Chapter 4 (A Hard and Bitter Peace)

Topic- The Start of the Cold War

Read p. 20-35 in 20th Century World- Cold War

The German Question

Principal factor in the Cold War
Discussed at Yalta and Potsdam
Differing objectives (East vs. West) made agreement difficult- especially at Potsdam

September, 1945- London Conference of Five permanent members of the UN Security Council
Charged with drafting peace treaties between the Grand Alliance and Germanys wartime allies Soviet ambitions involve Spheres of Influence as proposed by Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov
No agreement is made

The German Question

US and USSR became increasingly contemptuous of British opinions and interests after the war Secretary of State James Byrnes sent Mark Ethridge and historian Cyril Black to the Balkans on a fact-finding mission
Resulted in the Ethridge Report
Recognized legitimate Soviet concerns, but emphasized imperialistic nature of Moscow

Moscow, December 1945

Meeting of the Foreign Ministers
Byrnes and Molotov take center stage

Balkan question resolved in favor of USSR Romania and Bulgaria would add two nonCommunists to their governments Treaties for the Soviet satellites would be drafted at the forthcoming peace conference in Paris Soviets agreed to a joint British-American-Canadian proposal to establish a UN commission to control atomic energy No agreement was made concerning the withdrawal of British and Soviet troops from Iran

Two Worlds and An Iron Curtain

Truman/Byrnes relationship
Secretary of State Byrnes was given great discretionary authority by the president
Conducted diplomacy in great secrecy Arranged a radio report to US citizens on the Moscow Conference before briefing the president

Unacceptable Soviet conduct caused Truman to become less tolerant of Byrness behavior January 5, 1946- Truman meets with Byrnes
Truman let Byrnes know that he was taking too conciliatory of a position with the Soviets and it was not consistent with his views (which included a firmer US policy toward the USSR)

Two Worlds and An Iron Curtain

Truman had been conflicted with how to deal with Stalin/USSR
Conciliatory or Confrontational? Because of aggressive Soviet policies towards eastern Europe- Truman came down on the side of confrontation By January 1946 the US had not declared Cold War

Two Worlds and An Iron Curtain

By January 1946 Stalin had made his own declaration
February 1946- Stalin gives an election speech to an assembly of voters in Moscow
Asserted Marxist-Leninist thought Contrasted capitalism and communism Declared that the world remained divided into two hostile camps
Between which war was inevitable sooner or later

The Marshall Plan

George Marshall- Secretary of State
Formed a Policy Planning Staff at the State Department (headed by George Kennan of Long Telegram fame)
Purpose- to counter Soviet expansion
Get Eastern European nations to turn to the US for economic aid rather than the Soviet Union

Creation of the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)

The Marshall Plan

Open invitation to all European countries (even the USSR)
Kennan gambled on the rejection of the plan by the Soviets

Countries who accepted would have to open their financial books to the West, thus pave the way for political freedom and the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc June 26, 1947- 17 Euro nations gathered to implement the groundwork for the Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan

July 2, 1947- USSR announces the creation of the Molotov Plan
Czechoslovakia and Poland joined the Molotov Plan after seriously thinking about the Marshall Plan

Soviets felt threatened by the Marshall Plan

Could possibly loosen their grip on Eastern Europe Fostered German economic recovery
Soviets despised this aspect as a possible threat to their future national security

September, 1947- creation of the Cominform

Purpose- to keep Eastern European communist governments in line with Soviet directives

Containment- The X-Article

Edward Willett- author of internal government paper linking Soviet objectives to Marxist-Leninist principles Defense Secretary Forrestal- asked George Kennan (Policy Planning Staff) to comment on Willetts paper
Believed that Willett overstated the degree of American military expenditure necessary to contain Russian expansion Thus was asked to write his own paper on the topic

Containment- The X-Article

George Kennan- author of internal government paper entitled Psychological Background of Soviet Foreign Policy in January 1947 Editor of Foreign Affairs (professional journal) wanted Kennans article for publication State Department was alerted and they allowed the publishing of the paper under the authorship of X, thus the nomenclature- The X-Article Published in Foreign Affairs in July 1947
The Sources of Soviet Conduct The most widely discussed publication of the century in the field of international relations

Containment- The X-Article

Importance- first public use of the term containment as a recommended American policy toward the USSR Kennan argued Soviet expansion could be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points The belief was that once the Soviets were confronted that they would back off and apply pressure elsewhere- if opposed at every turn, it would place tremendous strains upon the Soviet system
Hopefully leading to self-destruction from internal pressures or them becoming a more benign force in international relations

Containment- The X-Article

Kennan proposed a series of political, economic, and diplomatic confrontations
Military force would be a last resort

US foreign policy over the next four decades was shaped by

The Truman Doctrine The Marshall Plan Containment Ideology