Roots+of+the+Cold+War+yipsumw2013+04.17.11

MY OWN AWESOMENESS:

This is a flow chart containing all the main events from each chapter of the book. Although it is not very detailed, it offers a good overview of how relations between the Allied powers worsened, mainly after World War II ended. We can see that with almost every event the animosity and distrust between the Big Three grows and develops, ending where the US decides to militarize in counter of Soviet threats.



OTHER AWESOMENESS:

This shot portrays the "Trinity" test, the first nuclear test explosion. It was taken at the Los Alamos laboratory, where scientists were working under the Manhattan Project. Later on, Americans would continue conducting such test explosions to develop an atomic bomb which would eventually be used on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII.
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Citation (as there were technical errors with embedding reference markers): Aeby, Jack. // Trinity Shot Color //. 1945. Photograph. United States Department of Energy, Los Alamos. // File: Trinity Shot Color.jpg //. Wikipedia, 14 May 2005. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .

This shot portrays Berliners watching a C-54 land at the Berlin Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin blockade by the Soviet Union in 1948. At the time, the Soviet Union cut off all water, land, and rail routes for the delivery of critical supplies to West Berlin. In response, the Americans and British conducted a massive airlift as four hundred Allied aircraft made nearly fourteen hundred flights, delivering thirteen thousand tons of cargo within two days.
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Citation (as there were technical errors when trying to embed reference markers): // Berliners Watching a C-54 Land at Berlin Tempelhof Airport, 1948 //. 1948. Photograph. United States Air Force Historical Research Agency, Berlin. // File:C-54landingattemplehof.jpg //. Wikipedia, 21 Sept. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .

The Roots of the Cold War

**I. **** The Bolsheviks ** · 1917: two revolutions in Russia o March: antitsarist groups overthrew Nicholas II, established a provisional government led by Lvov then Kerensky. o November: ** Kerensky government ** overthrown by Lenin’s ** Communist party **, took power for ** Soviets ** (worker’s councils) · Lenin’s followers = ** Bolsheviks ** (misleadingly implying that the faction represented the majority of Russian socialists) · United States + Bolsheviks started off bad relations because Bolsheviks signed ** Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ** (Russia quit helping Allies in WWII à March 1918) · ** Totalitarian regime ** of Bolsheviks only became clear after Lenin died and Stalin took over in 1928 · Ideological difference ** American capitalism ** + ** Russian communism ** à suspicion and distrust o March 1919: Bolsheviks established the Comintern (Communist International) to work “by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie.” · ** Civil war ** in Russia between Whites and Reds: USA sends troops to support anti-Bolshevik Whites against Bolshevik Reds. o FAILED. 1922: Reds establish USSR (Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics) · US didn’t recognize Soviet Union formally until 1933, even though: o 1920s: US supported Russian famine relief o they established commercial relations during Lenin’s Economic Policy (1921-1929)

**II. **** The Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact ** · Lenin’s ** NEW ECONOMIC POLICY **: o Soviet state controls all large economic enterprises: factories, mines, railroads, etc. o Only small businesses (less than 20 employees) · Stalin’s ** Five year Plans **: greater economic control o First plan: for 1929-33 o Stalin: Soviet Union was 50-100 years behind the “advanced” countries, they must catch up in 10 years or they will be crushed. · March 1933: Franklin ** Roosevelt **invites Soviet foreign minister Litvinov to Washington and they agree to establish formal diplomatic relations (because Soviet cooperation was harder to obtain with rise of militarism in Japan and Germany.) · 1939: Because Stalin distrusted the British and French more than he hated the Germans, he signed the ** Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression ** Pact with Hitler. · Non-aggression Pact ** delayed war ** for both sides: o Five-Year Plans were working, but USSR would not be ready for war until 1942 o Hitler wanted to avoid fighting in the east until Germany was victorious in the west. · However Hitler went back on the pact – before British fell in June 1941, Hitler invaded USSR anyways.

**III. **** A Marriage of Convenience ** · March 1941: Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass ** Lend-Lease Act, ** which gave military aid to countries fighting Germany and Japan (purpose: keep Britain and China in the war until America became isolationist) · After US entered war, although efforts were made to improve US-Soviet relations, both sides couldn’t forget US’s long-lying animosity to Bolshevism · May 1942: USSR requests Roosevelt open second front to relieve USSR of pressure. Roosevelt promises to attack German-occupied France before end of 1942. · Winston Churchill (British prime minister) disagreed, believed that if US could only lose the war if it invaded France prematurely, persuaded Roosevelt to invade North AFRICA instead in late-1942. · Stalin deeply upset, animosity between three countries rises. Stalin felt that US and Britain were going to “pay their way by bombing Germany” (wasn’t much)

**IV. **** The Big Three at Tehran ** · // Postponed invasion // of France in Jan 1943 because it could possibly influence British economic interests in the Mediterranean, decided to invade Sicily instead (Italy) · Stalin became even more angry + suspicious, **thought Churchill was pursuing imperial self-interest at expense of countless Russian lives** · ** Nov 1943: Tehran: first meeting of Big Three ** · Roosevelt was anxious to use “personal charm” on Stalin (didn’t work, said “he was “correct, stiff, solemn, not smiling, nothing human to get a hold of”   · Others have described Stalin as “the most inscrutable and contradictory character I have ever known” and “better informed than Roosevelt, more realistic than Churchill, […] most effective of war leaders, [but at the same time] a murderous tyrant.”    · Discussed ** Operation Overlord **: cross-Channel invasion plan of France. Roosevelt agreed to launch date of **May 1, 1944,** Churchill had to agree.    · Stalin was pleased that Roosevelt understood “whoever occupies a territory also imposes his own social system. Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach.”

**V. **** Yalta ** · ** Feb 1945: Yalta, Black Sea ** : Big Three meets for second+ last time. Discussed 4 issues: o Creation of an organization to succeed League of Nations (disbanded) o Future of Eastern Europe (particularly Poland) o Status of Germany o Soviet entry into Pacific war. · Roosevelt’s health was poor, was hard for him to remain his stance (easy to persuade) · Stalin wanted: o Veto power for permanent members of Security Council, separate General Assembly seats for Belorussia and Ukraine o Wanted recognition for his Communist government in Poland (instead of the exiled government operating in London) o Wanted ten billion dollars’ worth of industrial equipment as war repartitions from defeated Germany o In return for agreeing to attack Japan after Germany’s surrender, wanted to annex the Kurile Islands and take back of the territory lost to Japan during Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 · Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to most demands because Stalin’s Red Army had fought hard and long and this **put the Soviets in a commanding position.** · Stalin’s troops had occupied Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland, and advanced troops were within 65 miles of Berlin, and in comparison Americans + British had not crossed the Rhine yet. · To save face, American + British officials filled texts of agreements with a lot of empty words (meaning it was very vague)

**VI. **** Division of Germany ** · March 1945: Americans + British crossed Rhine, Eisenhower sent cable to Stalin telling him of plans: o Capturing Ruhr Valley (Germany’s industrial heartland) o Preventing Nazi withdrawal to Bavarian Alps o Avoiding unintentional clash with Soviet troops heading west. · Cable infuriated Churchill: Eisenhower was giving up Berlin to Soviets · April 16: Soviets attack Berlin. April 26: last phase of battle. **April 30: Hitler suicides in his bunk.** · May 2: Berlin surrenders, wanted to just surrender on US front (wanted Anglo-American support against Soviets) but Truman refused. · ** May 7: final surrender. **  · ** Germany = divided into 4 occupation zones: US, Britain, France, and Soviet Union. **

**VII. **** The Manhattan Project ** · April 12, 1945: President Roosevelt died · Truman was in shock to know he had been working on the ** Manhattan Project -** a code name for a plan to develop an atomic bomb. · Stimson: “we shall have completed the most terrible weapon ever known in human history” prediction: world could be completely destroyed by this weapon. · Manhattan Project: idea started in August 1939 when Szilard was monitoring research on neutron bombardment. German War Office report: “that country which first makes use of [newest developments in nuclear physics] has an unsurpassable advantage over others. · Dec 1942: Enrico Fermi (Italian) created first controlled nuclear chain reaction · Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Washington: scientists worked on //refining uranium and plutonium// into nuclear fuels. · // Los Alamos, New Mexico: design and testing of bombs took place at a private school for boys //.

**VIII. **** Knowledge of the Bomb ** · April 25: Truman learns that British know about Manhattan Project but Soviets don’t · Bohr urged Churchill + Roosevelt to Stalin what was going on, because **Soviet cooperation is essential to development of postwar atomic controls.** //__ However, they didn’t, and this damaged whatever other efforts they had to when Stalin’s trust __//. · Interim Committee: consisted of government officials + scientists, regarded Soviets + Japanese the same about not knowing. · Hiroshima + Nagasaki: targeted for atomic attack. o Intentionally spared other bombing so atomic bomb = huge contrast. · Byrnes changed the language of the surrender terms à in hope the Japanese wanted to keep fighting à justified the use of atomic bombs · Interim committee had greater goals than Japan.. “If the bomb were not used in the present war” they would use the atomic bomb to achieve ** world peace **. · Although it was suggested that the Soviets should be informed of the new advancement to improve the US/Britain’s moral position, it was dismissed because others wanted to demonstrate their strength with surprise.

**IX. **** Potsdam ** · 1945: Truman meets Churchill + Stalin in Potsdam, Berlin, discussed: o German occupation, invasion of Japan, Manhattan Project were all on Truman’s mind. o @ conference, Stalin reaffirms his promise to enter Pacific war on Aug 15 · after conference, Truman received cable that atomic testing = better than expected, they could end the war quicker and without Soviet involvement. · Truman finally told Stalin in a casual manner about the development of a “new weapon of unusual destructive force”, Stalin showed no interest. He already knew about the Project from spies within, and ** a secret Soviet atomic program was already established and underway **. · ** Anglo-American secrecy __aggravated__ Soviet __mistrust__. **  · ** Truman and Churchill had revealed that the bomb was not only meant for Japan but also for the USSR **

**X. **** Containment ** · Bombing of Nagasaki & Hiroshima completely ruined Soviet-American cooperation · USSR annexed Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), and Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania became Soviet satellites. · Charge d’affaires of US embassy Kennan reports situation in Europe through the ** Long Telegram **, which outlined the strategy of containment which became the basis of postwar US foreign policy. · April 1947: Kennan publishes reasoning in //Foreign Affairs//: we must hold a “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies”… in other words, their enemy USSR had two goals: o ** Establishing a security circle around its homeland ** § A sign of Russian imperialism, cannot be contained o ** Exporting Communism to other countries. **  § Can be contained because not as important · US: four interests: ** Western Europe, Western Hemisphere, Japan, Middle East .** All are unlikely to be invaded by Soviets, would only try to undermine the government, to which their solution would be to set up unstable pro-Western regimes · Kennan emphasized that ** as long as US kept pressuring their Soviet counterparts, they would not need to militarize for the Cold War **

**XI. **** Truman Doctrine ** · From Kennan’s assessment, Truman understood he could not free Soviet territory easily. · ** Soviets now dominant military power in Europe **, could do as they wanted · Soviet expansionism was working though.. more nonaligned nations were giving way. o Ex. Greece: Communists were starting to beat pro-Western gov. o Ex. Turkey: gov. being forced to share control of Dardanelles (giving Soviet fleet access to Mediterranean) o 1947: British could no longer afford to support Greece + Turkey · Truman decided only American aid could keep Greece + Turkey out of Communism · Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson: theorized that if one country fell, another would fall to hands of Soviets (hence, the ** domino theory **) · Since they didn’t want other countries like Iran and India to give in, the Republican leaders of the Congress agreed to ** appropriate four hundred million dollars in economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey ** on the condition that the president personally explain this crucial issue before the entire Congress · May 12: makes his speech, now known as the ** Truman Doctrine, the commitment of the United States to aid, economy and militarily, any nation threatened by Communism .** · “I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”

**XII. **** Disarray in Postwar Europe ** · Jan 1947 (2 mths before T Doctrine): US, British, French, Soviet foreign ministers gathered in Moscow to ** discuss future of Germany **. However French were nervous a reunified Germany (as agreed upon before) would pose a future threat · ** Disputes ** rose at the conference, over: o War reparations o Level of industry permitted in Germany o Whether coal + steel industries of Ruhr should be put under international control o How centralized German gov should be. · NO AGREEMENT WAS REACHED ^ · George C. Marshall thought the Soviets didn’t want to make progress in discussion because political stalemate only aggravated the growing economic disarray in occupied Germany & in Western Europe · ** Economy ** in danger : o ** Bombing ** destroyed cities + economic infrastructure o Businesses and factories **lacked the supplies** they needed to be productive o ** Unemployment **, constant shortages even for those with jobs o ** Food shortages **, millions on verge of starvation · ECONOMIC TURMOIL was starting to undermine US occupation authorities as well as government authorities o Places (France + Italy) were shortages were severe Communist govs were starting to gain ground o British withdrew from Greece and Turkey · Marshall told Kennan to investigate economic situation in Europe and ask if the US may be of help · ^ was in attempt to contain the USSR within its borders.

**<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13pt;">XIII. **** The Marshall Plan ** · June 5, 1947: Marshall talks to Harvard graduates about the problems US face in Europe: Europe demands are higher than US’s ability to provide for them, and if she doesn’t receive help she will face “economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.” o Proposed that the Europeans create a recovery plan and US was to fund it. · European countries agreed, established joint communiqué which included sixteen nations · Soviet and five of its client states refused to take part because Stalin imagined an integrated European market, implying free movement goods and services and therefore, free movement of people · Western leaders saw his refusal as another step to prevent postwar stabilization à ADDED TENSION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS! · ABOVE PLAN = ERP (European Recovery Program)… proposed to US congress. Price tag = 17 billion dollars. o DEBATE: con: US cannot afford; pro: would create new export markets, if US didn’t act soon, more European democracies would fall to the Communists · After Czechoslovakia fell to Communists in Feb 1948, US gov gave ERP 13 billion USD à Marshall Plan the MOST EXPENSIVE FOREIGN POLICY initiative in US history · US = new global leader

**<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13pt;">XIV. **** The Berlin Airlift ** · Soviets preferred a disintegrated, unstable Germany · Americans + British combined occupation zones into Bizonia, French added their sectors later on (Trizonia… = future Western Germany) · US + British authorities introduce new currency in western Germany (Deutsche mark) à crucial to recovery of western Germany because former Nazi currency was worthless. · Before June 1948: black market + barter system used, now shopkeepers accept cash again with new currency. · New currency introduced June 23, next day all transport of food, fuel, vital supplies to West Berlin cut off by SOVIETS. · Western Allies protested, but Soviets refused to budge. · Soviets needed 45 hundred tons of supplies/day for 2.5 million people. Back then cargo planes could only carry 3 tons per flight · April 16-17, 1949: Truman sends over 400 Allied aircraft, making fourteen hundred flights.. one per minute, delivered 13 thousand tons of cargo. · May 12: Soviets lift blockade · **// US showed their power to counter Soviet aggression without resorting to direct conflict //**.

**<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13pt;">XV. **** Nato and the Warsaw Pact ** · Truman + Marshall believed that militarization for Cold War was unnecessary: if they militarized, it would only prompt the Soviet Union to do so too o Believed the SU would not send army outside their surrounding security corridor + enough counter-pressure on other expansionism should be enough resistance · America’s European allies were nervous: o March 1948: Britain, France, and Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) signed ** Treaty of Brussels ** à mutual defense; yet it was still useless without US. o April 1949: ** NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) **– a formal, permanent military alliance between US + European allies (bound together by the North Atlantic Treaty) § Founding members: US, Treaty of Brussels states, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Portugal. § Some nations opposed others from joining because they were too geographically, politically, and culturally different. § Offered membership to Greece + Turkey in 1952 § West Germany added to NATO May 1955 (needed for conventional forces to resist Soviet invasion   · Soviets responded with ** Warsaw Treaty Organization ** five days later: USSR, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania.

<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13pt;">XVI. ** The Hiss Case ** · August 3, 1948: Whittaker Chambers testified before HUAC for espionage. · Chambers told congressmen he used to be a part of a secret Communist cell in Washington DC, also told them another guy, Alger Hiss had accompanied FDR to Yalta · Aug 5: Hiss comes appearing as poised and elegant + denies everything. · AT first everyone suspected Chambers because he was more fidgety but freshman Republican Richard M. Nixon interrogated him seriously in person and believed him to tell the truth. · Aug 25: This time, under intense questioning (particularly by Nixon) Hiss lost his previous stance and revealed some parts of his story. · Later on, Hiss sued Chambers for slander. · Chambers produces documents written by Hiss, cannot be determined if they were legit. · Dec 15: Hiss charged of perjury, later on convicted and served 44 months in jail. · Hiss case became a focus for American anxiety ** about the secret role that Communists might be playing in the nation’s public life **(didn’t know who to trust)

**<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13pt;">XVII. **** McCarthyism ** · 1950: Nixon became famous (Hiss) and secured Senate nomination · Opponent: Helen Gahagan Douglas (dubbed “Pink Lady” by Nixon because she was too “soft” on communism, the same with Truman admin) o Distributed “pink sheets” comparing liberal voting record + published platform of communists · After elected to Senate, Nixon joined the Permanent Investigation Subcommittee chaired by Joseph ** McCarthy ** (aggressive anti-communist, elected on basis of self-inflated war record as a Republican) · Feb 9, 1950, McCarthy made Lincoln Day Speech to Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, pronounced that he had 205 names who were communists and working within the State Department · ^ raised ** mass hysteria **, dominated domestic politics for the next decade (**// manipulated domestic fears for political gain //**) · although McCarthy never showed his list of names + never caught anyone in 4 years, the fears of Communist infiltration was aroused. · **//__ Fears mainly came from: __//** o **// Hiss case //** o **// August 1949: explosion of Soviet atomic bomb //** o **// Victory of Mao’s Communists in China //** · RESULT: wide + compliant Americans

**<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13pt;">XVIII. **** NSC-6B ** · Congress passed ** National Security Act of 1947 ** o Cause: because of WWII + to developing Soviet threat o Result: reorganized government’s military + foreign policy establishments)   o It:    § combined War + Navy Departments into Department of Defense    § created CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) as a focus for national security within executive branch, successor to NSC (National Security Council)    · Jan 1950: Truman requests NSC to review US national security strategy w/ recent developments (Soviet bomb, new Communist China)    · NSC-68: 58-page memorandum    o Written by State Department’s policy planning staff under Nitze (he replaced Kennan)    o Laid out the details of US’s national security strategy for next 20 years    o Included:    § Defeat of Germany + Japan, Decline of Britain, leaving of France as US + USSR as only two world powers    § USSR “animated by a new fanatical faith” that was opposite to US, and wanted to take over world    § CONCLUSION: ** massive //__military__// buildup ** necessary to counter Soviet threat · Kennan disagreed: still convinced the threat was mostly political, criticized Nitze’s assertion that Soviets wanted to dominate world, believed that the arms race would destabilize America. · Kennan winning until Communist North Korea attacked liberal South Korea (backed by US), more Republicans said Truman = too soft · During next 3 years, Truman administration tripled defense spending as percentage of GDP, increasing from 5% (1950) to 14% (1953)

SUMMARY:

The Cold War started because of many different reasons, the main one being the growing animosity that seemed to be prevalent between the USA and USSR after World War II ended. Other reasons include the formation of new alliances, particularly the NATO and Warsaw pacts that divided the USSR and USA into two separate partnerships; the American hatred of Bolshevism and their fear of Communism (aroused by the Hiss case and accusations made by McCarthy); the rise and growth of Communist movements in Western Europe; the secret development of an atomic bomb in America (Manhattan) that Stalin found out about, and how it confirmed his fears that the bomb was not only meant for Japan but also for the USSR. Also, the Truman Doctrine (which stated that the US would aid all nations threatened by Communism), Marshall Plan (which strove to promote European economic recovery and end political destabilization), and the NSC-68 (which forced the US to start a mass military build-up) all contributed to the escalation of anxiety and hostility between the Allied superpowers of the post-war era.

QUESTIONS:

1. How did the Hiss Case arouse American anxiety about Communism infiltrating Americans’ normal lives? 2. How did keeping the Manhattan Project a secret from Stalin worsen international relations between the USSR and the USA? 3. Who was Joseph McCarthy and how did he start a “destructive crusade that manipulated domestic fears for political gain”? 4. What is the significance of NSC-68? 5. Why did the Soviets sign the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact?