Origins of the Cold War 8 Kennans Long Telegram amp Containment Developed by a young diplomat and State Department Soviet specialist George F Kennan The Long Telegram 1946 was widely circulated within US bureaucracy ID: 795020
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Slide1
Origins of the Cold War – Part II
Slide2Origins of the Cold War –
#8 Kennan’s Long Telegram & Containment
Developed by a young diplomat and State Department Soviet specialist, George F. Kennan
The Long
Telegram (1946)
was widely circulated within U.S. bureaucracy
It influenced Washington and was a basis for the Truman Doctrine and containment
Slide3Origins of the Cold War –
#8 Kennan’s Long Telegram & Containment
It said:
Communists are don’t understand the logic of reason, but understand force. They usually withdraw when strong resistance is encountered
The USSR’s was insecure, cruel, repressive, evil, and hostile to the West
The United States would resist Soviet attempts to form Communist governments elsewhere in the world
Slide4#9 Origins of the Cold War –
Truman Doctrine (1947)
The Soviets appeared aggressive in Turkey and Greece
In March 1947, the Truman Doctrine was created
The policy of the United States must be to support and assist free people who are resisting conquest by armed minorities or by outside pressures
Supported containment of communism
Slide5#9 Origins of the Cold War –
Truman Doctrine (1947)
The Soviet Union wanted control of the Dardanelles (straits in the entrance to the Black Sea) in Turkey and began making threats against them
In Greece, Communists fought to overthrow the
non-communist government
that had returned to power after
WWII
Slide6Britain was usually the country that would help other, smaller countries in Europe. However, they were bankrupt from the war and unwilling to help
Responding to the Truman Doctrine, Congress approved $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey
Slide7#9 Origins of the Cold War –
Truman Doctrine (1947)
Critics have said it:
Was hypocritical because it offered support to all anticommunist regimes – even those that were undemocratic (such as those in Greece and Turkey who imprisoned and intimidated their political opponents)
Some revisionist historians want economic rather than simply factors to be considered:
Ex. Was a way for the USA to develop world markets (expand profits through capitalism)
Slide8X Article (1947)
A public version of the Long Telegram was published in Time Magazine in a famous article called the “X article”
It confirmed a policy change from isolationism to internationalism
Reaffirmed containment and Truman Doctrine
Slide9#10 Origins of the Cold War – Sovietization of Czechoslovakia
By 1948, Czechoslovakia was the only country in Eastern Europe to remain free
In March, Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk’s body had been found crumpled on the cobblestones
of Prague
Slide10#10 Origins of the Cold War – Sovietization of Czechoslovakia
Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed the Treaty of Brussels three days later as a defense alliance
The Marshall Plan was finally approved by the House Appropriations Committee, where it had long been trapped
However, Congress wouldn’t yet join a European military alliance (we would finally join NATO after Berlin blockade)
Slide11#11 Origins of the Cold War –
The Marshall Plan (1948)
Secretary of State George Marshall created the Marshall Plan
Europeans who worked together for a joint plan for their economic recovery would receive aid from the U.S.
Aid through the Marshall Plan was intended to:
Create strong democracies
Create open new markets for American goods
Prevent a breeding ground for communism
17 Western European nations joined and received over $13 billion in grant and loans over the next 4 years
Slide12#11 Origins of the Cold War –
The Marshall Plan (1948)
The Soviet response to the Marshall Plan was:
Americans were buying their way into European affairs
Would’ve had to accept it on difficult terms – making vast reforms and have U.S. investigate financial records
They discouraged their satellite nations from joining as well
Slide13Slide14Molotov Plan and COMECON (1949)
Series of bilateral trade agreements aimed to tie the economies of Eastern Europe to the USSR and appease nations who wanted Marshall Plan aid
COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) resulted from these trade agreements
COMECON is a centralized agency that linked Eastern Bloc countries to Moscow. It was designed to:
“Stimulate” and control their economic development
Support collectivization and development of heavy industry
Slide15Various Cold War Events – 1946-1948
Truman ordered development of a hydrogen bomb
The
Cominform
was established to strengthen links between various communist parties
National Security Act (NSC) – the War and Navy Department were merged into a new Defense Department and the CIA was created
A peace treaty with Japan was accepted to guarantee long-term U.S. military basesMcCarthyism, a period of intense anti-communism, erupted in 1948
Slide16#12 Origins of the Cold War –
Berlin Blockade (1948)
Germany was a key country due to its position in Europe and trading abilities
Berlin Enlarged
Germany
Slide17#12 Origins of the Cold War –
Berlin Blockade (1948)
Stalin decided on the blockade because:
Berlin was an excuse for U.S. soldiers to travel through the Soviet Zone
Western aid caused the difference between West and East Berlin to be dramatic
He did not wish to risk war through an attack
Slide18#12 Origins of the Cold War –
Berlin Blockade (1948)
Stalin also decided on the blockade because of the currency issue:
Currency reform in the Western zones was announced (the old currency had lost its value and barter was going on)
10 old
Reichmarks
were replaced by one new Deutschmark
To
the Soviets, it was an obvious step towards a pro-Western German state and an attempt to control the economy in the Eastern zone
Slide19#12 Origins of the Cold War –
Berlin Blockade (1948)
Stalin closed all entrances to West Berlin by train or car in an effort to starve West Berliners into submission
The blockade lasted 318 days and forced Berliners to survive on dried potatoes and powdered eggs during the winter of 1948-49
In response, 275,000 Allied flights carried in 1 ½ million tons of supplies
In May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade
Slide20#12 Origins of the Cold War –
Berlin Blockade (1948)
The Berlin Blockade worsened the Cold War
By October 1949, Germany was divided into:
Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
NATO was established
Slide21#13 – Origins of the Cold War - NATO
Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium
Truman didn’t want the U.S. to be the only nation in the Western Hemisphere pledged to defend Western Europe from the Communists
In April 1949, the U.S., Britain, France, and Canada joined 8 other nations in forming NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They agreed on collective security, meaning if one nation in NATO was attacked, it would be considered an attack on all of them
In response, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact, a similar alliance with its satellite nations in Eastern Europe
Slide22Nationalists vs Communists In China
A civil war raged for years between Nationalists and communists
Washington halfheartedly supported the Nationalist government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek against communist leader Mao Zedong
Ineptitude and corruption within Chiang Kai-shek’s government eroded the confidence of the people and communist armies overwhelmed the Nationalists
In 1949, Chiang fled to the island of Formosa (Taiwan)
Slide23Nationalists vs Communists In China
Results of the Collapse of Nationalist China
¼ of the world’s population (500 million) became communist. This became a huge issue in the U.S.
Republicans highly criticized Truman and the Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, for losing China to communism. They insisted that Democratic agencies were filled with communists and had deliberately withheld aid from Chiang so that he would fall
Democrats replied that when a regime has forfeited the support of its people, no amount of outside help will save it. Truman didn’t lose China, Chiang lost it because he never controlled all of China
Slide24By 1949:
Europe was now clearly divided along political, economic, and military lines
Germany was not to be reunited
The USA was no longer isolationist and was willing to resist communism around the world
Western countries had developed a greater sense of unity due to the Soviet threat
Conflicts around the world would be seen as being between Communism and Capitalism
The UN could not resolve international conflicts due to conflicting veto votes from the U.S. and USSR