The United States and the Cold War

The United States and the Cold War Government Reorganization After World War II, the United States government reformed its national security establishment. The National Security Act of 1947 created a Department of Defense that would oversee all branches of the military. It also formed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). These and other agencies would work with the Department of State to shape U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.

Containment In 1947, the "containment doctrine" was formulated by George F. Kennan, a diplomat and political scientist who specialized in the Soviet Union. The containment doctrine stated that throughout Russia's history, whether under tsarist or communist rule, the country was inherently expansionary. This expansion, however, could be stopped by "firm and vigilant containment." President Harry S. Truman embraced this doctrine whole-heartedly and publicly adopted a firm foreign policy with regards to the Soviet Union in order to stop the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine Under this new policy of containment, Truman came before Congress in a surprise appearance on March 12, 1947, to announce what later came to be called the Truman Doctrine. During his announcement, Truman requested $400 million in aid to help the countries of Greece and Turkey in order to prevent either country from falling victim to communism. He also more generally stated that "it must be the policy of the United States to support the free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures." With this statement, Truman made it clear that the U.S. should take an active hand in stopping communism in the world.

Marshall Plan Beginning on June 5, 1947, United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall invited countries in Europe to create a joint plan to rebuild their war-torn landscapes and to provide for their economic recovery. Marshall promised that the U.S. would then provide significant funding in order to help the process. The countries of Western Europe readily agreed to this plan, known as the Marshall Plan, in Paris in 1947. Joseph Stalin, head of the Soviet government during the early years of the Cold War, prevented countries under Soviet influence from agreeing to the plan because he believed aid from the West would result in decreased Soviet control of the countries of the Eastern Bloc. In 1948, the U.S. Congress voted in favor of the Marshall Plan, officially renaming it the European Recovery Program. Europe During the Cold War Iron Curtain Following the end of hostilities in World War II, the European continent seemed to be split in two along an imaginary line. In a famous speech delivered in 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a famous speech in which he coined the phrase "iron curtain." The concept of the Iron Curtain refers to the ideological and physical boundary between the capitalist countries of Western Europe and those countries in Eastern Europe who fell under the influence of the Soviet Union, also known as the Soviet Bloc or the Eastern Bloc.

Division of Germany As part of Germany's punishment for starting World War II, the entire country was divided into four military occupation zones, each assigned to one of the Allied Powers. East Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union, and West Germany was controlled by France, the United States, and Great Britain. Berlin, the capital of Germany, was located entirely within the Soviet occupation zone, but the Allies agreed to divide Berlin as well. The Soviet Union received control of the part that later came to be known as East Berlin, while the other Allies controlled West Berlin.

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade of 1948 and 1949 was one of the first international disputes of the Cold War. In June of 1948, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to West Berlin, keeping the citizens of Berlin from receiving food, coal, and other necessary supplies. In response to this, the United States organized the Berlin Airlift, an action in which U.S. pilots carried thousands of tons of supplies to the people of West Berlin. The Soviets eventually lifted the blockade in May of 1949.

Now that you have completed your reading, answer these EOC style questions: 1. In the years immediately following World War II, events in what country threatened to start a war between the United States and the Soviet Union? A) Cuba B) Japan C) Germany D) Vietnam

2. The purpose of the Soviet blockade of Berlin (1948-1949) was to A) force West Germany to become communist. B) force the US to end the Truman Doctrine. C) prevent Easterners from going to the West. D) starve West Berlin into submitting to Communist rule.

3. Which of those countries would have been "behind the Iron Curtain" during the Cold War? A) France B) Italy C) Poland D) Spain

4. "I believe that 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." Harry Truman, 1951 In this quote from President Truman, the "outside pressures" which might attempt to subjugate free peoples are most likely from A) Latin America. B) Western Europe. C) Communist powers. D) newly independent African countries.

5. Which of these was NOT a component of the Marshall Plan? A) investment in heavy industry in war damaged countries B) the creation of a unified European currency to facilitate trade C) providing aid to European economies to prevent the spread of Communism D) removing trade barriers to foster the development of international commerce

6. What country found itself divided into communist and non-communist zones at some point during the 20th century? A) Canada B) Germany C) Thailand D) United States

7. Why did President Harry S. Truman authorize the Berlin Airlift? A) He wanted to evacuate US citizens from the city before launching a military invasion B) He wanted to get needed supplies to West Berlin without going to war with the USSR. C) He wanted to fly US military planes over Soviet territory to remind Stalin that the US possessed the atomic bomb. D) He felt it was necessary to convince Germany to surrender

8. The philosophy put forth by George Kennan which suggested that the US should accept communism where it already existed and focus its efforts on preventing it from spreading was called what? A) détente B) containment C) appeasement D) diplomacy

9. When former British prime minister, Winston Churchill, said, “…an iron curtain has descended across the continent…” what was he referring to? A) the threat Hitler posed to peace in Europe B) Hitler’s invasion of France C) the dropping of the atomic bomb D) the postwar division between free/democratic western Europe and communist eastern Europe