Politics in the 1950 s

Politics in the 1950 s

The Cold War

The Cold War Files The Cold War was the period of conflict, tension, and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the mid 1940s until the early1990s. The main U.S. allies were Western Europe, Turkey, Japan, and Canada. The main Soviet allies were Eastern Europe and China. VS.

The Cold War Files Throughout the period, the rivalry between the two superpowers was played out in multiple arenas: military coalitions, ideology, psychology, and espionage; military, industrial, and technological developments; costly defense spending; a massive conventional and nuclear arms race, and many proxy wars. A proxy war is a war where two powers use third parties as a supplement or a substitute for fighting each other directly.

The Cold War Files There never was a direct military engagement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but there was a half-century of military buildup, and political battles for support around the world, including significant involvement of allied and satellite nations.

The Cold War Files Although the U.S. and the Soviet Union had been allies during WW2 against Nazi Germany, the two sides differed on how to reconstruct the postwar world. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the Allies attempted to define the framework for a postwar settlement in Europe. (World War 2 had not officially ended.)

The Cold War Files The Yalta Conference took place in a Russian resort town in the Crimea from February 4 11, 1945, during World War Two. At Yalta, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world. P.M. Winston Churchill President Roosevelt Premier Joseph Stalin

The Cold War Files :YALTA The main points of discussion included: how to divide Germany and the amount of money that would be issued in order to repair the war torn country. (Germany was temporarily divided into four parts) Would Poland become a part of the Soviet Union or remain in charge of it s own elections and government? (Eastern Poland was given to the USSR, Part of Germany was given to Poland) Who would govern those countries that had been freed from German control after the war? (USSR pledged to hold free elections in these countries) Would the Soviet Union help the United States with their war on Japan? (USSR promised to help within 3 months of Hitler s defeat) Should the United Nations be formed and should the Soviet Union participate?(soviets joined the U.N. and were given three votes) Will the United States aid their allies by offering to lend money to rebuild after the war? (No decisions were made about post war loans)

The Cold War Files At the Potsdam Conference starting in late July of 1945, serious differences emerged over the future development of Germany and Eastern Europe. At Potsdam, the U.S. was represented by President Harry Truman, who on April 12, succeeded to the office upon Roosevelt's death. Administration officials favoring cooperation with the Soviet Union and incorporation of socialist economies into a world trade system were marginalized (treated as insignificant).

Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945.

Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met in the German city of Potsdam to discuss the future of Europe.

Shortly after the Potsdam Conference, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (August 6, 1945)

Though this forced Japanese surrender, and marked the beginning of the end of WW2, it added to Soviet distrust of the United States.

The Cold War lasted until 1991.

The Space Race

The Cold War also sparked the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Space Race was an informal competition between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975. It involved the parallel efforts by each of those countries to explore outer space with artificial satellites, to send humans into space, and to land people on the Moon.

The Space Race effectively began after the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. The Space Race became an important part of the cultural, technological, and ideological rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War.

The Sputnik 1 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome (the world's oldest and largest operational space launch facility) in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union. The Russian word "Sputnik" means "travel companion."

Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on November 3, 1957, and the first to carry a living animal - a dog. It was a 4 meter high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters. It contained several compartments for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature control system for the cabin, and scientific instruments. A separate sealed cabin contained the experimental dog, Laika.

Laika

Laika died a few hours after launch from stress and overheating, probably due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. The true cause of her death was not made public until decades after the flight. Some former Soviet scientists have since expressed regret that Laika was allowed to die

Sputnik 3 was a Soviet satellite launched on May 15, 1958. It was a research satellite to explore the upper atmosphere and the near space. Due to a hardware failure of its tape recorder, the satellite failed to detect the Van Allen radiation belt. The spacecraft remained in orbit until April 6, 1960, when the orbit degraded from drag in upper atmosphere to the point causing the satellite to enter the atmosphere. Sputnik 3

The End of WW2

33 rd President of the United States Became president on April 12, 1945 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. Forced Japanese surrender during WWII, by ordering the drop of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Harry Truman

United Nations Founded in 1945 after the end of World War 2. An international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, and human rights issues.

The UN was founded after the end of WW2 by the victorious Allied Powers in the hope that it would act to intervene in conflicts between nations and thereby avoid war. The five permanent members of the UN Council are the main victors of World War II: People s Republic of China, France, Russian Federation (the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Korean War http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g420000/g420926.jpg

On June 25, 1950, the Communist North Korean People's Army under the command of dictator Kim II Sung invaded South Korea, precipitating the outbreak of the Korean War. Poorly trained and equipped, without tanks or air support, the South Korean Army was rapidly pushed backwards, quickly losing the capital, Seoul. I

Upon news of the invasion, Truman called for a naval blockade in Korea. Truman promptly urged the United Nations to intervene; it did, authorizing armed defense for the first time in its history (the Soviet Union was not in attendance at the Security Council vote). Truman sent full military resources to Japan.

Following the invasion of North Korea into South Korea, General Douglas MacArthur is named Commander of all United Nations forces in Korea. United Nations (primarily U.S.) forces crushed the North Korean invasion in 90 days. MacArthur oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951. MacArthur was a war hero during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor, the highest military award, for his leadership during that time.

On September 15, 1950, MacArthur lead UN forces at the Battle of Inchon, in which UN forces secured Inchon and broke out of the Pusan (largest port city in South Korea) region through a series of landings in enemy territory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/image:battle_of_inc hon.png#file

This victory was seen as one of the greatest military maneuvers in history. The Battle of Inchon ended a string of victories by the invading North Korean People s Army and began a counterattack by the United Nations. US Marines storm ashore at Incheon.

It was no secret that MacArthur and President Truman did not see eye to eye on how the war should be handled.

With China s commitment to an all-out war against the US on the Korean peninsula, MacArthur advocates for the same in return against China but is prohibited. He is outraged when military leaders in Washington restrict the war to only the Korean theater, meaning that he cannot bomb even the bridges of the Yalu river over which Chinese troops, supplies, and material are streaming across. He is further restricted from bombing their bases in Manchuria. MacArthur expressed his outrage later, saying that "The order not to bomb the Yalu bridges was the most indefensible and ill-conceived decision ever forced on a field commander in our nation's history."

MacArthur led United Nations forces defending South Korea in 1950-51 against North Korea's invasion. He was relieved of command by President Truman in April 1951.

In closing, during his farewell address to the United States Congress, General MacArthur said:

I am closing my 52 years of military service. When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good Bye.

The rest of the war involved little territory change, large scale bombing of the north, and lengthy peace negotiations (which started in Kaesong on July 10, 1951). Even during the peace negotiations, combat continued.

34 th President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower's campaign was a crusade against the Truman administration's policies regarding Korea, Communism, and Corruption." Eisenhower promised to go to Korea himself and end the war and maintain both a strong NATO abroad against Communism and a corruption-free frugal administration at home.

On November 29, 1952, Eisenhower fulfilled his campaign promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict. A cease fire was established on July 29, 1953.

A demilitarized zone (DMZ) was established around the 38 th parallel. It is currently called the (PLZ) Peace and Life Zone. It is still defended to this day by North Korean troops on one side and South Korean and American troops on the other.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38 th Parallel on an acute angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 248km/155 miles long and approximately 4km/2.5 miles wide, and is the most heavily armed border in the world.

The site of the peace talks, Kaesog (the old capital of Korea) was part of the South before hostilities broke out but is currently a special city of the North. No peace treaty has been signed to date.

The Korean War has often been called The Forgotten War because of it s placement between WWII and the Vietnam War.

The Cuban Revolution

The purpose of the Cuban Revolution was to overthrow Cuban dictator and president, Fulgencio Batista, and to establish a new Cuban government led by Fidel Castro.

On July 26, 1953, a group of about one hundred poorly armed guerrillas attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Among these men were Fidel Castro Ruz and his brother Raul Castro. Though the attack was unsuccessful on the side of the guerrillas many men were killed, this event marked the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. Moncada barracks shortly after the attack http://www.answers.com/topic/moncada-barracks

http://www.answers.com/topic/history-will-absolve-me-1 After his capture and detainment in a highly political trial, Fidel Castro spoke for nearly four hours in his defense, ending with the words; "Condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me. Fidel Castro under arrest in July 1953 after the Moncada attack

Fidel Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but due to intense pressure from civil leaders, Fulgencio Batista released Castro and the rest of the prisoners in 1955. Castro was exiled to Mexico, where he plotted once again to overthrow Batista.

Fidel returned to Cuba, leading the 26th of July Movement (revolutionary organization named for the failed attack on the Moncado Barracks), and in 1959, the revolutionaries exceeded in driving Batista out of Cuba.

Flag of the 26 th of July Movement

After Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959, the military commander in the city, Colonel Rubido, ordered his soldiers not to fight and Castro's forces took over the city on January 2.

Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba on February 16, 1959. He then become President of Cuba in 1976. In February of 2008, Fidel s brother Raul Castro took over as President of Cuba. Castro died on 2016, he was 90 years old.

The American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to a set of events and reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing public and private acts of racial discrimination against African Americans.

Brown vs. the Board of Education On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation of public education facilities.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks (later named the "mother of the Civil Rights Movement") refused to get up out of her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to make room for white passengers.

Parks was arrested, tried, and convicted for disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance.

After word of this incident reached the black community, 50 African-American leaders gathered and organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott to protest the segregation of blacks and whites on public buses.

The boycott lasted for 382 days (1956 was a leap year), until the local ordinance segregating African- Americans and whites on public buses was lifted.

Through her role in sparking the boycott, Rosa Parks played an important part in internationalizing the awareness of the plight of African Americans and the civil rights struggle. Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005. She was 92.