Cold War Politics in the Truman Years, 1945-1953

Harry Truman Containment/Truman Doctrine (714-715,718) Marshall Plan (718) Berlin (718-719) Deterrence/Nuclear Arms Race (719) NATO (720) Mao Zedong/China/Taiwan (721-722) Palestine/Israel (722) GI Bill (724; also 699-700) LULAC/American GI Forum (726-727) McCarthyism (729-730) Korea/General MacArthur (730-734) How did the US and the Soviet Union go from being allies to being enemies? (712-714) Explain: “The Western Allies’ delay in opening a second front in Western Europe aroused Soviet suspicions during the war.” (713) What was at stake in the Cold War? Why were the two sides so far apart? (713-714) Describe the perspectives of Stalin and Churchill on the emerging Cold War. What do these speeches tell us about the nature of the conflict? (716-717) Describe the perspective of Henry Wallace. Do you find his comments relevant today? (717) Explain how the “national security state” became a major part of America. (719-720) Describe Truman’s ideas for a “Fair Deal”. Do you think he was asking for too much? (722-729) Explain how the economy grew following WW II. Why were workers feeling stress? (723-724) Comment: “Inflation, not unemployment, turned out to be the most severe problem…” (723) How would you explain the growth of civil rights movements following WW II? (724-727) Explain how Truman won the election of 1948. Why was this election unusual? (727-728) How did anti-Communist hysteria dominate American politics in the early 1950s? (729-730) Explain how the Korean War raised critical questions about containment policy. (731-732) Comment: “…the cold war defined American politics and society for decades to come.” (734)