Aim: How did the United States try to prevent the spread of communism in Europe?

1. Aim: How did the United States try to prevent the spread of communism in Europe?

2. The Communist Menace • By the late 1940s, Stalin has consolidated his power over Eastern European satellite states (noncommunist elements have been purged, one-party communist dictatorships established). • Powerful communist parties emerge in France and Italy, wish to overthrow “capitalist imperialism.” • Soviets also want to spread communism into Iran, Greece and Turkey so they can surround themselves with friendly communist nations for protection.

3. Containment • By 1947, President Harry Truman wants to make sure that the power of the Soviet Union does not extend beyond Eastern Europe. He decides to pursue a foreign policy of containment. • Containment: A policy directed at blocking Soviet influence and also preventing the expansion of communism beyond the areas already under Soviet control.

4. The Truman Doctrine (1947) • The United States promises to use diplomatic, economic and military means to help any country that is trying to resist communism. • Example: The United States gives $400 million to Greece and Turkey to help their governments resist communist revolutions.

5. The Marshall Plan (1947) • Most of Western Europe is in ruins after World War II. Food is scarce, inflation was high, black markets are flourishing. • In June 1947, the U.S. starts the Marshall Plan, where we give $13 billion to rebuild Western European countries and give them food, machines and other materials.What is the United States trying to achieve here?

6. The Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) • Berlin is divided into zones: West Berlin is democratic (allied with the Western Allies), East Berlin is communist (allied with the Soviets). In 1948, the Western Allies replace the currency in West Berlin, a sign that a separate West German state is going to be created. • Stalin tries to take over West Berlin through a blockade. The Soviet Union blocked roads, railroads and ports, refused to let any supplies in. • To break the blockade, the Americans and the British flew supplies (food, fuel, medicine) into the city for 11 months. This is called the Berlin Airlift. • The Soviet Union was forced to lift the blockade in May, 1949. • Also in 1949, Germany is officially divided into two separate states: The Federal Republic of Germany (West – democratic), and the German Democratic Republic (East – communist satellite state)

7. Nuclear Rivalry • In 1949, the Soviet Union explodes their first atomic bomb. The U.S. responds by building the first hydrogen bomb in 1952. The Soviet Union soon copies this. • In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower replaces Harry Truman as U.S. president. Eisenhower appoints John Foster Dulles to be his Secretary of State. Dulles stated that if the Soviet Union or its satellite states threatened U.S. interests, the U.S. would be willing to use nuclear weapons to defend itself. This willingness to go to the brink of war to get what you want is called brinkmanship.

8. Nuclear Rivalry • Nations need military alliances to protect themselves: • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (1949): United States, Canada and Western Europe. If any country in NATO was attacked, all of the other countries in the alliance had to defend it. • Warsaw Pact (1955): Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states.

9. Cold War Conflict in Asia • In October 1949, Mao Zedong’scommunist forces win a long civil war over Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government. China is now a communist nation. • China and the Soviets give support to a communist government in North Korea. • In June of 1950, North Korea crosses the 38th parallel, invades the non-communist government of South Korea. President Truman gets the United Nations to send an international army to help South Korea. • Korean War drags on from 1950-1953. Ultimately, U.N. troops and North Korea reach a cease fire. Border ends up right back at the 38th parallel where it started.