potsdam conference
At the end of World War II, world leaders met to discuss how Europe was to be dealt with. The main three leaders there: Winston Churchill (England), Harry S. Truman (United States), and Joseph Stalin (USSR). They came to a conclusion that Western Europe would be put under America and England's sphere of influence. Stalin took control of Eastern Europe and created what is known as the "Iron Curtain". The border was split in the middle of Germany and Berlin was split in a likewise fashion even though it is located entirely inside eastern Germany. In the western half of both German and Berlin territories, there was another division between the United Kingdom, France, and the United States so that each would have a sector. It was at this conference that President Truman informed Stalin about his nuclear bomb program and its successful first trial. Stalin remained stolid in Truman's presence but later told his foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, that they needed to increase the speed of their own atomic bomb program.
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truman doctrine
In 1947, President Harry Truman gave a speech to Congress about needing to support Greece and Turkey from their immediate communist threat to the east. The United Kingdom stated that they would no longer be supporting the Greek and Turkish governments so Truman decided that the United States government needed to do something to keep Communism from spreading. In result of the speech, the Truman Doctrine was created. In it was stated that the United states would assisst any democracy that was under the threat of communist pressures. The main tactics in this doctrine was containment and deterence. These policies were used for the next 44 years of the Cold War. The policy of containment was to keep communism where it was, in the USSR. Any place that communist ideals were spreading America would interviene. The policy of deterence is a game of chicken on a larger scale. Two sides would have powerful weapons but it was a standoff to see who would flinch first. Truman created this doctrine because of the fear of a theory called the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory compared the spread of communism to the falling of dominos; once one falls, the rest follow. Containment was used to protect nations from communism and deterence was used to try and make the Soviets scared to try and spread communism.
mArshall plan
comparison of financial aid to seperate European countries
The Marshall Plan was a financial program conceived by Secretary of State George Marshall to rebuild Western Europe. Starting in 1948, it was a four year program to financially stimulate the Western European economy. This foreign aid was used to increase financial stability in the countries of Western Europe that were destroyed in the wake of the fighting of World War II. The overall goal was to improve the economy and average quality of life of Western Europeans so that the Eastern Europeans' quality of living looked inferior. In total, the United States spent over $13 billion in aid which included food, fuel and machinery. The aid ended in 1951 but the level of economic growth continued because of the new trade arrangements allowing the European economy to boom.
Nato
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO was founded on April 4, 1949 and included most Western European nations. It was founded in an effort to deter the Soviets in any military action against Western Europe and to increase military and political cooperation between America and European Nations. Europe became very prosperous because of the security and financial aid the United States was supplying and in 1952 Greece and Turkey joined and later West Germany in 1955. In retaliation, the Soviets formed an alliance called the Warsaw Pact with all of its satelite nations. These two seperate alliances sharing one border created tension and soon the infamous Berlin Wall was erected in 1961.
Berlin air lift
In June of 1948, allied nations: United Kingdom, France, and United States, were faced with a decision because of Soviet action in Berlin. All access from West Germany to West Berlin had been cut off. Stalin's intention being to starve out the West Berliners back into Western Europe and take complete control of Berlin. In an effort to keep Berlin a plan was made and carried out to drop in supplies to West Berlin for more than a year and dropped in more than 2.3 million tons of cargo. This was a rather ambitious and aggressive confrontation for NATO forces against Soviet resistance.
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korean war
The first major conflict involving the Truman Doctrine. At the end of WWII the Korean peninsula, at the time controlled by Japan, was split along the 38th parallel between the United States and the Soviet Union, essentially splitting the peninsula into a north half and south half. After a few years of influence from both nations occupying their halves, fighting began in June of 1950. In a direct violation of the Truman Doctrine the United States took action indirectly using the UN fighting force, which mainly consisted of United States military personel. The job was to contain the communist North Koreans but after disobeying orders to stop at the 38th parallel, General McArthur continued only to find Chinese reinforcements behind the North Korean army. Shortly there after the army is pushed back to the 38th parallel and fighting came to a stand still. An Armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 to stop the fighting, but to this day the Korean War has not ended officially. The policy of containment was used and was successful in its purpose but created a conflict that has remained a potentially hostile.
vietnam war
helicopters leaving a Landing Zone in
Vietnam
Just like in Korea, the U.S. took part in a war that was not directed for
themselves but for the benefit of another country, in this case Vietnam. In
1959, another conflict began in the same fashion as the Korean War between a
communist North and a democratic South. The United States went in to assist the
South Vietnamese but after years of deep-jungle, guerilla style fighting, the
United States backed out leaving the weak South Vietnamese to fend for
themselves. Containment and deterrence had failed with the war ending in 1975
with the defeat of the South Koreans. The United States lost its first major
conflict in its history.
themselves but for the benefit of another country, in this case Vietnam. In
1959, another conflict began in the same fashion as the Korean War between a
communist North and a democratic South. The United States went in to assist the
South Vietnamese but after years of deep-jungle, guerilla style fighting, the
United States backed out leaving the weak South Vietnamese to fend for
themselves. Containment and deterrence had failed with the war ending in 1975
with the defeat of the South Koreans. The United States lost its first major
conflict in its history.
End of the Cold War
In 1991 the Cold War ended when the symbolic Berlin Wall was knocked down. The United States had beaten the Soviets by outspending them on their militaries. Over the entirety of the Cold War the two nations had elevated their militaries to a new level compared to the rest of the world. After the USSR fell, the United States was left as the lone superpower. This began America's new role of the global policemen.