HIST 1043 module 7 topic summary part 1
——COLD WAR AMERICA——
“Cold War” Defined
—–The term “Cold War” was coined in the late 1940s to describe a new and seemingly unique international situation after WWII. This was an international situation of intense, ongoing conflict and competition that never led to an all-out war (which would have been WWIII). The conflict and competition was between the US (and its allies, mostly democratic) and the Soviet Union (and its communist allies}. When did the Cold War begin and end? You can use different events as beginning and end points, but it is most common to say that the Cold War begins with the Truman Doctrine (1947) and ends with the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991).
Marxist-Leninist Communism and the USSR
—–Marxist-Leninist communism is a political ideology created primarily by two men, Karl Marx (a German) and Vladimir Lenin (a Russian). Marx was a 19th century thinker and writer who advocated class revolution. Lenin was a bit younger than Marx and lived into the early 20th century. He too was a thinker and writer, but he also helped lead a revolution in Russia in 1917. Marxist-Leninism suggests that economic forces, especially class conflict, drive historical change. Marx and Lenin argued that the working class—in the industrial age that meant especially factory workers—are exploited by those who own the means of production—in the industrial age that meant the capitalists who owned the factories. This exploitation would ultimately, they believed, bring conflict and finally a class revolution by the workers. What next? Marx and Lenin believed that there would be a dictatorship created in the name of the workers that would eliminate capitalism and create socialism (common or public ownership of the major aspects of the economy—production, transportation and communication). Once this transformation was achieved, they argued, the dictatorship would dissolve and society would enter a state of communism— a utopian society based on the principle of sharing with no need for a government at all. (Note—a truly communist society as envisioned by Marx and Lenin has never actually been created). Understand that Marx and Lenin imagined worker’s revolution and eventual communism as inevitable sooner or later in all countries.
—-The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which was commonly called simply “the Soviet Union”) was created in 1917 when Lenin and a group of communists he led came to power during the Russian Revolution. They transformed what had been the Russian Empire into the first nation in history based on the principles of Marxist-Leninism—the USSR. What happened? Well, a dictatorship was created (and Lenin served as the first dictator) and capitalism was replaced by socialism—-BUT the dictatorship never dissolved. As long as the USSR existed it was a dictatorship. There was, in fact a long series of Soviet dictators and some were very brutal, most notably Josef Stalin—who ruled from the 1920s until the early 1950s and probably murdered more people in his concentration camps than even Hitler. Needless to say, the ideal society Marx and Lenin had hoped for—communism—never appeared.
Yalta and the Issue of Eastern Europe
—–In February of 1945 the leaders of the most important countries fighting fascism—Stalin of the Soviet Union, Churchill of Great Britain, and FDR—met in conference at Yalta, which was a city in the Soviet Union on the Black Sea. They discussed issues relating to the prosecution of the war—such as when the Soviet Union might start helping in the fight against Japan—but they also discussed issues relating to the world after the war. For example, FDR successfully urged Stalin to commit the Soviet Union to joining the “United Nations” organization to be created at the end of fighting (the UN is FDR’s version of collective security, an idea he learned from Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations proposal). More importantly, they discussed the future of eastern Europe. These countries— Poland, Hungary, etc.—were now being overrun by the Soviet army as they chased the German army back to Germany. The question for FDR and Churchill was—Would the Soviet army leave eastern Europe after the war or would it stay and impose communist dictatorships on those countries? FDR persuaded Stalin to agree in a public commitment to “free elections” in eastern Europe after the war, which implied that the Soviet army would leave and the nations of eastern Europe could chose their own future. But the term “free elections” by itself was vague and left open the possibility of an imposed Soviet style “election” which was just a sham. Why did FDR not insist that Stalin commit to more? The Soviet army was already in eastern Europe and in control. What could FDR do? Nevertheless, he was criticized later.
—–What happened? The Soviet army stayed for more than 40 years after the end of WWII, and although developments after the war varied from one eastern European country to another, the end result was always the same—-Soviet style dictatorships were created, really imposed, across eastern Europe. Churchill said that an “iron curtain” had fallen across Europe.
—–How should the US respond to Soviet behavior in eastern Europe? Answering that question falls to President Harry Truman.
Truman’s Containment Policy
—–Although some American leaders disagreed with Truman at the time and some historians have disagreed since, Truman decided that Soviet behavior in eastern Europe was evidence that the USSR was inherently dangerous and out to conquer the world in the name of communism. His policy in response to this perceived threat was “Containment”—-which was exactly what the name implied, an attempt to contain, or stop, the further spread of communism (it is important to note that Containment is defensive in spirit and not a policy of starting WWIII with an attack). Truman’s Containment policy becomes America’s Cold War policy. All American presidents during the Cold War basically follow this policy. What specifically did this policy entail?
The Truman Doctrine. In a speech to Congress in 1947, Truman stated what came to be known as the ‘Truman Doctrine”—basically that the US would help nations seeking to resist communism (although Truman is careful not to mention the word communism in the speech, everyone understood his meaning). In effect, Truman appointed the US world policeman against communism. This represented total disavowal of the old isolationist tradition and would have major consequences in the years to come.
The Marshall Plan. Named for George Marshall who had been army chief of staff during WWII and was currently Truman’s Secretary of State, the Marshall Plan is a program of massive American economic aid to western Europe—countries like Britain, France, Belgium, etc.— to help rebuild after the devastating war. This is not charity. American leadership knows that a rebuilt western Europe will be able to resist communism and will be important allies in the Cold War against the USSR.
The creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). NATO was created as a military alliance between the US and the democracies of western Europe. Truman has just raised what he calls “the iron fist” in the Soviet face.
