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21 Cards in this Set
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Yalta
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Who: FDR, Churchhill, Stalin
What: Meeting for postwar planning with respect to Germany and to discuss affairs in Poland When: Feb. 1945 Where: Yalta, in the Crimean Penninsula Why: Only two months after the Battle of the Bulge and the events at Iwo Jima, it was apparent to the Allies that fighting would continue. Significance: Broad agreements were created to prevent Germany and Japan from becoming world aggressors again; no conclusive arrangements were made about reparations Country Goals at Yalta: 1. Great Britain- wanted the Soiet Union to officially enter the war against Japan; the Soviets agreed to enter the war 3 months after the European war ended in exchange for land they had lost to Japan in 1905 At this meeting Germany's fate was decided: 1. Germany would be dicided into 4 zones (originally 3, but one was ultimately given to France) 2. German war criminals would be tried 3. Germany would pay reparations to countries and Jewish survivors (this occurred until the 1960s) 4. Germany would give land to Russia and Poland The United Nations- created at Yalta; a debate over the number of votes each country deserved in the General Assembly occurred; the ultimate format involved a Security Council made of 5 permanent members from the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China- other members would rotate through the positions Poland: 3 groups were simultaneously vying for Poland; the Lubin government, which was favorable to Communists, was allowed to temporarily govern if free elections were promised although they never happened |
Discuss Who, What, Where, Why, Significance, Great Britain's goal, agreements over Germany's fate, council created, fate of Poland
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George Kennan
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Who: A career diplomat who influenced HST
What: The Long Telegram When: 1946-1947 Where: Why: advised HST the the Russians were expansionist and had a history of taking over territories; stressed that they did not just want security, but also victory over lands, and the lands they acquired would not be free to trade with the United States Significance: Contributed to United States mentality that Communists were not to be trusted and strengthed the policy of containment |
What was his profession?
What was his impact on American domestic culture and foreign policy? |
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Truman Doctrine
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Who: Truman and the Congress
What: A policy of containment to prevent Soviet expansion Where: globally When: 1947 Why: Represented a turning point in American foreign policy; rooted America's response to a decidedly local conflict in traditional rhetoric of good v. evil; Truman hoped to perpare the American people for their responsibility for World Power Background: In 1947 a communist insurgency battled Greece and Stalin was pressuring Turkey to share control ofa stategic stait; Brtain could no longer afford to support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid; Truman won congressional support for the U.S. to provide the aid for the future of the "free world" |
Why world event was a catalyst for this doctrine? Who was benefitted? What was Truman's ideological argument?
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Iron Curtain
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Who: Winston Churchill
What: imaginary line dividing the free world from the communist When: Speech in 1946 Where: Fulton, MO Why: Belief in a line between C. Europe and W. Europe which could not be broken; important because Churchill called for an assocaition of English-speaking peoples to remain viligant at all times to counter the threat |
Who gave the speech and where?
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George Kennan
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The Long Telegram; George Frost Kennan, a.k.a. Mr. X: Soviet specialist in the U.S. embassy; tried to explain Soviet aggression; said the Soviets were driven by a “neurotic view of world affairs” that emerged from an “instinctive Russian sense of insecurity” which they compensated for by going on the attack “in patient but deadly struggles for total destruction of rival power, never in compacts or compromises with it.” Moscow would withdrawal with strong resistance. According to his analysis, the Soviets were solely to blame for national tensions; only military and economic pressure could tame Russia. Originally written in a telegram later expanded to a book. The Soviets, he argued, saw the world divided into hostile capitalist and communist camps between which there could be no peace. He recommended a U.S. foreign policy based on “long-term, patient, but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
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What did he advocate?
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Marshall Plan
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Who: Secretary of State Marshall under President Truman to assist the western European people
What: Bold plan of economic assistance to Europe so nations could resist communism and would be loyal to the United States Where: Europe When: 1947 Why: explained aid program was “not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.” Marshall invited the participation of any country, including the Soviet Union, “willing to assist in the task of recovery” to clean up physical destruction in Europe; Truman knew Stalin wouldn’t agree to the plan because he would have to share vital economic information with western powers who would then decide how to distribute funds; 1947 Truman submitted the plan to Congress to spend $17 billion over four years; passed largely because of Soviets and Czechoslovakia events. Impact: reassured European allies but worried Stalin who was convinced the U.S. designed the program to lure E. European nations out of the Soviet orbit and to rebuild Germany; unintended benefit of pushing America into full-employment and created jobs to provide material goods for aid; in response the Kremlin cracked down on dissent in Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria, encouraged the coupe in Czechoslovakia, and blockaded Berlin. |
Who was responsible for it? What was one of its unintended consequences for the United States?
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Berlin Airlift
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Who: United States, Soviet Union, Berlin
What: An airlift organized to support Berlin When: 1948 Where: Berlin Why: Truman made Berlin a focal point for containment issue and Berlin became a rallying point; generated much positive publicity for the United States and Great Britain taking measures like dropped candy at the ends of runways Background: The West created “Trizonia” by combining the American, British, and French zones of Germany; the Germans were also invited to create a new government in West Germany, but refused. Trizonia had Germany’s richest industrial resources and 50 million people. The Western powers initiated financial reforms that produced a remarkable economic revival in Germany. Reunification was stopped after the Soviets blocked all roads to Berlin. The tight blockade around W. Berlin (which they were able to do because of legal confusion in the agreements with the Allies) deprived 2.5 million people of food, electricity and fuel. Truman launched a massive airlift operation, Operation Vitties, for 324 days. American and British planes dropped provisions to sustain troops and million civilians in West Berlin; Truman publicly threatened to use “the bomb” if the Soviets shot down relief planes; in 1949 the Russians ended the blockade. |
Happened as a result of what?
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Bay of Pigs
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Who: John F. Kennedy, Eisenhower, Castro, Batistia
What: Military and political fiasco involving failed Cuban invasion Where: Bay of Pigs in Cuba When: April 15th, 1961 Why: To restore Batista to power Background: JFK, who was inaugurated in 1961 inherited this plan to invade Cuba to capture Castro from Eisenhower; Batistia would be the recipient of Cuba; Eisenhower severed political relations with Cuba in his last days in office and informed Kennedy of a plan to invade by force on the 15th of April 1961; the event was a military and political fiasco for the United States and JFK; the invasion was to be made of Cuban nationals in the United States whom Eisenhower’s advisors assumed would rise up against Castro once U.S. forces landed; this was a false assumption; In April 1961 the people still supported Castro and many of the invaders were killed or captured; meanwhile, Castro’s reputation around the world soared because he had repelled a U.S. invasion; Soviets increased aid to Cuba because of mishap |
What did the United States hope to gain with the Bay of Pigs? Why did it fail? What were the ramifications?
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Cuban Missile Crisis
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Who: Cuba, the United States, Soviet Union, Turkey
What: Offensive in Cuba because Soviet missiles were aimed at the continental U.S. When: the Fall of 1962 Where: Cuba Why: End of first phase of Cold War; United States agreed never to invade Cuba again Background: U.S. discovered evidence of offensive (as opposed to defensive) long-range based missiles in Cuba; in a television address President Kenned showed photos taken by a U-2 spy plane but did not inform the U.S. of ground forces in Cuba; Kennedy’s wanted to avoid war with the Soviets over Cuba so he imposed a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from bringing missiles to Cuba; Soviet records have revealed that because of the distance between the Soviet Union and Cuba, to wage a war over the island would have been impossible because they lacked the naval strength; The U.S. had missiles installed in Turkey aimed at the Soviet Union which were to be removed before the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Turkey missiles were used as a bargaining point during the Crisis- both countries agreed to remove their missiles- this agreement was secret; The U.S. also agreed never to invade Cuba again; this event ended the first phase of the Cold War; this was the first time a hotline was established and treaties and cultural exchanges took place between the Soviets and the U.S. |
Why did it start? Who started it? What were the eventual agreements? What did it end?
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Baby Boom
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Baby Boom- Who: Soldiers returning home from WWII and their families
What: The United States’ largest population increase in history When: 1946-1974; cut short by advent of birth control pill Where: Global Why: Significant because 75 million people were born in 18 years; the python digesting the pig; economic and social consequences Causes of the Baby Boom: 1. Young couples delayed marrying during WWII decided to make-up for lost time; the median age of marriage ages hit historic lows- 20.1 years for women, 22.5 for men; young couples were starting families earlier and continuing to have children over a longer period of time. 2. Changing cultural attitudes toward sexuality and pregnancy created a “procreation ethic” that encouraged young couples to have children. 3. General spirit of confidence about the future convinced young couples that they could afford the demands of parenthood, partly because of government policies like The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act (the GI Bill) of 1944 which pumped millions of dollars into the economy by providing veterans with unemployment compensations, medical benefits, business loans, and tuition reimbursement for continuing education. 4. Modern science contributed to the fertility euphoria by conquering diseases with antibiotics to conquer tuberculosis, diphtheria, whopping cough, measles, and polio (Dr. Jonas Salk). Background: The Baby Boom was an unanticipated consequence of WWII in which 75 million people born in 18 years; in the book Great Expectations by Landon Jones Jones equates the baby boom generation with a pig trying to digest a python- there would be a bulge wherever the generation was; examples of this theory included that diapers became mass-produced items; enormous numbers of new elementary schools were constructed in the 1950s; women stopped staying in the hospital for 2 weeks after giving birth because hospital demand was so high; college attendance influxed in the 1960s (also because of Sputnik and government initatives); some historians argue that there would not have been social unrest in the 1960s if not for the baby boomers |
What analogy was used by which historian to describe the Baby Boom? What were some of the impacts? What were the four causes?
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HUAC
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House Committee on Un-American Activities
Who: Hollywood actors and HUAC members What: Congressional committee charged with investigated communists in the U.S. When: 1947 Where: focused on Hollywood, but not limited to it Why: Demonstrated the hysteria of communism and created a fear of subversion and culture of suspicion and mistrust Background: HUAC was designated to investigate institutions in the United States for communism; During the 1950s the committee focused on the left-wing thinkers of Hollywood whom they thought might be sympathetic to communists; industry individuals were charged to testify before Congress and gives the names of known Communists - many refused and were blacklisted in Hollywood and therefore forced out of the industry; one writer, Trumbo, who had written a screenplay for a very popular WWII movie “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” refused to answer HUAC questions and was thrown from the industry; (Trumbo also wrote a book called Johnny Got His Gun which is very anti-war; Johnny was a veteran of WWI and the book opens with him in a hospital although he doesn’t know he’s that- he slowly figures out he has no arms or legs, and cannot speak, hear, or see; book was considered by some to be anti-America) |
Who did HUAC investigate? When did HUAC become prominent? Who were targets of HUAC? Name one individual blacklisted by HUAC
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Joseph McCarthy
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Who: Joseph McCarthy, supposed terrorist
What: Communist hysteria capitalizing on Cold War fears When: 1952-1954 Where: The United States, Wisconsin Why: Background: McCarthy was a Republican senator from Wisconsin who spoke against Communism as a reelection issue; in 1950 McCarthy gave a speech during which he claimed to have the names of 205 known communists working in the State Department; the names were never given and the number of known communists changed in subsequent speeches; nonetheless, McCarthy was reelected after ushering in McCarthyism, or a rampant fear of communism and inability or unwilling to resolve the issues this type of fear produced; Monolithic view of Communism; historians allege that the hysteria caused persecution of Chinese experts in the State Department creating a vacuum in the State Department; this vacuum was problematic during the Viet Nam conflict because little was known about China and its history of antagonism with Viet Nam; McCarthy attacked the U.S. Army in Spring of 1954 on broadcast television revealing McCarthy’s search for evidence was based on; he was eventually censored by the Congress for exploiting Communism |
What is he the father of? (duh.)
What was his downfall? Why did he come up with that platform? What were the effts of McCarthyism in the State Department? |
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Taft-Hartley Act
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Who: Republican Congress, unions
What: An act affecting labor unions When: 1947; (During Truman’s presidency) Where: United States Why: Reduced the power designated to unions in the Wagner Act Background: The Act was designed to reduce the power given to labor unions in the Wagner Act; Unions could still strike under the Taft-Hartley Act but a “cooling off” period was mandated by the National Labor Relations during which workers would return to work while negotiations were underway between the employers and laborers; closed-shops were no longer allowed- unions could no longer require union membership; heads of unions could not be communist; The Act also outlawed union donations to political organizations; Truman vetoed this act but was overrode by the Republican Congress as was often the case during his term |
This act was designed to do what? Who was for the act? Who was against the act? What were some of the specific mandates of the act?
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The Fair Deal
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Who: President Truman
What: Truman’s liberal social and economic program When: 1949-1953 Where: The United States Why: Background: The Fair Deal was Truman’s program to increase justice in the United States composed of several planks; The Republican Congress opposed many of Truman’s measures which included creating government training programs such as the TVA, utilizing a federal housing plan (due to the housing shortage from WWII and the Great Depression), expanding SS coverage, and creating government health insurance; The Republican Congress agreed to increase Vets’ benefits (to oppose that measure would’ve been political suicide), expanded SS coverage (after much debate), and went part way to create a housing agreement allowing low-interest rates for mortgages; The Congress did not address federal health insurance; Truman wanted to pass several civil rights measures which were vetoed by the Congress; frustrated, Truman took initiative to begin civil rights reform as issued Executive Order which integrated the armed forces in 1947; The overall pattern of Truman’s Fair Deal was that the Congress tended to pass was what was already in place; The Fair Deal primarily benefited the middle class. |
What was it? Whose was it? Who did it benefit? How did the 3 branches of government work together or not work together on it? What did the Congress tend to be in favor of? What measures were proposed? What measures actually passed?
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Employment Act of 1946
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Who: Congress
What: A government policy to strive for maximum employment Where: Nationally When: 1946 Why: Mandated the federal government would utilize all of its resources, including deficit spending, to achieve maximum employment, production, and purchasing power Significant: Made the federal government responsible for ensuring a healthy economy (a very radical idea for the time) |
What did it do for the government? what was the government to achieve?
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38th Parallel
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Who: Korea, the U.S, Soviets, Syngman Rhee, Kim II Sung
What: Line dividing N. and S. South, Communist and “free” countries Where: The Korean penninsula When: Following WWII Why: Background: After WWII the United States and the Soviets temporarily divided the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel; (it previously had been under Korean control); The Russians installed Kim II Sung to lead the communist north while Syngman Rhee, a conservative nationalist, was the American-sponsored ruler of the south; in 1950 N. Korean invaded and overpowered S. Truman interpreted the invasion as an attack on America’s global allies and ordered American air and naval forces to support the South; a U.N. resolution passed to condemn North Korea and forces were supplied (the United States provided half of the ground troops and most of the sea and air support.) Gen. MacArthur turned the war tide in favor of the United States and reestablished Rhee’s government as N. Korea retreated beyond the 38th parallel; the United States ambitiously tried to reunite the peninsula but the Chinese entered the war forcing the sides into a stalemate at the 38th parallel |
Why was it important? When was it important first? When was it important last? How was it important in the middle?
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Tet Offensive
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Who: Vietcong N. Vietnamese communists and South Vietnamese
What: An offensive launched by the Vietcong communist troops in Viet Nam Where: South Korea, esp. in S. Vietnam’s cities and towns When: 1968 Why: The Tet Offensive was a psychological victory for the Vietcong; lessened President Johnson’s credibility; showed impact of television on modern warfare; showed American public’s dissatisfaction with progress of war Background: 77,000 Vietcong troops invaded 100 S. Korea cities; although the Offensive was labeled a military defeat, it won a psychological victory; the ferocity of the offensive stifled optimistic reports of U.S. victory in Viet Nam and defeated President Johnson’s credibility |
What was it? Who was involved and in what roles? Was it encouraging or discouraging and to who? Whose credibility did it destroy?
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CREEP
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Committee to Re-Elect the President
Who: President Nixon, James McCord, Daneil Ellsberg What: Series of scandals involving Nixon’s second administration Where: Democratic Party’s national headquarters in the Watergate complex When: June 17, 1972 Why:According to historian Tom Wicker, Americans saw their government as a “foundation of lies.” Background: In 1972 a security guard at the Democratic Party’s national headquarters foiled a break-in; James McCord, the security coordinator of CREEP was apprehended and admitted under pressure that high White House officials had approved the break-in and pressured defendants to “plead guilty and remain silent”; CREEP also broke into the office of Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers which swayed the American public in opposition to the Viet Nam war |
What were the scandals? How were they uncovered?
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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
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Who: Congress, President Johnson
What: A resolution that authorized the President to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” Where: Global When: 1964 Why: This resolution provided the legislative foundation for the Viet Nam War Background: President Johnson approved incremental escalation in military presence in Viet Nam. An incident off the coast of N. Vietnam in the Tokin gulf in which two U.S. destroyers reported they were under attack by N. Vietnamese torpedo boats (it may have just been the weather); nonetheless, the event gave Johnson congressional and public support for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution to be passed |
What events led to the passing of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution? When was it passed? What did it do? How long did it stay in effect?
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War Powers Act
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Who: Congress, President Nixon
What: An act requiring the President to “consult with Congress” within 48 hours of committing American troops abroad and ordered their withdrawal within 60 days if Congress did not approval the mission When: 1973 Where: Congress Why: Limited the power of the presidency to restore public trust in the government Background: The War Powers Act was taken as a measure to restore public faith in the nation’s political leaders following the Watergate Scandals, mainly achieved by limiting the power of the presidency; the Act was passed over Nixon’s veto requiring the president to “consult with Congress” within 48 hours of committing troops abroad and to withdraw the troops with 60 days if the mission was not deemed appropriate |
Why was it passed? What did it do? Who vetoed it?
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Jacobo Arbenz
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Who: Arbenz, Guatemala, United Fruit, the CIA
What: An CIA mission to topple the leftist government of Arbenz When: 1954 Where: Guatemala Why: Revealed the monolithic view of communism and the mistake of taking nationalist movements with Soviet-inspired aggression? Background: The Arbenz government had launched an ambitious land-reform program which including seizing more than 200,000 acres of land owned by the American-owned United Fruit Company if the company did not pay back taxes on what United Fruit alleged the land to be worth; the CIA organized and financed an anti-Arbenz coup and a new government, approved by the CIA, took power and restored the appropriated lands to United Fruit |
Where was he from? What did he want to do? Who didn't like what he wanted to do? What did they do about it? How did it turn out? What did this show?
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