In a Nutshell

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

In a Nutshell 1 | McCarthyism & the Red Scare In a Nutshell The onset of Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II had major ramifications for American society, as the problem of how to deal with domestic Communists became a major political and social preoccupation. Why Should I Care? Until the Cold War, Communists never made much of an impact on American life. There were never very many of them, and their dream of leading a proletarian revolution in the United States seemed so far-fetched that it bordered on the unthinkable. Most Americans despised the Communists, but weren't particularly preoccupied with them. Then, a few years after World War II, the United States found itself locked in potentially mortal confrontation with the Soviet Union. Suddenly American Communists, that tiny fringe of wannabe revolutionaries, came to represent a major problem in American society. There still weren't many of them. They still had little power or influence. They still had a snowball's chance in hell of creating a United Soviet States of America. But what if they were agents of the Soviets, boring from within our open society to destroy us? What if they were spies? What if they were secretly seeking positions of influence within our society, subverting the work of our government, miseducating in our schools, propagandizing in our movies? Fear. Fear—utterly justifiable fear—transformed American Communists from a minor nuisance into a national obsession. Fear created McCarthyism, an intense effort to root out Communists from every corner of American society by any means necessary—even if those means violated traditional American values: Due process. Civil liberties. Constitutional rights. The culture of fear created a society of conformity, a politics of repudiation. The results weren't always pretty. Senator Joseph McCarthy, the most prominent Communist- hunter of the period, was a reckless alcoholic demagogue. Unknown numbers of innocents had their lives ruined by a loyalty-security apparatus that knew few checks or balances. But the culture of fear also worked. The Communist Party USA disintegrated. Soviet spies were brought to justice. Leftists were even purged from Hollywood. Was it worth it? "Are you now or were you ever a member of the Communist Party?" Would you answer? 2 | McCarthyism & the Red Scare 1945: A Potentially Liberal Moment? American liberals approached the end of World War II with high hopes that the postwar era would bring a new flowering of liberal reform. In many ways, conditions appeared ripe for liberal success. Many of the ideologies of the extreme right wing— white supremacy foremost among them—had been adopted by the Nazis, and were thus seriously discredited. Meanwhile, the unusual demands of wartime production had wrought dramatic socio-economic changes within the United States. Women and racial minorities had crossed traditional boundaries by entering the industrial workforce in unprecedented numbers. Labor unions had enlisted within their ranks a greater proportion of the country's workers than ever before or since. The high wages paid by wartime industries had combined with the rationing of consumer goods to dramatically, if temporarily, reduce disparities in wealth between the rich, middle class, and poor. Most Americans supported heavy government intervention in the economy to help prevent a new Depression as the nation converted its industrial production from wartime to peacetime uses. Franklin Roosevelt's heir as president, Harry S. Truman, declared even before the war ended that "We want to see the time come when we can do the things in peace that we have been able to do in war. If we can put this tremendous machine of ours... to work for peace, we can look forward to the greatest age in the history of mankind."7 Within weeks of the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Truman proposed to Congress an expansive 21-point agenda that included a higher minimum wage, expanded Social Security system, new public works programs, full-employment guarantees, and universal national health insurance. Truman's proposals, if enacted, would have pushed far beyond the limits of the New Deal to begin to create something like social democracy in the United States. The Cold War and Liberalism's Communist Problem We now know, however, that the end of the Second World War brought not a new age of social reform but rather one of grave international peril—the Cold War. The fallout from the atomic bombs that ended World War II had barely settled before Americans came to fear that a new mortal enemy—Josef Stalin's Soviet Union—had become as great a threat as Hitler or Mussolini had ever been. The Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union raised an especially awkward problem for American liberals committed to domestic reform—the Communist Problem. Communists had always been a tiny, despised minority within the American population; the Communist Party USA's membership peaked during World War II at far less than 100,000 members nationwide. Still, Communists took on a more prominent role in American society in the late 1930s and early 1940s than ever before or since. During the Great Depression, Communism and other radical alternatives to capitalism gained at least a small measure of legitimacy through the seeming collapse of the 3 | McCarthyism & the Red Scare nation's economic system; Communist organizers commonly recruited among the unemployed and on federal work-relief projects. During World War II, when the Soviet Union became our ally in the battle against fascism, Communists were among the most enthusiastic supporters of the American war effort. Throughout the Roosevelt era, Communists—small in number as they were—became active supporters and participants in many liberal causes. Anyone in the 1930s or 1940s who joined a labor union, or a civil rights organization, or a civil liberties defense group, or a liberal political club was quite likely to have worked alongside Communist activists (although possibly without knowing it, for Communists often kept their Party membership secret). Up until 1945, the Communists' minority presence within many New Deal-era reform groups was usually an issue that could simply be overlooked. With the dawn of the Cold War, however, everything changed. Suddenly, as the Soviets quickly transformed from uneasy allies to menacing enemies, the presence of Communists within American society became much more problematic, especially for liberals. The Communist Party USA was explicitly committed to worldwide revolution and took its party line from Moscow. In the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, which side would American Communists be on? What would prevent Communists from subverting American institutions to serve the interests of the Kremlin? Should liberals accept Communist support of liberal programs and policies? What would protect American liberals from charges that their tolerance of Communist participation within their organizations undermined national security? Since so many American liberals had—whether inadvertently or not—worked alongside Communists, how could they deflect allegations that they had collaborated with the new enemy? The Communist problem split America's liberal community, opened the door for rollback of parts of the New Deal, and derailed Truman's hopes for expansive new reform initiatives in the postwar era. The Politics of Repudiation A large majority of American liberals—including, most importantly, President Truman— eventually chose to address their Communist problem through a politics of repudiation: They denounced Communism, renounced any support Communists might attempt to give to their ventures, and launched aggressive efforts to purge Communists from their midst. But this brand of anticommunist, Cold War liberalism had its costs. There were both direct costs—purging talented Communist organizers deprived the labor and civil rights movements of many committed activists—and indirect costs—liberal efforts to weed out Communists fueled a national hysteria over Communist subversion that eventually led to the decidedly illiberal extremes of McCarthyism. 4 | McCarthyism & the Red Scare People Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the 32nd President of the United States and the only chief executive to be elected to more than two terms in office. Roosevelt held the presidency from 1934-1945, leading the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. His legislative program, the New Deal, greatly expanded the role of the federal government in American society. Roosevelt died while on vacation in Georgia just 82 days into his fourth term in office, thrusting newly installed Vice President Harry S. Truman into the presidency. Roosevelt had done virtually nothing to prepare Truman to take over the most powerful office in the world. Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) became the 33rd President of the United States upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945. Truman, who had only a high-school education and had been in office as vice president for just 82 days before Roosevelt's sudden death, inherited the monumental task of leading the United States through the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Truman—who was, while in office, one of the least popular presidents in modern American history—won a surprising second term by defeating Republican Thomas Dewey in the election of 1948. The Cold War began under Truman's watch, as the president came to believe that he must take a hard stance to contain the expansionistic tendencies of the Soviet Union. The president's "Truman Doctrine" committed the United States to a policy of supporting foes of Communism everywhere in the world. Truman's failure to lead the United States to victory in the Korean War led to a severe decline in support for the president's policies among the American people. Martin Dies (1900-1972) was a Texas Democrat who served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives between 1930 and 1958.
Recommended publications
  • Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in Hollywood Cinema I
    SCREENING THE MALE Exploring masculinities in Hollywood cinema Edited by Steven Cohan and Ina Rae Hark London and New York First published 1993 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Disclaimer: For copyright reasons, some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1993 Routledge, collection as a whole Individual chapters © 1993 respective authors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in Hollywood Cinema I. Cohan, Steven II. Hark, Ina Rae 791.4309 Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Screening the male: exploring masculinities in Hollywood cinema/edited by Steven Cohan and Ina Rae Hark. p. cm. 1. Men in motion pictures. 2. Sex in motion pictures. I. Cohan, Steven. II. Hark, Ina Rae. PN1995.9.M46S36 1993 791.43´652041–dc20 92–5815 ISBN 0–415–07758–3 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–07759–1 (pbk) ISBN 0–203–14221–7 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0–203–22072–2 (Glassbook Format) 8 ANIMALS OR ROMANS Looking at masculinity in Spartacus Ina Rae Hark When Laura Mulvey’s ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ detailed how the cinematic apparatus and the conditions of cinema spectatorship invariably place woman as an object of the desiring male gaze, required to present herself as spectacle, its argument did not necessarily exclude the possibility that the apparatus could similarly objectify men who symbolically if not biologically lacked the signifying phallus.
    [Show full text]
  • NATO Expansion: Benefits and Consequences
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2001 NATO expansion: Benefits and consequences Jeffrey William Christiansen The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Christiansen, Jeffrey William, "NATO expansion: Benefits and consequences" (2001). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8802. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8802 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ■rr - Maween and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of M ontana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission X No, I do not grant permission ________ Author's Signature; Date:__ ^ ^ 0 / Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. MSThe»i9\M«r«f»eld Library Permission Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NATO EXPANSION: BENEFITS AND CONSEQUENCES by Jeffrey William Christiansen B.A. University of Montana, 2000 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The University of Montana 2001 Approved by: hairpers Dean, Graduate School 7 - 24- 0 ^ Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cold War and Mccarthyism Howard Tennant
    WARS The Cold War and McCarthyism Howard Tennant 1. Work in pairs. Read the text on the Cold War and then make questions, HISTORY using the phrases in bold. The first question has been done for you. Text A The Cold War The term ‘Cold War’ is used to describe the relationship between America and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1980. It was a period of conflict, tension and rivalry between the world’s two superpowers. (1) Neither side fought the other – the consequences would be too terrible – but they did fight for their beliefs using other countries. For example, in (2) the Vietnam war in the 1960s and 1970s, (3) South Vietnam was against the Communists and supported by America. North Vietnam was pro-Communist and fought the south (4) using weapons from communist Russia or communist China. In Afghanistan, the Americans supplied the Afghans with weapons after (5) the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. They never physically involved themselves and so avoided direct conflict with the Soviet Union. 1. Did America and the Soviet Union fight each other? 2. When was ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________? 3. Which country did the USA ____________________________________________________________________? 4. Which countries supplied weapons ______________________________________________________________? 5. When did the Soviet Union ______________________________________________________________________? • This page has been downloaded from www.onestopclil.com. 1 of 2 Written by Howard Tennant. © Copyright Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2008. FROM WEBSITE •PHOTOCOPIABLECAN BE DOWNLOADED HISTORY 2. In pairs read this text on McCarthyism and make the questions. Text B McCarthyism (1) The term ‘McCarthyism’ refers to a period of strong anti-communist suspicion in the USA that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s.
    [Show full text]
  • Britain and the Greek Civil War, 1944–1949 British Imperialism, Public Opinion and the Coming of the Cold War
    Britain and the Greek Civil War, 1944–1949 British Imperialism, Public Opinion and the Coming of the Cold War JOHN SAKKAS Harrassowitz Verlag (Germany, 2013), 149 pp/28 illust. ISBN: 978-3-447-06718-8 The Greek civil war holds a significant place in the history of twentieth-century Europe for many reasons. Firstly, it was Europe’s bloodiest conflict in the second half of the 1940s; secondly, it marked a turning point in the Cold War; and lastly, it showed how Greece had become an ‘apple of discord’ for both American and Soviet involvement in Greek affairs which led to even more complexity in the country’s post-war politics. Yet despite its significance, only a limited number of studies have been carried out on the subject of this era. After the troubled period of the 1950s and 1960s, a time dominated by extreme conservatism, anti-communism and nationalist paroxysms, it was difficult to access material sources and this made it nearly impossible to conduct scholarly research, so that older politically-charged interpretations and accounts went mostly unchallenged. However, in the past two decades a new historiographical current has developed as regards the civil war in Greece and new evaluations and debates have emerged that shed fresh light on conventional supposition. Britain and the Greek Civil War, 1944–1949 draws upon the author’s doctoral dissertation and provides a welcome addition to studies on that period in Greek history. John Sakkas takes up a novel approach that does not focus solely on Greek politics, whether they are national or local, nor does it centre simply on British policy in Greece.
    [Show full text]
  • John F. Kennedy and Berlin Nicholas Labinski Marquette University
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Master's Theses (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Evolution of a President: John F. Kennedy and Berlin Nicholas Labinski Marquette University Recommended Citation Labinski, Nicholas, "Evolution of a President: John F. Kennedy and Berlin" (2011). Master's Theses (2009 -). Paper 104. http://epublications.marquette.edu/theses_open/104 EVOLUTION OF A PRESIDENT: JOHN F. KENNEDYAND BERLIN by Nicholas Labinski A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Milwaukee, Wisconsin August 2011 ABSTRACT EVOLUTION OF A PRESIDENT: JOHN F. KENNEDYAND BERLIN Nicholas Labinski Marquette University, 2011 This paper examines John F. Kennedy’s rhetoric concerning the Berlin Crisis (1961-1963). Three major speeches are analyzed: Kennedy’s Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Berlin Crisis , the Address at Rudolph Wilde Platz and the Address at the Free University. The study interrogates the rhetorical strategies implemented by Kennedy in confronting Khrushchev over the explosive situation in Berlin. The paper attempts to answer the following research questions: What is the historical context that helped frame the rhetorical situation Kennedy faced? What rhetorical strategies and tactics did Kennedy employ in these speeches? How might Kennedy's speeches extend our understanding of presidential public address? What is the impact of Kennedy's speeches on U.S. German relations and the development of U.S. and German Policy? What implications might these speeches have for the study and execution of presidential power and international diplomacy? Using a historical-rhetorical methodology that incorporates the historical circumstances surrounding the crisis into the analysis, this examination of Kennedy’s rhetoric reveals his evolution concerning Berlin and his Cold War strategy.
    [Show full text]
  • Mccarthyism Space and Arms Race Notes
    Name ______________ Period ___ McCarthyism New Red Scare Beginning in 1950, Joseph ________________became the most visible public face of this era of anti-communism. – The term _________________________ was coined that same year(1950) to describe and condemn the senator's methods. – McCarthyism is the practice of making ____________ of disloyalty, especially pro-Communist activities. • In many instances unsupported by ____________ or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant ____________. – Later the term was applied more generally to the ______-___________ of the late 1940s through the late 1950s. – Today, it is often used even more broadly, to describe __________ attacks made on a persons' ______________ and/or patriotism. McCarthy's national reconition rose after a speech where he reportedly produced a piece of paper which he claimed contained a ________ of known Communists working for the __________ Department. – McCarthy is usually quoted to have said: "I have here in my hand a list of 205 people that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the ________________ Party, and who, nevertheless, are still working and _________________ the policy of the State Department." Many people supported McCarthy because they were afraid that _______________ had indeed _________________ federal agencies. Arms Race United States v Soviet Union • 1949 -The Soviet Union exploded its _________ atomic bomb • 1953 - the United States and the Soviet Union had the ___-______ (Hydrogen bomb). • The United States _______________ the air force which would carry the _________ and built up __________ weapons. • The ___________ Union began to do the ______. • The ___________ arms __________ frightened many Americans.
    [Show full text]
  • Truman Doctrine (1947)
    Harry S. Truman Truman Doctrine (1947) Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Congress of the United States: The gravity of the situation which confronts the world today necessitates my appearance before a joint session of the Congress. The foreign policy and the national security of this country are involved. One aspect of the present situation, which I wish to present to you at this time for your consideration and decision, concerns Greece and Turkey. The United States has received from the Greek Government an urgent appeal for financial and economic assistance. Preliminary reports from the American Economic Mission now in Greece and reports from the American Ambassador in Greece corroborate the statement of the Greek Government that assistance is imperative if Greece is to survive as a free nation. I do not believe that the American people and the Congress wish to turn a deaf ear to the appeal of the Greek Government. Greece is not a rich country. Lack of sufficient natural resources has always forced the Greek people to work hard to make both ends meet. Since 1940, this industrious and peace loving country has suffered invasion, four years of cruel enemy occupation, and bitter internal strife. When forces of liberation entered Greece they found that the retreating Germans had destroyed virtually all the railways, roads, port facilities, communications, and merchant marine. More than a thousand villages had been burned. Eighty-five per cent of the children were tubercular. Livestock, poultry, and draft animals had almost disappeared. Inflation had wiped out practically all savings. As a result of these tragic conditions, a militant minority, exploiting human want and misery, was able to create political chaos which, until now, has made economic recovery impossible.
    [Show full text]
  • Presbyterians and Mccarthyism the Anticommunist Campaign of Senator Joseph Mccarthy Prompted a National Debate on the Protection of Civil Liberties
    For Truth and Liberty: Presbyterians and McCarthyism The anticommunist campaign of Senator Joseph McCarthy prompted a national debate on the protection of civil liberties. The Presbyterian Church defended the freedom of dissent. by Rick Nutt THE COLD WAR WITH THE SOVIET UNION tions, charges levelled without regard to context dominated life in the United States after and shifts in historical circumstances…and, above all, suspicion. McCarthyism describes, more- World War II. The will to stop the spread of over, a basically negative approach to the prob- communism was clear in both global and lems of communism under the pretense of patrio- domestic policies, and Presbyterians mani- tism but without concern for free government in fested that conviction along with their fel- an open society.…2 low citizens—indeed, at times Presbyterians One of the most vigorous statements of were in the midst of the conflict over com- opposition to McCarthyism was issued by munism. It was at Westminster College in the General Council of the Presbyterian Fulton, Missouri, in 1946 that Winston Church, U.S.A. (PCUSA) in 1953. This essay Churchill added the phrase “Iron Curtain” to will survey the Presbyterian response to our vocabulary. Perhaps the two most fa- McCarthy, with special attention to the mous Presbyterians of the 1950s were Dwight PCUSA’s “Letter to Presbyterians” and the Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles, presi- reaction it evoked. dent and secretary of state respectively, re- sponsible for opposing communism abroad I and at home (Dulles became famous for his resistance of communism by a policy of World War II was a watershed in the “brinksmanship”).
    [Show full text]
  • End of Instruction Notes DAY 2 1949 NATO—North Atlantic Treaty
    End of Instruction Notes DAY 2 1949 NATO—North Atlantic Treaty Organization. When it became apparent the UN could not stop war and aggression, the former Allies signed this treaty stating, “armed attack against one or more of them…shall be considered an attack against all.” Truman did not allow the US to return to isolationism after WWII. Warsaw Pact—after NATO allowed West Germany to re-arm. Soviet Union responded by organizing a military alliance in Eastern Europe Soviets successfully test atomic bomb this led to the arms race with the US China turns communist with Mao Zedong 1950s 1950 Korean War—divided after WWII, by Allies occupying forces withdrew in 1948-49. North Korea invaded the south to reunite them. The Soviets were boycotting the UN. The UN voted to defend South Korea. Douglas MacArthur headed troops after years of fighting he wanted to push war harder and to consider the bomb. Truman disagreed. Mac went behind his back and Truman fired him. 1952--Communists took control of Iran. CIA overthrew communists and replaced with Shah 1953—President Eisenhower wants to end the Korean War—Stalin died—Korea divided on 48th parallel. Vietnam conflict starting. Eisenhower sends advisors. Latin America—US feared Soviets might try to spread communism there US first then the USSR tested nuclear bombs 1954—CIA overthrew Guatemala gov’t to replace with US friendly one 1957—Soviet uses ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. US lags behind in missile technology. Soviets also launch Sputnik, 1st satellite to orbit the earth—this leads to the space race.
    [Show full text]
  • Gladiator Politics from Cicero to the White House
    Gladiator Politics from Cicero to the White House The gladiator has become a popular icon. He is the hero fighting against the forces of oppression, a Spartacus or a Maximus. He is the "gridiron gladiator" of Monday night football. But he is also the politician on the campaign trail. The casting of the modern politician as gladiator both appropriates and transforms ancient Roman attitudes about gladiators. Ancient gladiators had a certain celebrity, but they were generally identified as infames and antithetical to the behavior and values of Roman citizens. Gladiatorial associations were cast as slurs against one's political opponents. For example, Cicero repeatedly identifies his nemesis P. Clodius Pulcher as a gladiator and accuses him of using gladiators to compel political support in the forum by means of violence and bloodshed in the Pro Sestio. In the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns the identification of candidates as gladiators reflects a greater complexity of the gladiator as a modern cultural symbol than is reflected by popular film portrayals and sports references. Obama and Clinton were compared positively to "two gladiators who have been at it, both admired for sticking at it" in their "spectacle" of a debate on February 26, 2008 by Tom Ashbrook and Mike McIntyre on NPR's On Point. Romney and Gingrich appeared on the cover of the February 6, 2012 issue of Newsweek as gladiators engaged in combat, Gingrich preparing to stab Romney in the back. These and other examples of political gladiators serve, when compared to texts such as Cicero's Pro Sestio, as a means to examine an ancient cultural phenomenon and modern, popularizing appropriations of that phenomenon.
    [Show full text]
  • Letter from Senator Joseph Mccarthy to the President of the United States
    Letter from Senator Joseph McCarthy to the President of the United States This letter from Senator Joseph McCarthy, Republican representative of Wisconsin, to President Harry Truman was written three days after McCarthy’s famous Wheeling Speech. This speech signaled McCarthy’s rise to influence, as he gained national attention by producing a piece of paper on which he claimed he had listed the names of 205 members of the Communist Party working secretly in the U.S. State Department. McCarthy was, at the time of this letter, beginning to exploit national concerns about Communist infiltration during the Cold War. This fear of infiltration was intensified by the Soviet Union’s recent development of the atomic bomb and the coming Communist takeover of China. “McCarthyism” however was not yet at its peak. Senator McCarthy here at first encourages President Truman to commit more resources to the war of containment being fought in South Korea, and secondly questioned the legitimacy and effectiveness of Truman’s loyalty program, signed into effect by Executive Order 9835 in 1947. This program required the FBI to run checks on almost anyone involved in the U.S. government and subsequently to launch investigations into any government employee with what could be presumed as questionable political associations. The Loyalty Program was not enough to satisfy Senator McCarthy, who suspected that a number of subversives had slipped through the investigation and remained in the State Department. President Truman made it clear that he would not take McCarthy’s accusations seriously and that the Senator was “the best asset the Kremlin has.”109 July 12, 1950 The President The White House Washington, D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cold War
    The American Yawp Chapter 25 – The Cold War Quiz 1. What was the first military action taken by the United States against international communism? a. American soldiers fought against the Red Army during the Russian civil war b. American soldiers fought isolated battles against the Soviet Union during World War II c. The Berlin Airlift d. The Korean War 2. Greece and Turkey were early flashpoints in the Cold War. How did the United States respond to unrest in Greece and Turkey in 1947? a. The United States established long range missiles in these nations, capable of reaching Moscow b. The United States sent military advisers to train anti-communist forces in both countries c. The United States actively intervened in Greece but not in Turkey d. The United States sent $400 million to both nations to be used in resisting communism 3. What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan? a. Rebuild Western Europe b. Create new markets for American goods c. Generate support for Capitalist democracies d. All of the above 4. When was the Atlantic Charter issued? a. After World War I b. Before the United States entered World War II c. After World War II d. When the Soviet Union invaded Korea 5. What was the message of NSC-68? a. A warning that the idea of the domino theory may represent a slippery slope commitment that would result in dozens of new wars b. An economic argument for isolationism c. A call for a tripling of the annual defense budget for the purpose of stopping communism d.
    [Show full text]