Cold War
Post-War Europe
World War II left much of Europe in ruins, areas that were not physically destroyed suffered from economic hardship and political distrust. In this environment of economic and political instability many Europeans turned to the Communist Party. President Harry Truman declared in the Truman Doctrine in March of 1947 that the United States would work to prevent the spread of communism. To this end, the US Secretary of State, George Marshall proposed a $12.5 billion plan to rebuild Europe that became known as the Marshall Plan. Congress approved the plan after the fall of Czechoslovakia to Communist in 1948. The plan was a great success, the European economy recovered quickly and Communist Parties declined in popularity across Western Europe.
Post-War Japan
Like Europe, Japan was also in ruins after the war. The United States took responsibility for the post-war occupation and administration of Japan. This occupation was overseen by General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur designed a plan that would democratize Japan, stimulate economic growth and prevent future Japanese aggression. The wartime leaders of Japan were arrested and put on trial for war crimes. Seven of the most egregious offenders were put to death. The emperor was spared from trial and allowed to remain on the throne. MacArthur’s investigators claimed that Emperor Hirohito was only a figurehead and did not direct the Japanese government during the war. Hirohito’s innocence is still a matter of debate among historians.
MacArthur did substantially decrease the Japanese emperor’s influence in Japanese life and government however. Hirohito had to renounce both his claim to divinity and all rights to direct the actions of government. MacArthur and his advisors wrote a new constitution for Japan that made it into a constitutional monarchy like Britain. A two house legislature elected by all citizens over the age of 20 would run the country. A bill of rights protected the basic freedoms of the Japanese people.
To stimulate economic growth and opportunity in Japan, MacArthur developed a plan to redistribute land. Large landholders were required to sell their holdings to the government who in turn sold it at low cost to former tenant farmers. MacArthur also allowed factory workers to create independent labor unions.
Japan was permanently demilitarized. The Japanese armed forces was disbanded immediately after the war and a provision was written into the constitution forbidding offensive war and the maintenance of a military with offensive capabilities.
United Nations
The failure of the League of Nations to prevent World War II led to it being disbanded and replaced by the United Nations in 1946. The United Nations was chartered in 1945 and like the League was designed to prevent war. The founders of the United Nations attempted to remedy some of the weaknesses of the League of Nations by giving the United Nations the power to enforce its decisions. The UN was organized into two bodies, the General Assembly in which all member countries were given an equal vote and the Security Council. The principle role of the General Assembly included wielding international opinion. The Security Council was given the power to issue enforceable directives. The Council included eleven members, six elected by the General Assembly and five permanent members with veto power. The five countries given permanent seats in the Security Council were the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Chinese Republic. Today the seat of the USSR is held by Russia and the seat of the Chinese Republic is held by the People’s Republic of China.
Cold War Tensions
The post war tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union came to a head in June of 1948. The Soviet Union responded to the American, British and French decision to allow West Germany to reunite and become an independent country by blockading West Berlin. Berlin was located inside of the Soviet occupied zone of Germany. In June of 1948 the Soviet Union attempted to force the United States, Britain and France into allowing the USSR to take control of West Berlin. They did this by closing off all land access to the city. The US and Britain responded by airlifting supplies into the city. The airlifts lasted until May of 1949 when the Soviet Union finally backed down and reopened land access. The tension caused by the blockade of Berlin resulted in the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Ten western European nations plus the US and Canada formed a military alliance in which they agreed that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all. The NATO alliance went far in mitigating the threat of Soviet aggression in Europe but also increased Cold War tensions. In 1955 the Soviet Union formed its own military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. Seven Eastern European countries joined with the USSR in this alliance.
Arms Race
In an effort to beat both the Axis powers and the Soviets to the creation of a nuclear weapon, the United States spent nearly $2 billion in research and development of the atomic bomb. By 1945, they had successfully built two such bombs, which were dropped on Japan in August of the same year. The Soviets secured nuclear weapons technology in 1949, and thus began an unprecedented arms race between the Soviets and the Americans. In 1952, the U.S. built the first hydrogen-bomb, a weapon with much greater destructive power, with the Soviets following suit within a year. The arsenals amassed on each side created fear and tension between the two nations. It also created a balance of power based on the principle of “mutually assured destruction,” meaning that each side could completely destroy the other many times over.
Over the course of the Cold War, Soviet and U.S. leaders made efforts to limit the use and spread of nuclear weapons. The United States, Soviet Union, and Britain signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. By banning tests in the atmosphere, space, and underwater, they hoped to minimize the environmental impacts of radiation. The agreement, however, still allowed for tests to take place underground. In 1968, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed by 137 countries, aimed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons technology. Disarmament efforts continued through the 1970s, but were impeded by the interests of the military and arms manufacturers as part of the military-industrial complex.
Nikita Khrushchev
When Nikita Khrushchev came to power in 1958 he embarked on a policy of de-Stalinization. He criticized and made Stalin’s crimes known. He eased censorship, softened restrictions on artists and intellectuals, freed political prisoners, and ended the secret police’s fear tactics. He also enacted economic reforms that gave more control to local communities and tried to refocus the economy to create more consumer goods.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In 1961, Communists built a wall of concrete and barbed wire in East Berlin along its border with West Berlin. They built and patrolled the wall to keep East Germans from escaping to the West, shooting anyone caught trying to cross over. The wall became a symbol of a divided Europe and, in fact, a divided world. As the Soviet system began to fall apart in the late 1980s, protests in East Germany convinced the government, which no longer had Soviet backing, to open the borders. In 1989, Germans on both sides of the wall, tore down the wall, which has since become a symbol of the collapse of communism.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev took power in 1985 and issued broad reforms in the Soviet Union that then got away from him. His reform efforts were two-pronged. Glasnost referred to “openness.” It ended censorship and allowed people to openly discuss problems in the Union and with the Communists. Perestroika, meaning “restructuring,” aimed to remake the government and the economy to allow for more efficiency and more productivity. He worked to streamline bureaucracy and allowed for limited private enterprise. These changes resulted in economic turmoil, food shortages, and high prices. The reforms also opened the way for political unrest as dissidents were allowed to have a voice.
Eastern European countries, seeing the Soviet’s weakness, declared independence, and nationalism rose throughout the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was unable to hold them all together. A coup by hard-line communists against Gorbachev in 1991 failed, but it severely weakened his ability to govern and maintain the Soviet Union. He resigned later in the year, ending the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union fell apart, the remaining republics each declared their independence.
World War II left much of Europe in ruins, areas that were not physically destroyed suffered from economic hardship and political distrust. In this environment of economic and political instability many Europeans turned to the Communist Party. President Harry Truman declared in the Truman Doctrine in March of 1947 that the United States would work to prevent the spread of communism. To this end, the US Secretary of State, George Marshall proposed a $12.5 billion plan to rebuild Europe that became known as the Marshall Plan. Congress approved the plan after the fall of Czechoslovakia to Communist in 1948. The plan was a great success, the European economy recovered quickly and Communist Parties declined in popularity across Western Europe.
Post-War Japan
Like Europe, Japan was also in ruins after the war. The United States took responsibility for the post-war occupation and administration of Japan. This occupation was overseen by General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur designed a plan that would democratize Japan, stimulate economic growth and prevent future Japanese aggression. The wartime leaders of Japan were arrested and put on trial for war crimes. Seven of the most egregious offenders were put to death. The emperor was spared from trial and allowed to remain on the throne. MacArthur’s investigators claimed that Emperor Hirohito was only a figurehead and did not direct the Japanese government during the war. Hirohito’s innocence is still a matter of debate among historians.
MacArthur did substantially decrease the Japanese emperor’s influence in Japanese life and government however. Hirohito had to renounce both his claim to divinity and all rights to direct the actions of government. MacArthur and his advisors wrote a new constitution for Japan that made it into a constitutional monarchy like Britain. A two house legislature elected by all citizens over the age of 20 would run the country. A bill of rights protected the basic freedoms of the Japanese people.
To stimulate economic growth and opportunity in Japan, MacArthur developed a plan to redistribute land. Large landholders were required to sell their holdings to the government who in turn sold it at low cost to former tenant farmers. MacArthur also allowed factory workers to create independent labor unions.
Japan was permanently demilitarized. The Japanese armed forces was disbanded immediately after the war and a provision was written into the constitution forbidding offensive war and the maintenance of a military with offensive capabilities.
United Nations
The failure of the League of Nations to prevent World War II led to it being disbanded and replaced by the United Nations in 1946. The United Nations was chartered in 1945 and like the League was designed to prevent war. The founders of the United Nations attempted to remedy some of the weaknesses of the League of Nations by giving the United Nations the power to enforce its decisions. The UN was organized into two bodies, the General Assembly in which all member countries were given an equal vote and the Security Council. The principle role of the General Assembly included wielding international opinion. The Security Council was given the power to issue enforceable directives. The Council included eleven members, six elected by the General Assembly and five permanent members with veto power. The five countries given permanent seats in the Security Council were the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Chinese Republic. Today the seat of the USSR is held by Russia and the seat of the Chinese Republic is held by the People’s Republic of China.
Cold War Tensions
The post war tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union came to a head in June of 1948. The Soviet Union responded to the American, British and French decision to allow West Germany to reunite and become an independent country by blockading West Berlin. Berlin was located inside of the Soviet occupied zone of Germany. In June of 1948 the Soviet Union attempted to force the United States, Britain and France into allowing the USSR to take control of West Berlin. They did this by closing off all land access to the city. The US and Britain responded by airlifting supplies into the city. The airlifts lasted until May of 1949 when the Soviet Union finally backed down and reopened land access. The tension caused by the blockade of Berlin resulted in the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Ten western European nations plus the US and Canada formed a military alliance in which they agreed that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all. The NATO alliance went far in mitigating the threat of Soviet aggression in Europe but also increased Cold War tensions. In 1955 the Soviet Union formed its own military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. Seven Eastern European countries joined with the USSR in this alliance.
Arms Race
In an effort to beat both the Axis powers and the Soviets to the creation of a nuclear weapon, the United States spent nearly $2 billion in research and development of the atomic bomb. By 1945, they had successfully built two such bombs, which were dropped on Japan in August of the same year. The Soviets secured nuclear weapons technology in 1949, and thus began an unprecedented arms race between the Soviets and the Americans. In 1952, the U.S. built the first hydrogen-bomb, a weapon with much greater destructive power, with the Soviets following suit within a year. The arsenals amassed on each side created fear and tension between the two nations. It also created a balance of power based on the principle of “mutually assured destruction,” meaning that each side could completely destroy the other many times over.
Over the course of the Cold War, Soviet and U.S. leaders made efforts to limit the use and spread of nuclear weapons. The United States, Soviet Union, and Britain signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. By banning tests in the atmosphere, space, and underwater, they hoped to minimize the environmental impacts of radiation. The agreement, however, still allowed for tests to take place underground. In 1968, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed by 137 countries, aimed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons technology. Disarmament efforts continued through the 1970s, but were impeded by the interests of the military and arms manufacturers as part of the military-industrial complex.
Nikita Khrushchev
When Nikita Khrushchev came to power in 1958 he embarked on a policy of de-Stalinization. He criticized and made Stalin’s crimes known. He eased censorship, softened restrictions on artists and intellectuals, freed political prisoners, and ended the secret police’s fear tactics. He also enacted economic reforms that gave more control to local communities and tried to refocus the economy to create more consumer goods.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In 1961, Communists built a wall of concrete and barbed wire in East Berlin along its border with West Berlin. They built and patrolled the wall to keep East Germans from escaping to the West, shooting anyone caught trying to cross over. The wall became a symbol of a divided Europe and, in fact, a divided world. As the Soviet system began to fall apart in the late 1980s, protests in East Germany convinced the government, which no longer had Soviet backing, to open the borders. In 1989, Germans on both sides of the wall, tore down the wall, which has since become a symbol of the collapse of communism.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev took power in 1985 and issued broad reforms in the Soviet Union that then got away from him. His reform efforts were two-pronged. Glasnost referred to “openness.” It ended censorship and allowed people to openly discuss problems in the Union and with the Communists. Perestroika, meaning “restructuring,” aimed to remake the government and the economy to allow for more efficiency and more productivity. He worked to streamline bureaucracy and allowed for limited private enterprise. These changes resulted in economic turmoil, food shortages, and high prices. The reforms also opened the way for political unrest as dissidents were allowed to have a voice.
Eastern European countries, seeing the Soviet’s weakness, declared independence, and nationalism rose throughout the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was unable to hold them all together. A coup by hard-line communists against Gorbachev in 1991 failed, but it severely weakened his ability to govern and maintain the Soviet Union. He resigned later in the year, ending the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union fell apart, the remaining republics each declared their independence.