THE COLD WAR AND THE AMERICAS: Cathy Cherubin Per.

1
Complete this chart:
President

Key Domestic Policies

Truman

-1949 Fair Deal: Little success - Truman Doctrine - which

- Declared the right to the United - Responses since many countries
due to Congress.
stated that the U.S. would
States to be able to intervene in that accepted US money to help
support Greece and Turkey
Latin America and stabilize any the economy thought it would
- Rapid Peacetime reconversion
with economic and military aid country that needed help
do greater good than harm. That
after WWII.
to prevent them from falling
wasnt the case, especially in
into the Soviet sphere and later - Wanted to make sure to have
countries like Argentina. Many
- Wage/Price Control to reduce
extended to other countries that allies in Latin America to aid
Latin American countries
inflation(Failed.)
Us when needed
practiced non-communist
realized that the US was
ideologies
starting to be very controlling
- Put an end to labor unrest/
and wanted them out of their
strikes.
- Policy of containment
countries.
- Desegregation of the military
and the civil sercive.

Foreign Policies

Policies on Latin America

Reaction in Latin America

- (OAS) Over US objections

articles 15/16 of the charter
prohibited intervention
including economic and
diplomatic coercion into the
affairs of other signatory
nations.

Eisenhower

- Middle Road

- Continued containment policies - focused on helping Latin

- Latin American countries were
American countries to not get very appreciative of
- Did not remove New Deal
- Containment was not enough to into the Soviet Sphere of
Eisenhowers help even though
entirely.
stop Soviet expansion influence.
they doubted how the US was
adopted a policy know as
playing a part in their country.
- Role of Government was to
Massive Retaliation (U.S was - In order to show this, the US
balance the budget/ create
prepared to use atomic
provided support to Latin
- For instance, in Guatemala, the
infrastructure to promote
weapons if they were to be
American countries that needed president who was trying to
continued economic growth.
attacked)
help with their domestic
present democracy in the
policies as well as their
country was worried that
- Avoided tax cuts.
- Eisenhower Doctrine - stated
international policies if needed. Guatemala was going to
that a nation could request
become dependent on the US
- The Federal-Aid Highway Act: economic and military
for its economy
allowed faster transportation.
assistance from the United
States if it was being attacked
- decided to make sure that
- Did not pay much attention to
by a communist nation (drafted
Guatemala had its own
the poor.
in part as a response to an
independent economy.
increasing spread in
- Eisenhower encouraged the
- Great hostility due to harsh
communism, and tensions in
removal of McCarthy from
dictatorships working only for
the Middle East
behind the scenes.
the benefit of US.
- Ended Korean War
- Appointed Warren as Chief
- Hostility decreased (not much)
Justice Brown v. Board.
- Didn't get involved in the
after increase in US economic
Vietnam War but funded 80%
assistance and the fall of
- Was half-hearted supporter of
of battle costs to France and
Batista.
civil rights; wanted gradual
went to the Geneva conference,
change.
which split Vietnam at the 17th
parallel to create South
- Executive used army for
Vietnam
American children to attend
white school.

Kennedy

- New Frontier.

- Bay of Pigs Crisis

- mostly focused on Cuba due to

the missile crisis. However,
- Promised federal funding for - Cuban Missile Crisis- strained Kennedy did try to be on good
education, medical care, gov.
relationship between Soviet
terms with other countries to
intervention in economy, and
Union
avoid going through the same
economic aid in rural regions.
thing with Cuba.
- Sought to contain the perceived
- Promised to end racial
threat of communism in Latin - did try to avoid military
discrimination.
America by establishing the
conflicts with all these
Alliance for Progress which
countries.
- Income tax reduction proposed. sent aid to some countries and
sought greater human rights
- Removed death penalty in D.C. standards in the region
- Executive Order 10925- Peace corps
government contractors to treat
applicants equally without regard - Berlin speech
for color, race, etc.
- Founder of the US-Israeli
- Established the Presidents
military alliance
Committee on Equal
Employment Opportunity
- Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
- Civil Rights Act of 1964
proposed.
- Equal Pay Act of 1963.
- Apollo Program man on the
moon after his death.

- Most of the reactions in Latin

America were negative because
the countries did not want the US
to have legislature over their
government.
- In Cuba, the Cubans were very
negative about US involvement
in Cuba and wanted to do their
won thing.
- Relations between Latin
America and US improved due
to US aid in improving living
conditions for the majority of
Latin Americans.
- ~Peace Corps assistance and
massive military spending
improved perception of
Americans.

Johnson

- Civil Rights Act of 1964

passed: A. Americans can vote.
- Civil Rights Act of 1968
passed: equal housing
- Fair Housing Act passed.
-Passed Immigration Act of 1965
which changed policy from NonEuropeans.
- Great Society Program aid in
education, Medicare/aid, urban
renewal, conservation, fight
against poverty/ disease, etc.-->
passed.
- Poverty declined
- Medicare covered millions of
Americans.
- Gun Control Act of 1968

- Greatly invested in the Vietnam - did not so much focus on Latin - became involved in Vietnam
war - 500,000 American troops America like the past presidents was because the US was against
in South Vietnam and no end in and rather he focused on
communism and that is what
sight to the conflict
Vietnam to make sure that the
the north was promoting.
north and the south did not
- tried to initiate a peace treaty completely destroy each other. - OAS cooperated with the
but it only went into affect after
removal of a Castro-style
he left office
government undermined its
credibility (Was seen as a
- Johnsons policy toward Latin
puppet to the US)
America became increasingly
interventionist, culminating
- Hostile relations returned.
with the deployment of U.S.
soldiers to Santo Domingo to
prevent another communist
takeover in the Caribbean.

Nixon

- Economic goal was to reduce

inflation by ending the war.

- Practiced Detente(open
relations)

- Maintained close relations with

Cuban-American exile
community and he assured
- Proposed grants to the state - Opened up communication
soviets and Cubans that he
did nothing but boost his political with China and Russia (signed would not attack Cuba.
credit.
a Nuclear Arms Treaty SALT)
- When Chile elected Allende as
- Announced temporary price/
- Reduction of Nuclear
their president, Nixon made
wage control, let dollar float vs.
Weapons eased the Cold War
sure to convert resistance
other currencies.
tensions.
against the Marxist leader.
- Wage/price controls ended after - Ended American involvement
unpopularity.
in the war in Vietnam
( replacing American troops
- New Federalism
with the Vietnamese troops,
also called "Vietnamization")
- Devolve power to state and
local elected officials.
- Strongly supported General
Yahya Khan of Pakistan during
- Conservation Movement
the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
despite widespread human
- Environmental Protection
rights violations against the
Agency, Clean Air Act of 1970,
Bengalis, particularly Hindus,
vetoed Clean Water Act of 1972
by the Pakistan Army
due to excessive spending, but
overrode by Congress.
- Private health insurance
reform HMOs
- War on Drugs
- Civil Rights large scale
integration of public schools.
- Endorsed the Equal Rights
Amendment.

- Printed anti-Allende messages

to be published in Chile and
after economic, political and
social unrest; Pinochet came to
power in Chile.
- Comes to show how effective
Nixons resistance against
Allende really was.
- Severely damaged US- Latin
American relations.

Ford

- Economic Policy Board by

Executive Order.

- Inherited Richard Nixon's

- policies in Latin America were - The fact that Ford was in office
foreign policies and his foreign mainly based on alliances that for such a short amount of time is
policy advisers.
were not very good
why he did not really gain the
- Whip Inflation Now
trust of some Latin American
campaign (WIN)
- Continued the dtente policy - sent after unpopular policies countries.
with both the Soviet Union and that were against human rights
- Reduce spending/consumption. China, to ease the tensions of the standards.
- Very low point in US-Latin
Cold War
American relations.
- Supporter of Equal Rights
Amendment.
- SALT treaty still in place
- Opposed Roe v. Wade; would
later become pro-choice.

- Gave military aid and

humanitarian assistance to
South Vietnam

- Education for all Handicapped

Children Act of 1975.
- Trips to Japan and China, a
10-day European tour, and
- Unemployment increased
cosponsorship of the first
Advocated tax reduction and
international economic summit
signed Tax Reduction Act of
meeting
1975.
- Preventing a new war between
the Arab-Israeli opponents was
a major objective
- "Shuttle diplomacy" in the
Middle East
- More aid to both Israel and
Egypt-interim truce agreement
(didn't last)

Carter

- Issued executive order declaring - Camp David Accords

- Believed that the Latin
unconditional amnesty for
success(14 months of
American policies should
Vietnam War-era draft evaders.
diplomatic efforts by Egypt,
reflect its highest moral
Israel, and the United States)
principles. In Latin America,
- Head Start program was
expanded
- Hoped to continue the policy of - Wanted to promote human
dtente with the Soviet Union rights as a standard relation
- Many health and welfare acts
but had several major
with Latin American countries
passed.
confrontations with the
- to decrease the import of
Russians
- Child Nutrition Amendments of
weapons into Latin America
1978, Federal Mine Safety and - Recognition of China
Health Act of 1977, Pregnancy
Discrimination Act of 1978, Age - Iran Hostage crisis (escalated
discrimination in employment
tensions)
Act Amendments of 1978, etc.
- Proposed a bill for universal
national health insurance, later it
became limited. Proposed
mandatory hospital cost control:
failed.
- Control on oil prices during
energy crisis.
- Economy falls in recession after
short period of economic growth.
- United States Department of
Energy: conserve energy.
- Signed National Energy Act

- not successful in his diplomacy

but wanted moral principles and
to promote human rights between
the latin american countries and
US