Chapter 7

• Why was the USA under pressure from the perceived threat of communism by 1950?

  - USSR successfully tested atomic technology in 1949.

  - China became a communist state in 1949

  - 1950, Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship

  - NSC-68 warned that the cold war put the survival of the 'free world' at stake

  - Korean War
• McCarthyism in the USA-McCarthy - what claims did he make?

  - growing mood of anti-communism among the general US public after the war, came to head by 1950

  - People suspicious of each other, distrust and paranoia, fear

  - Created an atmosphere of near-hysterical suspicion and fear of 'the enemy within'.

  - McCarthy called for a purge of communist sympathisers in the State Department.

  - He claimed the Truman administration was under Communist Influence.

  - 1954, accused the US army of being infiltrated by 'Reds'

  - Claimed Truman was 'soft' on communism

  - Said Truman was responsible for the 'loss of China'

  - McCarthy attacked the UN as favouring left-wing and liberal causes
• In what ways was the hunt for 'Un-American' elements in society damaging to the image and principles of USA?

  - Marches demanding the removal of political parties goes against people's freedoms

  - 'The land of the Free'
• Senator Joseph McCarthy

  - Republican Senator

  - Ruthlessly exploited the anti-communist anxieties at the time

  - 1954, accused US Army of being soft on communism wand was discredited

  - His 'reign of terror' never resulted in a single government worker being uncovered as a communist.
• What was the House Un-American Activities Committee?

  Founded in 1938, permanent committee in gov from 1945

  - investigated communist infiltration

  - Those brought before it often innocent and served as sacrificial victims to fuel popular paranoia

  - Targeted Film Industry

  - Targeted Alger Hiss 1950
• Who were the Rosenburgs?

  - They were convicted of passing American nuclear secrets to the USSR

  - Put on trial in 1951

  - Both were convicted and executed in 1953
• The Alger Hiss Affair

  - He had been a prominent member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's pre-war and wartime governments

  - In 1948, he was accused of being a communist

  - Convicted of perjury (lying in court) Jan 1950 by HUAC

  - Thought he lied about passing information to the USSR while working for the US State Department 1937-38.

  - His friend, Dean Acheson still publicly offered him support

  - This only served to heighten belief in the notion that the USA's leaders were somehow tainted with communism.
• How did the McCarthyism affect Truman?

  - The Alger Hiss Affair sparked a wave of criticism of President Harry S. Truman's foreign policy.

  - He was accused of being too 'soft' on communism and being responsible for the 'loss of China'.

  - McCarthy's orchestrated pressure on Truman's administration was designed to tighten the government's attitude towards the communism.

  - (Democrats) lost next election to Eisenhower

  - American politics shifted right
• What happened to the Hollywood Ten?

  Accused of being communist sympathisers

  They were imprisoned and blacklisted.

  Their careers and lives were destroyed.
• Who was Hoover and what did he criticise about US universities?

  - Hoover was the head of the FBI

  - Often referred to teachers as 'Reducators' in reference to 'Reds' = communists

  - Considered teachers too liberal

  - Deemed they undermined America's traditions and customs, and that they questioned the correctness of the American way of life.
• Influence of McCarthyism on US Asia Policies

  - McCarthyism emphasised the urgency of moving US policy away from a Eurocentric focus and towards policies with a more determined 'Asia first' viewpoint.

  - He took the viewpoint that containment had consolidated the West's position in Europe against the threat of aggressively expansionist communism, but Asia was much less secure.

  
  

  - This prioritisation was urgent considering 'loss of China' and the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship 1950

  
  

  -McCarthy feared that Trumans apparent indifference to the spread of communism in Asia may become an element of the USA's Asia policy
• Who does McCarthy blame for the Korean War and why?

  - McCarthy fueled the view that the Korean War would not have happened if Truman had supported Jiang Jieshi in Chinese Civil War and his failure to recognise the importance of the threat of the continuing spread of communism in Asia
• Influence of McCarthyism on Britain and Europe? Britain's concerns?

  - It was clear that Britain could no longer maintain its early pre-war role as the USA's main partner in Europe.

  - The USA's growing 'Asia First' thinking was dangerous for Britain as they had to increase defence spending

  
  

  - By the 1950s, Britain was concerned over what they saw as USA's aggressive Cold War thinking.

  
  

  - e.g. Britain was concerned that USA's aggressive stance over Korea might lead to the USSR destabilising Europe while the international community was focused on Asia.

  - In Britain's view, the conflict in Korea placed in jeopardy the stability and territorial status quo that the creation of NATO had established.

  
  

  - McCarthyism had little impact on British policy towards Asia - it mostly influenced Truman
• What was Britain's primary interest regarding the USA?

  - Despite that the globalisation of the USA's role was not in Britain's interests, their main concern was to remain a close ally of the USA

  -This assumed overriding priority

  - Therefore, Britain made a significant military contribution to the allied war effort in Korea
• How did the USA act without the direct sanction of the UN in the Korean War?

  - Truman instructed General MacArthur to provide US military support to SK

  -Stationed the US 7th fleet off Taiwan

  - Only when the NK forces did not withdraw did the UN pass a resolution requesting UN members to aid SK
• US Dominance of the UN: Where was the Headquarters and when was it established?

  New York - everyone else had to travel to them

  - 1945
• US Dominance of the UN: Membership?

  - Most members pro-Western, beneficiaries of Truman Doctrine and Marshall plan

  - Out of the 50 original members, 20 from capitalist Central and South America

  - Other pro-Western members: Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Egypt), Greece, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
• US Dominance of the UN: Lack of new members (very little decolonisation in Africa / Asia)

  Until mid 1950s, European Empires largely intact although nationalist movements were growing stronger and more effective since WWII.

  - Therefore decolonisation had not taken place

  - This limited the no. of new members as this meant US had the support of countries in Africa (Ethiopia, Liberia) because many areas were part of the Empires of European countries who were allied to the USA

  - These colonised states could not align with Soviets which protected US dominance of UN
• US Dominance of the UN: China's status in UN

  - US insisted that communist mainland China could not take China's seat in the UN. Did not recognise 'Red China'

  - It was to remain occupied by the nationalist regime in Taiwan

  
  

  - Potential challenge to US dominance was excluded - said they were an aggressor during Chinese Civil War and that the ruling regime had used force to establish itself

  - Disqualified them from UN membership
• US Dominance of the UN: Lack of USSR allies as members


  - Poland was the only Eastern European State that joined in 1945

  - Members profoundly weighted in favour of pro-Western, capitalist, US interests
• US Dominance of the UN: Security Council

  - Executive decision making arm of the UN

  - Permanent members: US, Britain, USSR, France, China

  - Structure enhanced US power in UN

  - However, the power of veto enabled any member to block UN intervention

  - USSR used this power 75 times between 1946 and 1955
• Barriers to USA's dominance of the UN: Security Council Veto

  - Weakened US influence as gave power to any member to block UN intervention

  1946-1955:

  USSR - 75

  France - 2
• US Dominance of the UN: How did the USA influence the UN into taking action in Korea?

  - painted communism as a global threat

  - USSR boycotted the Security Council as it didn't recognise 'Red China'. This meant a resolution for a ceasefire was passed with no opposition.

  
  

  - When Northern forces did not withdraw, US called for a second Security Council Resolution which called upon UN members to aid SK in its struggle with the North. The pretext was that the conflict threatened international peace.

  - The outcome was a collective military UN force that was composed of predominantly US troops and commanded by General MacArthur
• Unilateral action taken by US without direct sanction from UN

  - Truman instructed US General Douglas MacArthur to provide military support to SK

  - US stationed their 7th fleet off Taiwan - this was a unilateral act by the USA
• Isolation of Communist China - Impact of McCarthyism on US policy to a wider scale

  1949 - China became Communist

  
  

  The impact of McCarthyism was mainly responsible for moving US foreign policy towards a global rather than a regional focus during the years 1950-54
• Isolation of Communist China - Impact of McCarthyism on Truman's stance towards China

  This put pressure on Truman to take a more aggressive, military-focused approach towards communist China than the earlier 1949 White Paper on China had suggested.
• How did the USSR hope that the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Feb 1950, would make the USA react?

  Stalin and the USSR hoped to use the Treaty with China to draw USA'S attention away from Europe

  -Led to US creating alliances in the region
• What did the USSR seek to gain from the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Feb 1950? How did this isolate China in some respects?

  - Worked to the USSR's advantage rather than to open up wider international opportunities for China

  - The agreement brought China into the communist camp and it served to consolidate the USSR'S position and security in the Far East.

  - USSR benefitted as Cold War focus was moved to Asia and the pressure reduced in Europe

  - USSR's refusal to send troops to Korea but Stalin's willingness to see Chinese troops involved also served to weaken China's international status.
• Why was Truman concerned over the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Feb 1950?

  Most alarming element of the alliance was the commitment to mutual security guarantees to combat any aggression from Japan.

  
  

  This alliance appeared to consolidate communist political and military power in the region and as such, encouraged US to develop its own power base in the region

  - Therefore Japan formed a crucial element in USA's strategy in Far East.
• Truman's response to Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship

  Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship (Feb 1950) alarmed Truman and led to USA building up a strong sphere of influence through a power base in the region

  
  

  - San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan, September 1951 cementing US interests in Asia

  - Development of SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organisation), September 1954 aimed against China. Regional alliance system.

  - Developments linked to USA's concept of its post-1950 role as 'global policeman'

  
  

  The alliance appeared to inflate China's significance as a Far Eastern power in US eyes.
• What US foreign policy became a disaster for the US in Asia?

  The creation of the Defensive Perimeter Strategy in January 1950 leaving out Korea and Taiwan proved to be a major foreign policy disaster for the US and this partly triggered the Korean War
• Isolation of Communist China - US actions during Korean War / in UN

  - Truman ordered US 7th Fleet to position itself between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland June 27th 1950, just days after start of Korean War. This further alienated the Chinese. The US were determined to protect Taiwan.

  
  

  - The USA refused to accept China's entry into UN and, instead, Taiwan represented China's place in the UN. This was a policy of Diplomatic Isolation
• Consequences of Cold War Tensions, 1949-50: US

  - US no longer has nuclear monopoly

  - McCarthyism pressures the US government to adopt a more direct 'Asia first' policy

  - The USA adopts a more direct globalist stance. It needs to control communism in a global rather than a regional framework
• Consequences of Cold War Tensions, 1949-50: CHINA

  - China becomes a communist state

  - Sino-US relations are frozen as the Cold War hits Asia

  - China and USSR form an alliance
• Consequences of Cold War Tensions, 1949-50: KOREA

  Communist NK invades SK
• Consequences of Cold War Tensions, 1949-50: Europe

  European states feel threatened by the US focus on Asia and its possible outcomes