EOI REVIEW

1. EOI REVIEW COLD WAR, Korea, Vietnam, Civil Rights

2. Despite their alliance during World War II, the U.S. and the Soviet Union had little in common. The United States was a capitalist democracy. The American people valued freedom and individual rights. The Soviet Union was a dictatorship. Stalin and the Communist Party wielded total control over the lives of the Soviet people.

3. The nations of Eastern Europe and the eastern part of Germany became satellite states of the Soviet Union, separated from the free world by an “iron curtain.” Cold War Europe, 1949

4. After the Big Three split at Potsdam, the Cold War struggle between the world’s two superpowers began. The Soviets were determined to spread communism to other lands. The Americans were determined to stop them. Containing communist expansion became the United States’ top priority.

5. With the Truman Doctrine, the U.S. promised to support nations struggling against communist movements. Money was sent to Greece and Turkey to provide aid to people who needed it.

6. The U.S. sent about $13 billion to Western Europe under the Marshall Plan. The money provided food, fuel, and raw materials to help rebuild war-torn cities and towns.

7. Germany, and the city of Berlin, became flashpoints in the Cold War. After the war, Germany was divided into four zones. The zones controlled by the U.S., Britain, and France were combined to form West Germany. The Soviet zone became East Germany.

8. West Berlin was controlled by the Allies. The prosperity and freedoms there stood in stark contrast to the bleak life in communist East Berlin. Determined to capture West Berlin, Stalin blockaded the city, cutting off supplies. In response, the U.S. and Britain sent aid to West Berlin through a massive airlift. (Berlin Airlift)

9. As Cold War tensions mounted, both sides formed military alliances for collective security.

10. Before World War II, China had been torn apart by a brutal civil war. Pro-government Nationalists Communist revolutionaries • Led by Jiang Jieshi • Supported by the United States • Led by Mao Zedong • Supported by the Soviet Union

11. Mao built support by promising food to the starving population. Communist forces soon dominated. Jiang fled to Taiwan. Mao took control of the mainland, renaming it the People’s Republic of China.

12. The next battleground was on the Korean peninsula. After World War II, Korea was divided into two countries along the 38th parallel.

13. The crisis began in June, 1950. Communist forces advanced far into the South, taking over much of the peninsula. North Korean troops, armed with Soviet equipment, crossed the 38th parallel and attacked South Korea.

14. Forces from the U.S. and other UN countries arrived to help their South Korean allies. They halted their retreat near Pusan.

15. The situation worsened when China entered the war, sending 300,000 troops across the border into North Korea. • The Chinese attacked U.S. and South Korean positions. • Badly outnumbered, UN troops were forced to retreat.

16. The U.S. now faced the possibility of all-out war against the world’s most populous nation. Truman refused. He favored a limited war to help stabilize South Korea. MacArthur favored invading China to win a total victory.

17. By the spring of 1951, UNforces secured their position near the 38th parallel, and a tense stalemate began.

18. In 1953, the two sides agreed to a cease-fire. This agreement remains in effect today. • Military spending increases. • Military commitments increase worldwide. • SEATO contains communism in Asia. • Future Presidents send the military into combat without Congressional approval. There was no clear winner in the Korean War, but the conflict had lasting effects in the U.S.

19. On September 2, 1949, the balance of power between the U.S. and the Soviet Union changed forever. That day, the Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb. The threat of nuclear war suddenly became very real.

20. In response, Truman ordered scientists to produce a hydrogen bomb—a bomb 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb. In 1952, the U.S. tested the first H-bomb. The next year, the Soviets tested their own H-bomb. The arms race had begun.

21. Both sides hoped that this program of mutually assured destruction would serve as a deterrent. In time, the United States and the Soviet Union would build enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other many times over.

22. Americans reacted to the nuclear threat by following civil defense guidelines. Families built bomb shelters in backyards. Students practiced “duck and cover” drills at school.

23. Joseph Stalin died in 1953. After a brief power struggle, he was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. Cold War hostilities eased for a time, with the new leader speaking of “peaceful coexistence.”

24. The Soviets crushed protests against communist rule in Hungary. • The Suez crisis added to the tensions. Yet hopes for peace faded quickly. As Americans watched events unfold, the threat of massive retaliation suddenly seemed useless in the fight against communism. Truman Doctrine called to help any Middle Eastern country threatened by Communist by Using Force.

25. While the U.S. worked to contain communism on the ground, they suffered a serious setback in space. In 1957, the Soviets launched the Sputnik I satellite into orbit around the earth. Fearing Soviet dominance of space, Congress approved funding to create NASA. The arms race was now joined by a space race.

26. During the Cold War, it seemed to many Americans that communism was spreading everywhere—in Europe, in Asia, even into outer space. Some suspected that communists were already in the country, plotting revolution. Red Scare fears led President Truman to take action. Many feared the United States was next.

27. Fighting Communism at Home

28. Congress joined in the search for communists. The House Un-American Activities Committee held hearings to investigate communist influence in American society, including: • the government • the armed forces • labor unions • education • newspapers • the movie industry

29. HUAC hearings were highly charged and widely publicized. The Hollywood Ten refused to testify and eventually were jailed. People from all walks of life were accused of being disloyal. Blacklists were created. Careers were shattered.

30. As fears of disloyalty rose, Americans became riveted to two spy trials.

31. As Americans worried about the nation’s security, a little-known leader burst onto the national scene. Senator Joseph McCarthy charged that communist agents had infiltrated the highest levels of government. He claimed to have lists of Americans who were secretly communists and had betrayed their country.

32. McCarthy could not prove his charges, but they grabbed the public’s attention. He consolidated power by making baseless allegations and opening endless investigations. Few protested, for fear they would be accused. Those branded as communist sympathizers lost their jobs, their reputations ruined.

33. The public was horrified to see McCarthy bullying witnesses, making reckless accusations, and twisting the truth. Today, such irresponsible actions are known as McCarthyism. By the time the hearings ended, McCarthy had lost much of his support. He was formally censured by the Senate.

34. McCarthy’s downfall marked the decline of the Red Scare. In an attempt to protect the nation from communism, free speech had been threatened. In the end, both the nation and free speech survived. Today, the U.S. still struggles with balancing the nation’s security with the civil liberties of its citizens.

35. 50s: After World War II, many citizens and economists feared the country would fall into a widespread depression. • Truman started demobilization, and millions of soldiers came home and searched for work. • Contracts to produce military goods were cancelled and millions of defense workers lost their jobs. • An end to rationing and price controls – plus a demand for goods – fueled inflation.

36. To help veterans, the federal government enacted the GI Bill of Rights.

37. Soldiers retuning from the war got married. The result was a postwar baby boom. Between 1940 and 1955, the U.S. population experienced its greatest increase, growing 27 percent from about 130 to about 165 million.

38. This created a cycle in which people bought new goods, leading business to hire more workers, who in turn bought more goods. When wartime restrictions ended, demand for consumer goods soared. Businesses employed more people to produce goods. This created a cycle− Businesses hire more workers People bought new goods The postwar years ushered in a period of domestic prosperity that lasted nearly 20 years. The U.S. became the richest country in the world.

39. President Harry Truman had to preside over one of the more difficult times in American history. • The Cold War was beginning and there were communist takeovers in Europe and Asia. • The U.S. faced inflation and labor unrest at home.

40. Employers refused to meet labor’s demands. Trade unionists demanded pay increases to keep up with inflation. Millions of steel, coal, railroad, and automotive workers went on strike, prompting Congress to enact the Taft-Hartley Act over Truman’s veto.

41. Truman established a special committee on civil rights to investigate race relations. The committee made several recommendations for reforms, but Congress rejected them all. Truman desegregated the military, which did not need Congressional approval.

42. By spring 1948, Truman’s standing had sunk so low that few thought he could win election that fall. However, Truman managed the political upset of the century, beating three other candidates, two of them from new political parties.

43. Shortly after the election, Truman announced a far-ranging legislative program he called the Fair Deal. • The Fair Deal was meant to strengthen existing New Deal reformsand establish new programs, such as national health insurance. • But Congress rejected most of Truman’s Fair Deal proposals.

44. Popular, charming Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower won the presidency that year, beating Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Legislative failure and a stalled war in Korea contributed to Truman’s loss of popularity, and he did not seek reelection in 1952. The public believed that Eisenhower would walk the line between liberal and conservative political positions, and he did not disappoint.

45. Eisenhower created an interstate highway system and spent more money on education. The strong U.S economy went a long way toward making his presidency one of the most prosperous, peaceful, and politically tranquil in the 20th century.

46. After the war, more people were able to complete high school and attend college. A more educated workforce boosted productivity. • Local and state governments provided most of the funding for education. • But after the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, Congress approved the $1 billion National Defense Education Act, aimed at producing more scientists and science teachers.

49. Sales of TVs skyrocketed during the 1950s. Children’s shows had huge followings, and baby boomersbecame the first generation to grow up watching TV. Sitcoms, which reflected 1950s ideals, told the stories of happy families with few real-lifeproblems.

50. Television, along with radio and movies, helped shape a mass national culture. • Because Americans were exposed to the same shows and advertisements, the media helped erode distinct regional and ethnic cultures. • Starting with the 1952 presidential campaign, television changed political campaigns by allowing citizens to see the candidates in action.