid became extended to Greece and Turkey, but problem
arose with Truman Doctrine being broad declaration of commitment to opposing communists
--Keenan believed that economic condition of Europe was greatest threat; worked on plan to
bolster economic security of Europe; Secretary of State George Marshall took plan and launched
it through speech; centered on having European countries present plan for received aid for
,approval from America; plan entailed international aid where recipients were part of large group
rather than from one country to another
--Marshall Plan did not meet with immediate support from everyone, but came to occur with
following events; Soviets backed coup in Czechoslovakia of communist supporters occurred in
defensive move for protection against possible action when Germans are rearmed; Western
powers see naked communist aggression, which leads appropriations to go soaring through
Congress and prevent countries from falling into bankruptcy
--Soviet response to aid involved Berlin Blockade of all supplied from West Germany into West
Berlin; West Berlin had rebuilt and become shining economic beacon for those who are in East
Germany; free traffic happened and led to people entering into West Berlin for travel into West
Germany; blockade prevented land traffic and had goal of starving people into submission, but
failed when massive supply effort took place with Berlin Airlift
--Czech Coup and Berlin Blockade led to military equivalent of Marshall Plan; North Atlantic
Treaty Organization formed where members agreed that attack upon one would meet with a
response from all; Military Assistance Program was developed to funnel military aid to newly
established military allies
--1947 National Security Act was passed to prepare bureaucratic system for Cold War; created
Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States Air Force,
National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Director of Central Intelligence, and
National Security Resources Board
--hydrogen bomb developed with far greater explosive and destructive capabilities; yields
became measured by megatons rather than kilotons; bomb was also known as fusion bomb or
thermonuclear bomb
--arms race had not developed until the decade after World War Two; conflict until that point
was nothing more than a battle of rhetoric and political subversion through monetary aid; little
was thrown into research and development; greatest problem involved what should be done with
high number of surplus weaponry
--real difficulty was in transition to large scale production once arms race did begin; building
nuclear weapons was not difficult, but what exactly to do with those weapons and how to
transport them was problematic; led to small production at the start
--monopoly over nuclear weapons in the first years led to less urgency for having them; scientists
working on project did not share optimism in monopoly being held over long run; believed
monopoly would end after five years; monopoly did end in five years
--believed that Soviet Union was not demobilizing, but keeping large numbers of forces ready
for attack; fed by disinformation campaign by Stalin, which convinced American government
that attack against West Germany would come
--routine flying missions were carried out over edge of Soviet air space for purpose of measuring
air quality for radioactive material; air sampling revealed that bomb had been set off, thus
eliminating the monopoly of America and removing certainty of security that came from it
, --debate had been taking place over whether to construct a hydrogen bomb; doubt existed among
scientists for not being sure of what to do with smaller fission bombs that had been created; fact
of Russians obtaining led to formation of Special Liaison Committee
--Special Liaison Committee was composed of Dean Acheson (Secretary of State), Louis
Johnson (Secretary of Defense), and David Lilienthal (Atomic Energy Commission); Dean
Acheson wanted bomb built as way to increase support for presidential run, Louis Johnson
wanted bomb built to offset reductions in conventional spending, and Atomic Energy
Commission had control over bombs
--feasibility study admitted that hydrogen bomb could be done; Lilienthal worried that
government would have little idea of how to fit nuclear weapons into defense planning; signed
off on project, but with point that effort be made to produce plans that figure out how to use the
weapons and incorporate them into defense
--report of committee is submitted to upper levels of bureaucracy under designation of NSC-68;
Paul Nitze presented report with stark depiction of Soviet goals; portrayed conflict of free world
versus evil power with no reason for trying to negotiate; hardliner document proposes four
options to meet challenge
--three options of isolation and letting Soviet Union operate, launching preventative war while
ability exists, and maintaining present policies were meant to be shot down; fourth option
proposed massive buildup of nuclear and conventional forces; concrete numbers are never given
for buildup, but hopes are roughly quadrupling defense budget
--North Korean forces invaded across 38th parallel in attempt of forceful reunification in 1950;
American government believed that Soviet Union was behind attack; Syngman Rhee was leader
of the south where Kim Il Sung was leader of the north
--North Korean forces easily made their way into southern territory until only small amount of
area remained in the Pusan Perimeter; American government became concerned about Soviet
intentions and went before United Nations Security Council for endorsement of attack resolution
--mainly American forces under General Douglas MacArthur led daring invasion through the
port of Inchon; Seoul is recaptured and forces are sent into the north with attempt at reunification
on own terms; forces push all the way to the Yalu River, but meet with Chinese intervention and
are then pushed back to the 38th parallel
--negotiations began at city of Panmunjom; negotiations led to truce agreement in 1953 that
ended armed conflict; truce never led to eventual peace treaty; state of war technically still
remains in effect
--Dwight Eisenhower became president in 1953; John Foster Dulles was hardliner and believed
that coexistence was impossible; believed that containment and opposition needed to be done at
every opportunity; Eisenhower engaged in tough rhetoric mainly to disarm Republican right and
claimed that containment would be sellout to the communists; almost nothing changed in
actuality; same process is continued as before, but people are frightened
--Yalta Conference in 1945 was a meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin; resulted in
decision to partition Germany and provide Russia with Polish territory in exchange for German
territory; Stalin wanted future conflict to be fought on Polish soil rather than Russian soil and for
control over government; Roosevelt pressed for free elections and a democratic government
--Roosevelt died in April 1945; Truman takes position and has little experience with foreign
policy or knowledge of atomic bomb; Hitler died and left German leaders scrambling to form
government for surrendering; leaders, military servicemen, and civilians wished to escape west
and surrender to British or Americans; feared brutality and retaliation from Russians
--European war ended in May 1945 with expectation that forces would not stray in place for
extended period of time; Truman wished to continue policy of Roosevelt, but shift began to take
place in the coming year; people that were brought in under Truman were organized more along
a hardliner stance; even with emergence of hardliners, conflict still would take time to develop
--Orthodox school involved America being the good side and Russians being the bad side;
Conservative Revisionists argued that Roosevelt allowed the Russians to become aggressors
through soft stance at Yalta, thereby forcing Americans to defend their good cause; Radical
Revisionists of the New Left declared that Americans were aggressors and that Russians were
defending themselves against neo-colonialist efforts; Post Revisionists declared that both sides
should share the blame for being equally provocative and aggressive
--events happened that gave Washington sense that things were turning sour; Duclos Letter came
from French communist party and was sent to American communist party with criticism over
collaboration with government administration during war; criticism against American communist
party convinced Russian communist party that working with the west was coming to an end
--Stalin gave election speech in February 1946 before Supreme Soviet Council that was in charge
of election process; speech covered the incompatibility of communism with capitalism; intent
was telling Soviet people that playtime was over, not that third world war would begin
--Canadian government busted Soviet spy ring involved in America; two events combined to
convince American people that viable threat existed; George F. Keenan of the State Department
and working at American embassy in Moscow was asked to analyze the Stalin speech; Keenan
sent off Long Telegram, which explained that goals were based upon ideology and desire for
expansion over resources; policy advocated was containing of Soviet threat through blocking
expansion so that pressure would build to point of forced change or destruction
--Churchill lost position as prime minister in elections; went on tour and gave speech in March
1946 that became known as Iron Curtain Speech; declared that Iron Curtain had descended on
Europe; called for Anglo-American alliance to block Soviet expansionism, which raised problem
as Stalin perceived great cause for danger against Russia reeling from devastation of war
--Iran Crisis occurred in 1946; fear arose during war that Germans might overtake oil fields,
which led British and Russians to jointly occupy country and agree to leave after war; British
slowly moved to withdraw while Russians made no effort to leave; Russians argued that problem
entailed not having enough transport material for troops and supplies
,--Iranians raised great fear over Russian slowness and came to American government; did not
expect forces to stay, but wanted buffer against British ownership of petroleum; American effort
at United Nations brought agreement to soon leave and allowed country to move into Iran and
take share in ownership of petroleum
--Truman came to believe through crisis that Soviets have aggressive intent and that firmness
will cause them to retreat; Clark Clifford became special advisor to president and received
assignment to study opinion in defense establishment for idea of how to handle Soviets; Clifford
Report produced negative assessment and declared that key Soviet aim is destruction of
capitalism, belief is that war will be inevitable, and any agreements would be broken
--Americans were interested in developing economic integrity of Germany so aid would not be
continuously funneled; French and Russians feared revival of any sort for possibility of invasion
and opposed such decisions; British and Americans decide to head forward with economic plan
and combined into area known as Bizonia; French came to reluctantly agree and combined zone
with British and Americans to form Trizonia
--Montreaux Convention barred Russians from using the Turkish Straits as transport route;
agreement arose during war that Russians could use straits upon conclusion of war, but
conclusion of war brought denial of agreement; naval forces were mobilized to prevent Soviets
from advancing through straits
--in effort to educate public about Soviet actions, X Article (The Sources of Soviet Conduct) was
published by Keenan; built upon Clifford Report and Long Telegram by declaring that Soviet
expansion must be contained to force change in system through moderation or breakup; speech
concerned political threat of subversion and real danger of communist rise in governments
through election by concerned and revolutionary people; proposed dealing with situation by
sending economic aid to build up countries and quiet unrest
--almost everyone reading article misinterprets purpose to concern military solution to contain
military threat of Soviets; misreading also involves perception that Soviet threat is universal and
must be opposed everywhere; Keenan only believes that America, Britain, Central Europe,
Japan, China, and Soviet Union are concerned; strategy is holding five areas for assured victory
and leaving other areas alone for lack of importance
--Greece had been occupied by Germany during war; bitterness over occupation led to split in
civil war between royalist and communist resistance forces; British came to back royalists and
inform Americans that lack of finances means having to pull back; Americans conclude that lack
of aid will mean Stalin taking control of Greece
--Truman went to Congress and gave speech that declared peoples resisting subjugation by
minorities or outside pressure must be given aid; Truman Doctrine received support from
Senator Arthur Vandenburg by giving speech that sought to scare everyone else into believing
threat existed and meant something; aid became extended to Greece and Turkey, but problem
arose with Truman Doctrine being broad declaration of commitment to opposing communists
--Keenan believed that economic condition of Europe was greatest threat; worked on plan to
bolster economic security of Europe; Secretary of State George Marshall took plan and launched
it through speech; centered on having European countries present plan for received aid for
,approval from America; plan entailed international aid where recipients were part of large group
rather than from one country to another
--Marshall Plan did not meet with immediate support from everyone, but came to occur with
following events; Soviets backed coup in Czechoslovakia of communist supporters occurred in
defensive move for protection against possible action when Germans are rearmed; Western
powers see naked communist aggression, which leads appropriations to go soaring through
Congress and prevent countries from falling into bankruptcy
--Soviet response to aid involved Berlin Blockade of all supplied from West Germany into West
Berlin; West Berlin had rebuilt and become shining economic beacon for those who are in East
Germany; free traffic happened and led to people entering into West Berlin for travel into West
Germany; blockade prevented land traffic and had goal of starving people into submission, but
failed when massive supply effort took place with Berlin Airlift
--Czech Coup and Berlin Blockade led to military equivalent of Marshall Plan; North Atlantic
Treaty Organization formed where members agreed that attack upon one would meet with a
response from all; Military Assistance Program was developed to funnel military aid to newly
established military allies
--1947 National Security Act was passed to prepare bureaucratic system for Cold War; created
Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States Air Force,
National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Director of Central Intelligence, and
National Security Resources Board
--hydrogen bomb developed with far greater explosive and destructive capabilities; yields
became measured by megatons rather than kilotons; bomb was also known as fusion bomb or
thermonuclear bomb
--arms race had not developed until the decade after World War Two; conflict until that point
was nothing more than a battle of rhetoric and political subversion through monetary aid; little
was thrown into research and development; greatest problem involved what should be done with
high number of surplus weaponry
--real difficulty was in transition to large scale production once arms race did begin; building
nuclear weapons was not difficult, but what exactly to do with those weapons and how to
transport them was problematic; led to small production at the start
--monopoly over nuclear weapons in the first years led to less urgency for having them; scientists
working on project did not share optimism in monopoly being held over long run; believed
monopoly would end after five years; monopoly did end in five years
--believed that Soviet Union was not demobilizing, but keeping large numbers of forces ready
for attack; fed by disinformation campaign by Stalin, which convinced American government
that attack against West Germany would come
--routine flying missions were carried out over edge of Soviet air space for purpose of measuring
air quality for radioactive material; air sampling revealed that bomb had been set off, thus
eliminating the monopoly of America and removing certainty of security that came from it
, --debate had been taking place over whether to construct a hydrogen bomb; doubt existed among
scientists for not being sure of what to do with smaller fission bombs that had been created; fact
of Russians obtaining led to formation of Special Liaison Committee
--Special Liaison Committee was composed of Dean Acheson (Secretary of State), Louis
Johnson (Secretary of Defense), and David Lilienthal (Atomic Energy Commission); Dean
Acheson wanted bomb built as way to increase support for presidential run, Louis Johnson
wanted bomb built to offset reductions in conventional spending, and Atomic Energy
Commission had control over bombs
--feasibility study admitted that hydrogen bomb could be done; Lilienthal worried that
government would have little idea of how to fit nuclear weapons into defense planning; signed
off on project, but with point that effort be made to produce plans that figure out how to use the
weapons and incorporate them into defense
--report of committee is submitted to upper levels of bureaucracy under designation of NSC-68;
Paul Nitze presented report with stark depiction of Soviet goals; portrayed conflict of free world
versus evil power with no reason for trying to negotiate; hardliner document proposes four
options to meet challenge
--three options of isolation and letting Soviet Union operate, launching preventative war while
ability exists, and maintaining present policies were meant to be shot down; fourth option
proposed massive buildup of nuclear and conventional forces; concrete numbers are never given
for buildup, but hopes are roughly quadrupling defense budget
--North Korean forces invaded across 38th parallel in attempt of forceful reunification in 1950;
American government believed that Soviet Union was behind attack; Syngman Rhee was leader
of the south where Kim Il Sung was leader of the north
--North Korean forces easily made their way into southern territory until only small amount of
area remained in the Pusan Perimeter; American government became concerned about Soviet
intentions and went before United Nations Security Council for endorsement of attack resolution
--mainly American forces under General Douglas MacArthur led daring invasion through the
port of Inchon; Seoul is recaptured and forces are sent into the north with attempt at reunification
on own terms; forces push all the way to the Yalu River, but meet with Chinese intervention and
are then pushed back to the 38th parallel
--negotiations began at city of Panmunjom; negotiations led to truce agreement in 1953 that
ended armed conflict; truce never led to eventual peace treaty; state of war technically still
remains in effect
--Dwight Eisenhower became president in 1953; John Foster Dulles was hardliner and believed
that coexistence was impossible; believed that containment and opposition needed to be done at
every opportunity; Eisenhower engaged in tough rhetoric mainly to disarm Republican right and
claimed that containment would be sellout to the communists; almost nothing changed in
actuality; same process is continued as before, but people are frightened
