CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 29
The Cold War and American Globalism,
1945-1961

Chapter Summary
Chapter 29 surveys the history of the bipolar contest for international power between the United States and the Soviet Union, a contest known as the Cold War, from 1945 to 1961.
We first examine the Cold War as the outgrowth of a complex set of factors. At the end of the Second World War, international relations remained unstable because of (1) world economic problems; (2) power vacuums caused by the defeat of Germany and Japan; (3) civil wars within nations; (4) the birth of nations resulting from the disintegration of empires; and (5) air power, which made all nations more vulnerable to attack. This unsettled environment encouraged competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two most powerful nations at the war’s end.
Furthermore, both the United States and the Soviet Union believed in the rightness of their own political, economic, and social systems, and each feared the other’s system. Their decisions and actions, based on the way each perceived the world, confirmed rather than alleviated these fears. For example, the American resolution to avoid appeasement and hold the line against communism, the American feeling of vulnerability in the air age, and American determination to prevent an economic depression led to an activist foreign policy characterized by the containment doctrine, economic expansionism, and globalist diplomacy. These factors, along with Truman’s anti-Soviet views and his brash personality, intensified Soviet fears of a hostile West. When the Soviets acted on the basis of this feeling, American worries that the Soviet Union was bent on world domination intensified.
Despite the fact that the Soviet Union had emerged from the Second World War as a regional power rather than a global menace, United States officials were distrustful of the Soviet Union and reacted to counter what they perceived to be a Soviet threat. They did so because of (1) their belief in a monolithic communist enemy bent on world revolution; (2) fear that unstable world conditions made United States interests vulnerable to Soviet subversion; and (3) the desire of the United States to use its postwar position of strength to its advantage. When the actions of the United States brought criticism, the United States perceived this as further proof that the Soviets were determined to dominate the world.
The interplay of these factors provides the thread running through the examination of American-Soviet relations from 1945 to 1961. The action-reaction theme is evident throughout the chapter, and the events discussed serve as evidence to support the authors’ interpretation of the sources of the Cold War. For example, in the discussion of the origins of the Korean War, we find that Truman acted out of the belief that the Soviets were the masterminds behind North Korea’s attack against South Korea. However, closer analysis of the situation shows the strong likelihood that North Korea started the war for its own nationalistic purposes and secured the support of a reluctant Joseph Stalin only after receiving the support of Mao Zedong. We examine the conduct of the war, Truman’s problems with General Douglas MacArthur, America’s use of atomic diplomacy, and the war’s domestic political impact. In the war’s aftermath, the globalist foreign policy used to justify it became entrenched in U.S. policy. This, in turn, led to an increase in foreign commitments and military appropriations and solidified the idea of a worldwide Soviet threat.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, accepted this view of a worldwide communist threat. During Eisenhower’s administration, this belief and the fear of domestic subversives that accompanied it led to the removal of talented Asian specialists from the Foreign Service, an action that would have dire consequences later on. Meanwhile, a new jargon invigorated the containment doctrine and the U.S. undertook propaganda efforts to foster discontent in the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe. Despite Eisenhower’s doubts about the arms race, as expressed in his 1953 “Atoms for Peace” speech, the president continued the activist foreign policy furthered during the Truman years and oversaw the acceleration of the nuclear arms race. Therefore, during the Eisenhower-Dulles years, the action-reaction relationship between the superpowers continued. Each action by one side caused a corresponding defensive reaction by the other in a seemingly endless spiral of fear and distrust. As a result, problems continued in Eastern Europe, Berlin, and Asia.
The process of decolonization begun during the First World War accelerated in the aftermath of the Second World War. As scores of new nations were born, the Cold-War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union began. Both superpowers began to compete for friends among the newly emerging nations of the Third World; however, both the United States and the Soviet Union encountered obstacles in finding allies among these nations. The factors that created obstacles for the United States in its search for Third World friends included:

1. America’s negative view toward the nonaligned movement among Third World nations;

2. the way in which the United States characterized Third-World peoples;

3. embarrassing incidents in the United States in which official representatives of the Third World were subjected to racist practices and prejudices;

4. America’s intolerance of the disorder caused by revolutionary nationalism; and

5. America’s great wealth.

To counter nationalism, radical doctrines, and neutralism in the Third World, the United States undertook development projects and, through the United States Information Agency, engaged in propaganda campaigns. In addition, during the Eisenhower administration the United States began increasingly to rely on the covert actions of the Central Intelligence Agency, as demonstrated in the Guatemalan and Iranian examples. Moreover, the attitude of the United States toward neutralism and toward the disruptions caused by revolutionary nationalism may be seen in the discussion of America’s deepening involvement in Vietnam and in the Eisenhower administration’s reaction to the events surrounding the 1956 Suez Crisis. In the aftermath of that crisis, fear of a weakened position in the Middle East led to the issuance of the Eisenhower Doctrine, which in turn was used to justify American military intervention in Lebanon in 1958, thus expanding the nation’s “global watch” approach to the containment of Communism.



Learning Objectives
1. Examine and explain the sources of the Cold War.
2. Examine the reasons for the activist, expansionist, globalist diplomacy undertaken by the United States in the aftermath of the Second World War; and, during the course of the Cold War, explain the exaggeration of the Soviet threat by United States officials.
3. Discuss the similarities and differences between American and Soviet perceptions of major international problems and events from 1945 to 1961.
4. Explain the rationale behind the containment doctrine; examine the evolution of the doctrine from its inception in 1947 to the end of the Eisenhower administration in 1961; discuss the history, extent, and nature of criticisms of the doctrine; and evaluate the doctrine as the cornerstone of American foreign policy from 1947 to 1961.
5. Examine the nature and extent of the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1961.
6. Examine, evaluate, and discuss the consequences of the defense and foreign policy views, goals, and actions of the Truman administration.
7. Discuss the reconstruction of Japan after that country’s defeat in the Second World War, and discuss relations between the United States and Japan from 1945 to 1961.
8. Examine and evaluate the events and decisions that led to deepening United States involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1961, and discuss the course of the war from 1950 to 1961.
9. Discuss the nature and outcome of the Chinese Civil War, and examine United States policy toward the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to 1961.
10. Discuss the origins of the Korean War; explain its outcome; and examine its impact on domestic politics and United States foreign policy.
11. Examine, evaluate, and discuss the consequences of the defense and foreign policy views, goals, and actions of the Eisenhower administration.
12. Discuss the rise of the Third World and explain the challenge the Third World posed to the United States from 1945 to 1961.
13. Explain the U.S. view of the Third World and the obstacles to United States influence in the Third World.
14. Discuss the various ways in which the United States attempted to counter nationalism, radical doctrines, and neutralism in the Third World.
15. Examine the role of the CIA as an instrument of United States policy in the Third World during the 1950s.



Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
Harry Truman introduced a new era that saw the United States and the Soviet Union move toward war and back again, exhausting their power and influence in the process.

II. Why the Cold War Began
A. Decolonization
Economic dislocation and the aftermath of disintegrating empires characterized the world after World War II.
B. U.S. Economic and Strategic Needs
An expanding American economy became part of an activist postwar foreign policy. In the air age, the United States and the Soviet Union collided as each attempted to establish defensive positions.
C. Truman’s Get Tough Style
Truman had a brash and impatient style not suited to diplomacy.
D. Debate over Soviet Intentions and Behavior
Critics charged that policymakers often exaggerated the Soviet threat.

III. Truman’s Cold War: Europe and Global Containment
A. Atomic Diplomacy
The United States pursued a policy of using the atomic monopoly for leverage.
B. Kennan and Churchill Warn Against Soviet Power
George F. Kennan doubted if Soviets could be trusted, and Winston Churchill’s “iron curtain” speech solidified many Americans’ fears.
C. Truman Doctrine
In response to a British request for American aid against leftist insurgents in Greece and Turkey, Truman announced his commitment to stopping communism.
D. The “X” Article
George Kennan wrote an influential article that argued that the United States should contain Soviet expansion.
E. Marshall Plan
In 1947, the United States initiated the Marshall Plan, funneling billions of dollars into Western Europe.
F. National Security Act
The National Security Act created the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the United States Information Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
G. Fulbright Program and Cultural Expansion
The United States launched what amounted to a “cultural Marshall Plan.”
H. Recognition of Israel
The United States quickly recognized the new state of Israel in 1948.
I. Berlin Blockade and Airlift
In response to the Allied decision to unite their sections of Germany, the Soviets denied them access to Berlin. Truman responded with a massive airlift.
J. Point Four Program
In 1949 Truman instituted the Point Four Program to improve food supplies, public health, housing, and private investment in Third World countries.
K. Founding of NATO
The Berlin crisis and Soviet development of atomic weapons convinced the western nations to sign the North Atlantic Treaty Organization collective security accord.
L. NSC 68
In April 1950, the National Security Council issued NSC 68, a secret document asking for increased funds and a publicity campaign to gain support for the expenditures.

IV. Asian Acrimony: Japan, China, and Vietnam
A. Reconstruction of Japan
The United States reconstructed Japan after World War II by providing it with a democratic constitution, by revitalizing its economy, and by destroying its weapons.
B. Communist Victory in Chinese Civil War
Despite Jiang Jieshi’s corruption and recalcitrance, the United States continued to back him against Mao Zedong.
C. U.S. Nonrecognition Policy
Mao defeated Jiang and established the People’s Republic of China. Truman did not recognize the new republic.

D. Vietnam’s Quest for Independence
The Vietnamese resisted colonialism, and when French authority collapsed during World War II the Vietminh declared independence in 1945. The Cold War gave the United States several reasons to reject Vietnamese autonomy.
E. U.S. Aid to France In the War Against the Vietminh
The United States bore most of the financial costs of the French war against the Vietminh.

V. The Korean War
A. Origins of the War
The leaders of both North and South Korea sought reunification. Kim Il Sung persuaded a reluctant Stalin to approve the June 1950 invasion against South Korea.
B. Truman Commits U.S. Forces
The United Nations’ Security Council voted to aid South Korea and Truman ordered American troops into the region. Truman sent troops because he believed that the Soviets had orchestrated the attack. MacArthur staged a brilliant amphibious landing behind enemy lines that forced the North Koreans to retreat.
C. Chinese Entry into the War
When the Chinese sent thousands of troops into North Korea, MacArthur demanded full scale bombing of China.
D. Truman’s Firing of General MacArthur
MacArthur denounced Truman’s actions regarding China, leading the President to fire him.
E. Dispute over POWs
Thousands of North Korean and Chinese prisoners did not want to go home; the United States did not return them.
F. Costs and Consequences of the War
More than four million people died in this limited war. The powers of the presidency grew during the war, and the stalemated war helped elect Eisenhower.
G. Globalization of Containment
Worldwide military containment became entrenched as U.S. policy causing an escalation in defense spending.

VI. Eisenhower, Dulles, and Unrelenting Cold War
A. John Foster Dulles
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles intoned systematic and uncompromising anti-Communism. Dulles purged the State Department of many specialists, among them Asian experts whose absence adversely affected the American role in Vietnam.
B. Eisenhower-Dulles Policies
“Liberation,” “massive retaliation,” and the “New Look” military became bywords of American foreign policy. Backed by increasing stockpiles of nuclear weapons, the U.S. practiced “brinkmanship.”
C. CIA as Foreign Policy Instrument
The CIA put foreign leaders on its payroll, subsidized foreign labor unions, and engaged in “disinformation” campaigns. The CIA also launched covert operations to subvert governments in the Third World.
D. Propaganda and Cultural Infiltration
The U.S. also allocated assets for radio broadcasts and other media.
E. Hydrogen Bomb, Sputnik, and Missiles
American production of the incredibly powerful hydrogen bomb increased Soviet-American tensions. Following Soviet advances in missile technology, the United States stepped up its missile research.
F. Eisenhower’s Critique of Nuclear Arms
Eisenhower expressed his uneasiness over the arms race.
G. Rebellion in Hungary
When troops crushed a revolt against Soviet power in Hungary, America could do nothing to help the rebels without risking full scale war.
H. U 2 Incident
The Soviets walked out of the 1960 Paris summit when the Americans refused to apologize for U 2 spy missions.
I. Jinmen-Mazu Crisis
The Formosa Resolution of 1955 allowed deployment of American forces to defend the Formosan islands, which prompted China to develop nuclear capability by 1964.
J. “Japanese Miracle”
The United States rebuilt Japan as a bulwark against communist influence in Asia.

VII. At Odds with the Third World
A. Interests in the Third World
Decolonization advanced rapidly after 1945. The Soviets and the Americans sought alliances with the new nations.
B. Nonaligned Movement
Many Third World nations did not want to take sides in the Cold War and declared themselves nonaligned.
C. American Images of Third World Peoples
Americans saw the Third World’s people emotional, irrational, and dependent.
D. Racism and Segregation as U.S. Handicaps
American racism became an embarrassment and a liability in efforts to befriend Third World nations.
E. U.S. Hostility to Nationalist Revolution
Many people believed that Third World revolutions were aimed at American allies and at American investments.
F. Development and Modernization
The U.S. sought to aid developing nations in order to foster stability. The U.S. also directed propaganda toward the Third World to persuade Third World peoples to abandon radical doctrines and neutralism.
G. Third World Views of the United States
People in the developing nations both envied and resented the U.S.

VIII. U.S. Interventions in the Third World
A. CIA in Guatemala
The CIA helped overthrow Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in Guatemala in 1951 because the United Fruit Corporation disliked his confiscation of their lands.
B. The Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro’s ouster of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba sparked a serious crisis. When Cuba moved into a closer relationship with the Soviets, Eisenhower encouraged Cuban exiles to invade their homeland.
C. Operation Bootstrap in Puerto Rico
Operation Bootstrap encouraged investments in Puerto Rico from U.S. corporations.
D. U.S. Interests in the Middle East
American policy in the Middle East centered on upholding Israel and protecting the region’s extensive oil holdings.
E. Suez Crisis
In 1956, Egypt nationalized the British owned Suez Canal. The Israelis, British, and French moved against Egypt, but the United States refused to support them.
F. Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower declared that the United States would intervene in the Middle East if any government threatened by a communist takeover asked for aid.
G. Dienbienphu Crisis in Vietnam
The Vietminh surrounded French troops at Dienbienphu, forcing France to end the war.
H. Geneva Accords
A peace accord divided Vietnam and set a 1956 election to unify the county, but Diem refused to hold the election.
I. Backing the Diem Regime in South Vietnam
The United States backed a corrupt and repressive regime in South Vietnam.