-176616 CHAPTER 27—THE AGE OF CONTAINMENT, 1946-1953 Murrin, Johnson, McPherson, Fahs, Gerstle, Rosenberg & Rosenberg Copyright © 2008 Wadsworth Group Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, 5e 0704lep5e.bmp
Times Instructions: Identify the following term(s). All of the following are true about the Truman Doctrine except that it argued that the United States must oppose Communist aggression around the world. argued that the United States must allocate money for nations resisting outside subversion. was initially tied to the Greek civil war. was strongly opposed by all members of Congress. it called for the U.S. to aid those who were resisting armed minorities from within. D Least Difficult p. 827 Factual 1 The article in Foreign Affairs that called for the policy of containment to be used against the Soviets was authored by Harry Truman. Dean Acheson. George Kennan. Richard Nixon. Dwight Eisenhower. C Least Difficult p. 828 Factual 1 Which of the following was not included in the National Security Act of 1947? It provided the basis for the Department of Defense. It created the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It created the National Security Council. It created the Air Force. It created the Central Intelligence Agency. B Average p. 828-829 Analytical 1 The major goal of the Marshall Plan was to crush the Soviet Union. destroy communist subversion in the United States. build a series of military alliances throughout the world. counter communism by offering economic aid to war-torn European countries. overthrow communist governments in Latin America. D Average p. 829 Factual 1 Supporters of the "Second Bill of Rights" sought to amend the Constitution. hoped to abolish the poll tax. wanted to limit presidents to two terms in office. advocated equal rights for all races. believed all Americans had a right to such rights as food, shelter, education and health care. E Least Difficult p. 844 Factual 1 The National Association of Manufacturers supported the idea of a "Second Bill of Rights." believed that expanded domestic programs would destroy private free-enterprise. supported President Truman. supported bills to expand public housing. advocated stronger environmental laws. B Average p. 844-845 Factual 1 Each of the following ran for the presidency in 1948 except Harry Truman. Thomas Dewey. Strom Thurmond. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Henry Wallace. D Average p. 830-831 Factual 1 The Fair Deal can be viewed as all of the following except a continuation of New Deal policies such as Social Security. an attempt to act on the Democratic Party's promises for civil rights and national health care. an effort to expand on Truman's desire for "maximum" employment policies. support for farm prices. an effort to silence critics who considered Harry Truman unfit to be president. E Least Difficult p. 845-846 Analytical 1 The Taft-Hartley Act enacted the highest tariff in U.S. history. negated many union gains from the New Deal years. implemented the first peacetime draft in U.S. history. required strict loyalty oaths from all Americans. imposed the first income tax. B Average p. 838 Factual 1 All of the following were part of the "G.I. Bill" except providing veterans with financial assistance for education. mandating that veterans receive favorable terms for securing loans for home purchases. mandating preferential treatment when veterans applied for public-sector jobs. the promise to veterans of a future financial bonus. it eventually provided medical care in veterans' hospitals. D Average p. 845 Factual 1 The first player to break Major League Baseball's policy of racial discrimination was Willie Mays. Leroy ("Satchel") Page. Willie McCovey. Jackie Robinson. Larry Doby. D Least Difficult p. 849 Factual 1 The Long Island suburb of ____, which opened in 1947, consisted of more than 10,000 affordable homes for middle-income families. the Bronx Morristown Edeltown Yorktown Levittown E Least Difficult p. 850 Factual 1 The so-called "white flight" refers to middle-class white families leaving the cities to live in the suburbs. middle-class whites leaving the Northeast to live in the West. wealthy whites leaving the city to live on country estates. poor whites fleeing rural areas for the cities. increased number of airline flights to Las Vegas. A Average p. 851 Factual 1 Women in movies referred to as film noir were portrayed as ideal wives and mothers. competent professionals. beautiful but dangerous. dumb but lovable. communist conspirators. C Average p. 852-853 Analytical 1 When Eisenhower was elected President in 1952 Democrats continued to control both houses of Congress. Republicans won overwhelming victories in both houses of Congress. Republicans won narrow victories in both houses of Congress. he immediately switched to the Democratic Party. Democrats controlled the house, but Republicans controlled the Senate. C Average p. 853 Factual 1 The 1949 military and political alliance linking Western European nations with the United States was NATO. CENTO. SEATO. the Warsaw Pact. the Marshall Plan. A Least Difficult p. 831-832 Factual 1 In 1949, Mao Zedong forced Jiang Jieshi's forces off mainland China to the offshore island of Korea. Hawaii Tahiti. Indonesia. Formosa. E Least Difficult p. 832-833 Factual 1 All of the following occurred in 1949-1950 except communists gained victory in China. Russia exploded an atomic bomb. the Korean War began. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed. Joseph McCarthy charged there were communists in the State Department. D Average p. 831 | p. 833 Factual 1 National Security Council Document 68 (NSC 68) endorsed which of the following? massive military buildup covert actions enlarged propaganda efforts both inside and outside the United States economic pressure all of the above E Average p. 833 Factual 1 The war in Korea began when the South Korean army moved across the thirty-eighth parallel into North Korea. Chinese army moved across the thirty-eighth parallel into South Korea. North Korean army moved across the thirty-eighth parallel into South Korea. United States landed at Inchon. Soviet Union invaded South Korea. C Most Difficult p. 834 Factual 1 In 1951, Harry Truman relieved General ____ of his command in Korea for insubordination. George C. Patton Douglas MacArthur Dwight D. Eisenhower George Marshall Henry Wallace B Least Difficult p. 835 Factual 1 The couple arrested, tried, convicted, and executed (in 1953) for espionage were named Hiss. Chambers. Rosenberg. Ackroyd. Jones. C Average p. 842 Factual 1 Who of the following was not accused by Joseph McCarthy of traitorous actions against the United States? Dean Acheson Richard Nixon Alger Hiss George Marshall Millard Tydings B Average p. 843 Factual 1 Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1952, was from South Carolina. Indiana. New York. California. Illinois. E Average p. 853 Factual 1 Bernard Baruch's plan for limiting atomic power included the eventual destruction of U.S. atomic weapons. an end to all atomic research. organization of public antinuclear protest marches all over the world. establishment of a U.N. nuclear arsenal to intimidate rogue military groups. the use of nuclear weapons against any nation that threatened to develop such weapons. A Most Difficult p. 826 Factual 1 Harry Truman's policy in regard to the Soviet Union was based on his belief that the Russians were honest and could be trusted to negotiate in good faith. the United States should cut off all contact with the U.S.S.R. the United States had to take a firm stand in opposition to Soviet territorial and ideological expansion. the United States should maintain friendly relations with the U.S.S.R. at all costs. his isolationist stance. C Most Difficult p. 827 Analytical 1 According to the popular view of the containment policy the U.S. should only involve itself in the international disputes when U.S. territory is attacked. all leftist insurgencies everywhere are controlled by the Russian Communists. the U.S. must keep the public calm by carefully containing potentially frightening information. both Communist and non-Communist nations must be contained within their own borders. the spread of Communism is an indirect threat to the U.S. B Most Difficult p. 828 Analytical 1 The Central Intelligence Agency was created by Franklin Roosevelt during World War II. given a mandate to infiltrate suspicious organizations within the United States. an information-gathering agency with authority to participate in international covert actions. required to receive congressional approval before it undertook any controversial actions. not an important agency during the Cold War years. C Average p. 829 Factual 1 Truman responded to the Berlin blockade by closing all land routes into West Berlin. arresting the Soviet ambassador to the United States. airlifting tons of supplies to the city. pulling all Americans out of Berlin. attacking the Soviet Union. C Average p. 830 Factual 1 All of the following contributed to Truman's victory in the election of 1948 except the lackluster campaign of his Republican opponent. Truman's vigorous cross-country, old-fashioned, speaking tour. Truman's denunciation of the "do nothing" eightieth Congress. Dewey's reputation as a communist sympathizer. voter loyalty to the memory of Roosevelt and the New Deal. D Most Difficult p. 830-831 Analytical 1 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established a European free-trade zone. continued the traditional U.S. policy of nonentanglement. delivered economic aid to the Soviet Union. called for preemptive wars against likely aggressors. considered an attack on one member nation an attack on all members. E Average p. 831-832 Factual 1 The "Dixiecrats" were officially called the Southern Democratic Party. Party of Dixie. Democratic Rights Party. States' Rights Democratic Party. White Supremacy Party. D Least Difficult p. 830 Factual 1 In the late 1940s militant ideologues charged the Truman Administration was subverting the cause of individual liberty. democratic government. anticommunism. economic determinism. support for the U.S. Constitution. C Average p. 838 Analytical 1 General Douglas MacArthur was fired by Truman because MacArthur lost the Korean War. refused to attack north of the Yalu River. publicly disagreed with Truman's containment policy. was too old and senile to command combat troops. launched a preemptive strike on the Soviet Union. C Average p. 835 Factual 1 The U.S. anti-Communist crusade caused the federal government to reduce U.S. military spending. support corrupt, oppressive, racist governments in other countries. encourage freedom of speech and conscience at home and abroad. lose interest in U.S. holdings in the Pacific. retreat into an isolationist stance. B Most Difficult p. 835-836 Analytical 1 The Kinsey Report published in 1948 was a study of the major educational institutions in the United States. exposed thousands of communists who worked for the State Department. called for racial equality. found that 30 percent of FBI agents were psychotic. asserted that homosexuality was normal and should be tolerated. E Most Difficult p. 841-842 Factual 1 The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) accused Richard Nixon and John Wayne of spying for the Communists. proved that the labor movement was loyal and procapitalist. helped capture and convict some of the most dangerous Soviet spies in the United States. destroyed the careers of hundreds of TV and movie workers. identified those who worked for the Nazi Party in the U.S. D Average p. 839 Factual 1 Truman's domestic policies were based on the idea that economic growth would finance federal welfare programs. a tax-the-rich plan. a reduction in the size and power of the federal government. allowing the free enterprise system to function without government intervention. rolling back labor reforms of the 1930s. A Average p. 845 Factual 1 A plan for the international control of atomic power was proposed by presidential aid and special representative to the United Nations Bernard Baruch. Henry Wallace. George Kennan. Millard Tydings. Joseph McCarthy. A Least Difficult p. 826 Factual 1 All of the following were characteristics of the suburbs except they offered privacy, playgrounds, and built-in appliances increased property ownership and symbolized the crusade against communism served as model communities for racial integration. benefited from federal loan policies and tax breaks represented an optimistic spirit and confidence in the future. C Most Difficult p. 852 Analytical 1 Prior to the 1950s Dwight D. Eisenhower had been an outspoken Democrat. always supported the Republican party. not publicly declared his political party affiliation. been perceived as an extreme conservative. been a prominent businessman. C Most Difficult p. 852 Analytical 1 In the post war years commitment to "national security" served to expand the power of the Supreme Court. extend congressional involvement in foreign affairs. expand personal liberties and freedom for Americans. spread democracy throughout the world. extend the power of the executive branch of government E Average p. 827 | p. 844 Analytical 1 The Truman Doctrine was first applied when the President asked Congress to extend aid to the governments of China and Korea. Greece and Turkey. Texas and Oklahoma. Great Britain and France. the Soviet Union and China. B Average p. 827 Factual 1 President Truman's loyalty program won the support of Joseph McCarthy. proved that the domestic communist conspiracy was a serious threat to U.S. security. was criticized by both the political far left and the far right. resulted in a lower divorce rate in the U.S. revived support for labor unions. C Average p. 828 Analytical 1 In the presidential campaign of 1948, candidate Henry Wallace criticized President Truman for his militant containment policies toward the Soviet Union. his plans to integrate the military. failing to win the war in Korea. losing China to communism. being a communist. A Most Difficult p. 830 Factual 1 The U.S.-backed government of Syngman Rhee in South Korea was a communist regime. a democratic government. an autocratic government. a theocratic state. a Nazi regime. C Most Difficult p. 834 Factual 1 In the post-war years, in South Africa the U.S. supported a democratic government. a white supremacist government that enforced strict subordination of blacks. a leftist regime. reinstitution of colonialism. a communist government. B Average p. 836 Factual 1 Anticommunism was used to strengthen support for labor unions. weaken labor unions. integrate labor unions. convince labor leaders to vote Republican. extend the right to unionize to women workers. B Most Difficult p. 838 Analytical 1 Alger Hiss was charged with espionage. murder. sexual misconduct. perjury. theft. D Most Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 The Mattachine Society opposed communist infiltration of government offices. advocated equal rights for gays. defended actors and writers accused of being communists. called for racial equality. supported women's rights. B Average p. 842 Factual 1 The National Security Act of 1947 authorized the detention of alleged subversives in special camps during any national emergency. F Average p. 828-829 Factual 1 In the campaign of 1952, General Eisenhower was perceived as a far right candidate. F Least Difficult p. 853 Factual 1 The "Truman Doctrine" called for the United States to aid those nations that were resisting internal "subversion." T Least Difficult p. 827 Factual 1 In 1948 the newly created CIA used covert action to undermine the Italian communist party. T Average p. 829 Factual 1 In 1952 Dwight Eisenhower won a narrow electoral victory. F Average p. 854 Analytical 1 Private lenders denied credit to nonwhites seeking loans for suburban housing. T Most Difficult p. 851 Factual 1 The U.S. initial involvement in the Korean War was the direct result of Chinese troop movements southward. F Most Difficult p. 834 Factual 1 A major turning point of the Korean War was General MacArthur's stunning amphibious assault at Inchon. T Average p. 835 Factual 1 In 1948, under pressure from civil rights organizations, President Eisenhower issued an executive order that desegregated the armed forces. F Average p. 848 Factual 1 Revisionist historians assert that most World War II Soviet expansion was essentially defensive not offensive. T Most Difficult p. 826 Analytical 1 When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, he was strongly supported by his fellow players. F Average p. 849 Analytical 1 Femmes fatales were beautiful but dangerous movie heroines during the post war years. T Average p. 852 Factual 1 The Soviets were not frightened by the atomic bomb. F Least Difficult p. 826 Analytical 1 Republican Arthur H. Vandenberg helped to win support for the Truman Doctrine. T Average p. 827 Analytical 1 Thomas Dewey was an aggressive and energetic campaigner in 1948. F Average p. 831 Analytical 1 In the election of 1948, Harry Truman was helped by voters loyal to the memory of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. T Average p. 831 Analytical 1 Ohio Senator Robert Taft was the leading supporter of NATO. F Least Difficult p. 831-832 Factual 1 U.S. goals in Korea were clear and well explained. F Average p. 834-835 Analytical 1 Containment relied on a rhetoric of global activism. F Average p. 828 Analytical 1 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were America's only atomic spies. F Average p. 842 Analytical 1 The McCarran Internal Security Act authorized the detention of alleged subversives during times of national emergency. T Least Difficult p. 843 Factual 1 Harry Truman vetoed the McCarran Internal Security Act. T Average p. 843 Factual 1 The Employment Act of 1946 called for increased government spending to ensure employment for all citizens seeking work. F Average p. 845 Analytical 1 The wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union was merely a marriage of convenience. T Least Difficult p. 826 Analytical 1 Revisionist historians focus on Soviet expansionism when assessing the origins of the Cold War. F Average p. 826 Analytical 1 Harry Truman never believed he could work out a deal with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. F Average p. 826 Analytical 1 Henry Wallace agreed with Harry Truman about his containment policies toward the Soviet Union. F Least Difficult p. 830 Factual 1 Harry Truman established his own political constituency by emphasizing national security considerations. T Average p. 831 Analytical 1 Douglas MacArthur was relieved of command because of incompetence. F Average p. 835 Factual 1 Direct military aid to Latin American governments began in 1950 as part of Truman's containment initiatives. T Average p. 835 Factual 1 The Hollywood Ten avoided jail time by naming other Communists in the entertainment industry. F Least Difficult p. 839 Factual 1 Alger Hiss was convicted of espionage. F Least Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 During the Cold War the War Department became the Department of Defense. T Most Difficult p. 829 Factual 1 Edward Lansdale was one of America's leading spies during the Cold War. T Least Difficult p. 837 Factual 1 During the Cold War labor unions were suspected of being pro-communist. T Average p. 838 Analytical 1 Chief executive officers of movie studios bravely defended actors and writers against charges that they were communist sympathizers. F Average p. 839 Analytical 1 Before his death Alger Hiss admitted his involvement with the communist party. F Most Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 The FBI maintained files on many civil-rights activists, artists and intellectuals who held left-leaning political ideas. T Least Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 During the Cold War homosexuality was connected with communist subversion and thus used as a basis for denying government employment. T Average p. 841-842 Factual 1 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were acquitted of charges that they spied for the Soviet Union. F Least Difficult p. 842 Factual 1 The congressional bill that severely limited a union's right to strike and conduct boycotts was the ____________________. Taft-Hartley Act Average p. 838 Factual 1 0 The leader of the Screen Actors Guild who was also a secret informer for the FBI (known as agent T-10) was ____________________. Ronald Reagan Least Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 0 The liberal Democrat who was accused of espionage by Whittaker Chambers and was tried for lying to Congress was ____________________. Alger Hiss Most Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ Act of 1950 authorized the detention, during any national emergency, of alleged subversives in special camps. McCarran Internal Security Most Difficult p. 843 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ were secret messages collected between the U.S.S.R. and spies in the United States by the U.S. Army counterintelligence in the 1940s. Venona files Average p. 828 Factual 1 0 A new economic theory for judging the prosperity of the nation by totaling the monetary value of all the goods and services produced in a year is called ____________________. Gross National Product GNP Least Difficult p. 845 Factual 1 0 Truman organized the ____________________ think tank to establish a global strategy for the development and use of long-range weapons. RAND Average p. 838 Factual 1 0 The Truman Doctrine was formulated in response to the civil war in ____________________. Greece Least Difficult p. 827 Factual 1 0 The term "containment" first appeared in an article published in ____________________. Foreign Affairs Average p. 828 Factual 1 0 In the off-year elections of 1946, the ____________________ gained control of Congress for the first time since 1928. Republicans Most Difficult p. 830 Factual 1 0 The chief author of NSC-68 was ____________________. Paul Nitze Average p. 833 Factual 1 0 In the case ____________________, the Supreme Court upheld the convictions of leaders of the American Communist Party for sedition. Dennis v. U.S. Average p. 843 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ created the Council of Economic Advisers. Employment Act of 1946 Least Difficult p. 845 Factual 1 0 ____________________ were legal agreements that prevented racial minorities from acquiring property. Restrictive covenants Most Difficult p. 851 Factual 1 0 The File on Thelma Jordan is an example of the motion pictures that came to be called ____________________. film noir Average p. 852-853 Factual 1 0 Harry Truman's global ____________________ was an intensive informational and psychological offensive that used mass media and cultural exchanges to counter Soviet propaganda. "Campaign of Truth" Most Difficult p. 837 Factual 1 0 The Dixiecrat Party episode of 1948 was a direct reaction to Harry Truman's stance on ____________________. civil rights Least Difficult p. 848 Factual 1 0 The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, headed by ____________________, pushed President Truman to stop racial segregation in the military. A. Philip Randolph Least Difficult p. 848 Factual 1 0 Senator ____________________ advised President Truman that he would need to "scare hell" out of people to win support for his Cold War agenda. Arthur Vandenberg Most Difficult p. 827 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ Plan involved massive aid to Europe to stabilize those countries' economies and prevent the spread of communism. Marshall Least Difficult p. 829 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ consisted of business leaders blaming Truman and his secretary of state Dean Acheson for being soft on communism and for losing China to communism. China lobby Average p. 833 Factual 1 0 The North Korean communist government was headed by ____________________. Kim Il-sung Average p. 834 Factual 1 0 When the United Nations voted to send troops to Korea, ____________________ was boycotting the United Nations and thus did not veto the proposal. the Soviet Union Average p. 834 Factual 1 0 The 1952 Presidential candidate who promised to go to Korea personally to accellerate peace negotiations was ____________________. Dwight Eisenhower Average p. 835 Factual 1 0 The director of the FBI who led a campaign against subversives in American life by building files on American citizens was ____________________. J. Edgar Hoover Average p. 841 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ Act placed barriers to immigration from areas outside northern and western Europe and prevented those suspected of harboring dangerous ideas from entering the U.S. McCarran-Walter Most Difficult p. 841 Factual 1 0 An organization founded by lesbians to advocate for equal rights was known as the ____________________. Daughters of Bilitis Most Difficult p. 842 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ Report contended that homosexuality should be accepted and tolerated. Kinsey Average p. 841 Factual 1 0 Democratic Senator ____________________ who challenged Joseph McCarthy was defeated for reelection in part because a fabricated photograph linked him to communism. Millard Tydings Most Difficult p. 843 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ Act provided federal financing of new hospitals. Hill-Burton Most Difficult p. 847 Factual 1 0 General Douglas MacArthur: U.S. commander in the Pacific theater during World War II and commander of U.N. forces in Korea. Was relieved of duty by President Truman after clash over military and political strategy during the Korean war. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Joseph McCarthy: Republican senator from Wisconsin who became one of the nation's leading "Red hunters" during the early 1950s. Accused government agencies, including the State Department, of being infiltrated with communists. Eventually gave his name to extreme anticommunism--McCarthyism. Censured in 1954 for discrediting his own party. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 National Security Act: passed in 1947. Created the National Security Council (with broad powers over the planning of foreign policy), the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Air Force (as a separate branch of the military)--all of these as part of a broad strategy to contain communism. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Levittown: Long Island suburban community, one of the first of its kind. Came to symbolize both the hopes of middle-class families to own their own homes and flight from the cities. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Fair Deal: Harry Truman's addition to Roosevelt's New Deal. Called for extension of Social Security, higher minimum-wage levels, a national health-care proposal, and other social-welfare measures. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Syngman Rhee: the post-World War II autocratic ruler of the U.S.-supported government of South Korea. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 apartheid: a legal system of racial segregation and discrimination as set up in South Africa in 1948. Despite this system, the Truman administration decided to cement an alliance with the non-Communist state. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Strom Thurmond: the southern segregationist who ran as a Dixiecrat presidential candidate in 1948. His candidacy revealed that some southern Democrats would abandon the Democratic Party if it supported federal civil rights policies. Based his candidacy on the principle of states' rights. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Baruch Plan: proposed by presidential adviser Bernard Baruch in 1946. Called for full disclosure by all UN members of nuclear research and materials, creation of an international authority to ensure compliance, and destruction of all U.S. atomic weapons once these first steps had been accomplished. Derailed when the United States refused to comply with Soviet demands that U.S. destruction of its nuclear weapons precede an international cooperation. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 National Labor Relations Act: popularly referred to as the Taft-Hartley Act. A 1947 measure that limited a union's power to conduct boycotts, limited or outlawed use of the closed shop (which forced workers to join a union as a condition of their employment), empowered the president to call for a cooling off period before workers in strategically important industries could go on strike, and required that union officials sign affidavits declaring that they were not members of the Communist Party. Seriously eroded the gains labor had made during the 1930s. Vetoed by President Harry Truman, but his veto was overridden. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Examine the war in Korea. Describe the U.S. goals in entering the conflict and the implications of the war for American foreign policy. The Korean War began in June 1950 when a Soviet-trained and -equipped North Korean army swept across the thirty-eighth parallel into South Korea. Most Americans viewed the attack as simply one small part of a larger Communist conspiracy to control the world, even though a central part of this conflict involved a long-time, local struggle between the two separated Koreas. The United Nations, under the leadership of the United States, condemned North Korea's action and ordered international troops to stop the invasion. The Truman administration, after years of constructing a containment policy and on the heels of seeming setbacks in China and the Soviet Union, saw Korea as a test in the war between freedom and tyranny. The actual U.S. goals when entering the war remained unclear, a lack of clarity that revealed itself best in the battle between President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur. One obvious goal was to halt the North's aggression and retake South Korea. Once this had been accomplished, however, MacArthur advocated and followed a policy that brought the war to the Chinese border. When the Chinese attacked and drove MacArthur back into South Korea, a debate ensued about the extent of U.S. involvement in the conflict. MacArthur advocated a form of "rollback" (push into North Korea) while Truman advocated containment (simply keep Communism out of South Korea). Truman's policy won out, and MacArthur was relieved of command. But, following the war, some American policymakers found themselves rethinking traditional ideas of containment and debating whether simply holding the line against Communism was a sufficient foreign policy objective. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Describe the Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment. Out of what assumptions about foreign policy did this strategy emerge, and what were its long-term implications? The Truman Doctrine was a direct outgrowth of the sense of impending peril felt by the Truman administration following the end of the Second World War and of the dominance of Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union. The fear that a worldwide Communist movement might spread over Western Europe and "free" nations elsewhere haunted U.S. policymakers at the highest level, including Harry Truman himself. A sense of weakness and fear of communism's threat to "freedom" led to the "Truman Doctrine," a policy immediately aimed at preventing a leftist victory in Greece, but articulated so broadly as to suggest that the United States would respond to almost any activity around the world that might be interpreted as a threat to freedom. The Truman Doctrine employed the idea of "containment." This idea, originally introduced by George Kennan in an article in Foreign Affairs, argued that the Soviet Union's aggressive actions around the world had to be patiently and regularly "contained." Ultimately, Truman had to frighten Congress and the American public enough to appropriate the necessary funds to fight what turned out to be a costly, open-ended battle. Using Greece (and, by extension, possible Soviet pressure on Turkey) as the immediate battleground, Truman was able to accomplish his goal. The next three decades of American foreign policies, especially the involvement in Vietnam, can be seen as outgrowths of the basic ideas of the Truman Doctrine. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Explore the postwar domestic "red scare." At the same time President Harry Truman was launching his anti-Communist foreign policy, members of his administration and Congress began a domestic search for possible Communist infiltration. Although not the first "red scare" in American history, these post-World War II efforts were certainly the beginning of the largest. The timing of this search for Communists in government was not surprising, since the specter of communism abroad encouraged fears of subversion at home. Although Truman and the Democrats first highlighted the issues, the Republican Party, under the auspices of men like Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy, became the leaders of a much broader anti-Communist crusade, one that its opponents soon labeled as a "witch hunt." Nixon was a leader of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which investigated the "Hollywood Ten," but he became most famous for his role in the complicated Chambers-Hiss affair. In 1948, Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss, who had been a high-level advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt at Yalta, of passing documents to the Soviets in 1939. In the early 1950s, McCarthy became a household political name by charging massive Communist infiltration of government agencies, particularly the State Department. Although many Americans doubted the need to engage as much energy as seemingly was being invested in the search for Communists, others felt that the Hiss and "Hollywood Ten" affairs demanded further action to weed out Communist subversion. Even though Truman vetoed some anti-Communist legislation, his administration also continued its own "get tough" agenda against left-leaning government employees and employed hardline attorneys general. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Analyze the rise of domesticity, especially as it became associated with suburban living, during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Following the Second World War, with renewed prosperity and a sense of "normalcy," thousands of young, middle-class couples moved to the new suburbs. This demographic development gave many young families their first home and the opportunity to start families, but it also gave rise to new problems. One of the most important of these was redefining gender roles. Although males traditionally had been the primary bread-winners for the family, this relationship was intensified as many married women now found it difficult to work outside the home since few jobs existed in the new suburbs. In addition, the raising of families and the demands of housework, without the support networks enjoyed by these women's mothers and grandmothers when raising them, added even greater burdens. Moreover, as during earlier periods in U.S. history, most segments of the popular media stressed how crucial women and mothers were to the process of raising good democratic citizens. Especially in a period in which American society seemed endangered, mothers were urged to turn away from the public place of work and power and toward the private place of child rearing and home care. These new demands, along with relatively few outlets for a public life outside the home in the new suburbia, produced the kinds of gender tensions that Betty Friedan would later highlight in her book The Feminine Mystique and that would surface, more broadly, in the women's rights movement of the 1960s. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Describe the election of 1948. What were the different agendas promoted, and to what extent did this election suggest the possible passing of the New Deal's domestic welfare policies? The election of 1948 was one of the most badly predicted elections of the twentieth century. Just a few days before the election, polls had Republican Thomas Dewey (Roosevelt's unsuccessful 1944 opponent) leading Truman by a comfortable margin. Two other opponents filled out the four-way race. Strom Thurmond led the Dixiecrats (conservative, segregationist opponents of the Democratic Party's civil rights initiatives), and Henry Wallace was the candidate of the Progressive Party (which claimed to be the true successor to the social-activist side of FDR's New Deal). Thurmond's support was limited to states in the Deep South, and he probably took votes away from both Truman and Dewey. Wallace's effort was hampered by his refusal to disavow support from the Communist Party and from Truman's "red-baiting." Truman's vigorous campaign, which included sharp attacks on the Republican Congress and Henry Wallace, sought to hold together the New Deal coalition and convince voters that a Republican victory would undo many of the social-welfare measures enacted during the 1930s. In November, Truman won the election with only 49.5 percent of the popular vote. On the one hand, the prospects for moving significantly beyond the New Deal's social-welfare program seemed scant after Henry Wallace drew only 3 percent of the popular vote. On the other hand, Truman's defeat of Dewey suggested that his Democratic Party might retain enough support for his administration to move toward a new set of programs, which the president would call his "Fair Deal," aimed at cautiously extending welfare-state measures at home and, ultimately, providing a blueprint for many of the programs adopted by the administration of Lyndon Johnson during the 1960s. Yet, 1948 also hinted at problems for the Democratic Party. Thurmond's strong showing in the Deep South portended growing opposition to one important part of the Fair Deal, policies aimed at greater involvement by the federal government in the area of civil rights. Moreover, it also seemed likely that many people who had voted for Truman did so in the belief that they were basically supporting the New Deal rather than endorsing any important, new social-welfare initiatives. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Examine the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and discuss its role in increasing public anxiety over the threat of communist infiltration in American society. In August of 1945, the United States was the only nuclear power, but just four years later the Russians tested their first atomic bomb. Americans wondered how the Russians had acquired the technology in such a short period of time. When the British government revealed information regarding a Soviet spy ring that had infiltrated the top-security facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, during the 1940s, U.S. officials had the answer to the question of the basis of Russian nuclear development. Several people were arrested for spying, but only two, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were tried, convicted, and executed. The Rosenbergs were Communists but they denied spying for the Soviets. Evidence released in the 1990s hinted that Julius Rosenberg probably was a spy and that Ethel possibly was aware of it. But even now the evidence of Julius's guilt and Ethel's complicity is not conclusive. What is clear, however, is that there were "real" atomic spies who were not prosecuted. In some instances, the FBI had obtained evidence illegally and could not use it in court; in other cases, a public hearing would have either embarrassed the government or interfered with covert activities. Authorities claimed that the only case they could prove easily was that of the Rosenbergs. Public sentiment was split over the trial and its outcome. Some saw the Rosenbergs as harmless leftists who were being used as scapegoats by a government intent on creating a "show trial" in order to assuage public fears. Others were convinced by the evidence that the Rosenbergs were disloyal and that they deserved their punishment. Supporters and civil libertarians from all over the world protested the death sentence and appealed for clemency. Even in the 1990s, the Rosenberg case remained controversial. Were the Rosenbergs guilty? And if they were guilty, did they deserve to die? TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Examine Harry Truman's stand on the major civil rights issues of the 1940s and 1950s. Harry Truman was the first twentieth-century president to take a strong public stand on civil rights. In 1946, he set up a civil rights committee to draw up proposals for new legislation. Truman agreed with the committee's suggestions and supported a federal antilynching law, the establishment of a Justice Department division on civil rights, prohibition of segregation on the job and in housing, and full integration in the armed forces. His advocacy of equal rights attracted African-American voters to the Democratic Party but caused dissatisfaction among white southerners. Strom Thurmond, for example, ran as the Dixiecrat presidential candidate in 1948 on a segregationist platform. Truman's victory in 1948 was in part a validation of his civil rights policies. Truman was not successful in getting Congress to pass antilynching legislation or to eliminate discriminatory poll taxes. In the areas where he was free to act independently, President Truman used his executive powers to promote equality. He issued an executive order to begin the desegregation of the military and authorized the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to prohibit discriminatory federal hiring practices. Also the attorney general and various Justice Department lawyers routinely assisted plaintiffs in cases challenging segregation in schools and housing. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Examine the beginnings of the Cold War. Explore the issues, points of conflict, and policies of the various participants. Essay should address several key points: A. Background to Cold War 1. Soviet control of Eastern Europe a. Origins of an Eastern and Western bloc b. Consequences 2. U.S. frustration over Soviet policies a. U.S. demands for a non-Communist Greece b. Consequences B. Truman Doctrine and containment 1. Kennan and Mr. X a. Containment and halt to Soviet aggression b. Implications 2. Marshall Plan a. Aid to Western Europe b. Exclusion of the Soviets C. Points of conflict: 1948-1950 1. Berlin and the blockade (1948) 2. Soviets and the bomb (1949) 3. China and Communism (1949) 4. Korean War a. United Nations forces, primarily composed of U.S. troops, engaged in a bloody, often confusing struggle b. Containment policy tested
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1 Examine the success of Truman's Fair Deal. Essay should address several key points: A. Background to Fair Deal 1. Slow disintegration of the momentum of FDR's New Deal a. Major New Deal reforms remained popular b. General decline of reform fervor B. Fair Deal 1. Continuation of popular New Deal programs a. Social Security b. Minimum-wage laws 2. Proposals for civil rights and health-care legislation 3. Goal of repealing Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 C. Success of Fair Deal 1. Short term: only limited success a. Congress continued New Deal reforms b. Congress rejected civil rights and health care 2. Long-term: more successful a. Truman's Fair Deal became the blueprint of 1960s liberal policies b. Implications
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1 Describe the rise of Joseph McCarthy, the practices of McCarthyism, and its effects on the United States. Essay should address several key points: A. Background to McCarthyism 1. Truman and anticommunism a. Demand for loyalty and suspicion of left-leaning organizations b. House Un-American Activities Committee 2. Democrats seen as "soft" on communism a. McCarran Security Act (1950) b. Foreign policy 3. Republicans seize the anti-Communist issue a. HUAC hearings on Hollywood b. Nixon and Hiss-Chambers controversy B. Joseph McCarthy 1. Accused Truman administration of being controlled by Communists a. Named Alger Hiss and George Marshall as "traitors" b. Vast conspiracy 2. Allegations were broad, indiscriminate, and flimsy a. Claimed hundreds of Communists were on staff at the State Department b. Charged U.S. Army was controlled by subversives c. 1954: McCarthy censured by Senate C. Implications of McCarthyism 1. Both reflected and intensified sense of anxiety and fear that pervaded postwar America 2. Ruined reputations of hundreds of innocent Americans 3. Set stage for future politics of distrust
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1 Examine the social changes that occurred in the aftermath of World War II that exemplified the prosperity and progress of the era. Essay should address several key points: A. Race relations, stagnation, and progress 1. Integration of Major League Baseball a. Jackie Robinson breaks the color line b. Resistance to change 2. Segregation in housing a. White flight b. Discriminatory loan policies B. Growth of suburbs 1. Postwar construction boom 2. Federal Housing Administration 3. Advantages of suburban life 4. Psychological implications of suburbia C. Working women 1. Opportunities and wages 2. Position of black women 3. Positive media images
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1