Nation of Nations Concise 2/e Davidson, Gienapp, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff
	Online Learning Center

Returning veterans and uprooted civilians now had to get on with normal life, to build new lives in the new postwar world. Yet in many ways the history of the immediate postwar years was as much about adjusting to the past as to the future. Much of that future, of course, would never be the same. In particular, the growing antagonism-the Cold War-between the Soviet Union and the United States shaped the way the nation adjusted. So did voter willingness to maintain an active role in the economy. Both of these impulses were the result of vividly remembered experiences.

The Rise of the Cold War

The Cold War had its roots in the unresolved issues of World War II, especially the questions of German reparations and boundaries, Poland's government, the future of China, and the relationship of the Soviet Union to its bordering nations. For Americans, old hostility toward the Bolsheviks and new fears raised by Stalin's aggressive posture toward Eastern Europe aroused profound suspicions about the Soviets' postwar territorial ambitions. For his part, Joseph Stalin may have had as much reason to fear his former allies as the reverse.

The Truman Administration adopted a policy of containment, first suggested in George Kennan's 1946 "long telegram" from Moscow. Containment had its first real test when Truman persuaded Congress to support aid for Greece and Turkey. Then Congress in 1948 authorized massive aid to Europe under the Marshall Plan. Thirdly, Stalin's effort to consolidate the Soviet sphere in Eastern Europe, especially a crisis over Berlin, prompted the United States to form NATO. All of this took place under the shadow of the atomic bomb. Rejecting any UN oversight that might compromise their nuclear monopoly, US leaders saw atomic weapons as the only way to deter Soviet aggression, since the regular armed forces had so completely demobilized.

Postwar Prosperity

The end of the war brought fears of a new depression as the economy converted from war to peace. True, women and minorities often lost their jobs. Inflation, shortages, layoffs, strikes, and a host of inconveniences created political headaches for the Truman Administration. Yet the United States soon entered a quarter-century of sustained prosperity. Civil rights activists found a friend in the White House, if not in Congress. And Truman was able to hold on to most of the New Deal structure, including the 1944 "G.I. Bill of Rights" that gave generous benefits to former soldiers.

Nevertheless, the country was in a more conservative mood. Voters took revenge against Democrats in the 1946 elections. But in 1948, the defection of northern liberals and southern segregationists from the Democratic Party actually helped Truman win re-election. After his shocking upset win, Truman tried to revive social reform with his Fair Deal program, but Congress blocked the way.

The Cold War at Home

Fear of communism not only shaped foreign policy, it brought the atmosphere of the cold war home. Fears intensified in reaction to the shocks of 1949: the Soviet detonation of an atom bomb, the communist overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek, and the trial of State Department official Alger Hiss for lying about his communist ties. The Hiss case-and others like it-seemed evidence of conspiracy. Fear of domestic subversion led the government to launch a massive loyalty review program. The House Un-American Activities Committee investigated the Hollywood film industry. In 1950 Congress passed the McCarran Act to bar subversives.

It was Senator Joe McCarthy who captured the tide of anticommunism and lent his name to the postwar "Red Scare." McCarthyism owed some of its credibility to Truman's own anti-red crusade, though the Senator proved far more effective than the President in tapping the fears of the American people.

From Cold War to Hot War and Back

With a hotter cold war in prospect, the National Security Council proposed to accelerate national defense spending under the doctrines of NSC-68. Congress resisted the huge costs until war erupted when North Korea invaded South Korea. Truman immediately committed American forces to what was officially a United Nations effort. General Douglas MacArthur reversed the initial North Korean successes with a brilliant amphibious invasion at Inchon. But the decision to move across the 38th parallel to reunite North and South Korea brought China into the war. Truman eventually fired MacArthur for insubordination; the dismissal and the Korean stalemate undermined the President's political position at home. In the election of 1952, war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower and his anticommunist running mate, Richard Nixon, used the formula of "K1C2" (Korea, Communism, and Corruption) to defeat Adlai Stevenson.

Ike's popularity complicated Senator McCarthy's efforts to extend his crusade. The Senator's excesses embarrassed the President and finally the Republican Party. Eisenhower never openly attacked McCarthy, though he did criticize the "book burners" inspired by the excesses of the Senator's aides. Some of Eisenhower's actions may actually have encouraged McCarthy, especially allowing the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. McCarthy went too far, however, in attacking the United States Army. When the Senate finally condemned him in 1954, the second Red Scare began to wane.

With a negotiated truce ending the Korean War, and the fall of McCarthy, it was still clear by the early 1950s that no matter whether a Republican or Democrat sat in the White House, the nation's economy and its defenses were tied more than ever to a global order and an active government.

Copyright ©1999 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
For further information about this site contact mhhe_webmaster@mcgraw-hill.com.