Secondary Source 1:
David Kennedy. Freedom from Fear. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 840-841.
Excerpt
"The “decision” to use the bomb might better be described as a series of decisions not to disturb the momentum of a process that was more than three years old by the spring of 1945 and was rapidly moving toward its all but inevitable climax. In a profound sense, the determination to use the bomb at the earliest possible date had been implicit in the original decision to build it at the fastest possible speed. “Let there be no mistake about it,” Truman later wrote. “I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used.” Winston Churchill put it this way: “the decision whether or not to use the atomic bomb to compel the surrender of Japan was never even an issue. There was unanimous, automatic, unquestioned agreement around our table; nor did I ever hear the slightest suggestion that we should do otherwise.”
Secondary Source 2:
Gar Alperovitz, Review of David McCullough's Truman, The Nation, May 10, 1993
Excerpt
"Historians continue to debate why Truman dropped the bomb. But archival documents leave no doubt that Truman knew that the war would end “a year sooner now” and without an invasion. One of the main reasons was his awareness that the shock of an early Soviet declaration of war was expected to jolt Japan into surrender long before an invasion could begin. [Other historians] have effectively refuted Truman's oft repeated argument about the number of American lives saved by the bomb. [Stanford University's Barton] Bernstein could not find a worst case prediction of lives lost higher than 46,000—even if an invasion had been mounted. “The myth of the 500,000 American lives saved” Bernstein concludes, “thus seems to have no basis in fact.” ...At least one of the factors in the minds of those making the decision to use the atomic bomb involved geo-political and diplomatic concerns about the Soviet Union."
Discussion questions
A. According to each historian, why did the US use the atomic bomb?
B. What evidence does each historian use to support his claim?
Period 8: 1945-1980:
After World War II, the United States grappled with
prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities, while struggling to
live up to its ideals.
Key Concept 8.1: The
United States responded to an uncertain and unstable postwar world by asserting
and working to maintain a position of global leadership, with far-reaching
domestic and international consequences.
Key Concept 8.2: New
movements for civil rights and liberal efforts to expand the role of government
generated a range of political and cultural responses.
Key Concept 8.3: Postwar
economic and demographic changes had far-reaching consequences for American
society, politics, and culture.
Key Concept 8.1
The United States responded to an uncertain and
unstable postwar world by asserting and working to maintain a position of
global leadership, with far-reaching domestic and international consequences.
I. I. United
States policymakers engaged in a Cold War with the authoritarian Soviet Union,
seeking to limit the growth of Communist military power and ideological
influence, create a free-market global economy, and build an international
security system.
A. As postwar tensions dissolved the wartime alliance between Western democracies and the Soviet Union, the United States developed a foreign policy based on collective security, international aid, and economic institutions that bolstered non-Communist nations.
Examples: Collective security, United Nations (1945),
Truman Doctrine (1947), Marshall Plan (1947), Rio Pact (1947), NATO (1949),
SEATO (1954)
B. Concerned by expansionist Communist
ideology and Soviet repression, the United States sought to contain communism
through a variety of measures, including major military engagements in Korea
and Vietnam.
Examples: Containment policy,
George F. Kennan’s “long telegram” (1946), domino theory, National Security Report 68/NSC-68 (1950), hydrogen bomb (1952),
John F. Dulles and massive retaliation (1954), Sputnik and the space race
(1957), National Defense Education Act (1958), JFK’s flexible response policy,
Truman’s “limited war” in the Korean War, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964),
Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968), Tet Offensive (1968)
C.
The Cold War fluctuated between
periods of direct and indirect military confrontation and periods of mutual coexistence (or détente).
Examples: Khrushchev’s visit to US (1959), U-2 incident
(1960), Berlin Wall (1961), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), White House “hotline”
with USSR (1963), Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963), détente, Nixon’s visit to
China (1972), Grain Deal with USSR (1972), Nixon’s “Vietnamization” policy
(1969-1972), Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty/SALT I (1969)
D. Postwar decolonization and the emergence of powerful nationalist movements in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East led both
sides in the Cold War to seek allies among new nations, many of which remained
nonaligned.
Examples: US recognition of Israel (1948), Operation Ajax
in Iran (1953), Peace Corps (1961), US support of Israel in Yom Kippur War
(1973),
Camp David Accords (1978), Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan (1979)
E. Cold War competition extended to
Latin America, where the U.S. supported non-Communist regimes that had varying
levels of commitment to democracy.
Examples: US intervention in overthrow of leader of
Guatemala (1954), US embargo of Cuba (1960), Bay of Pigs (1961), Alliance for
Progress (1961), Peace Corps (1961), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
II. II. Cold
War policies led to public debates over the power of the federal government and
acceptable means for pursuing international and domestic goals while protecting
civil liberties.
A. Americans debated policies and
methods designed to expose suspected communists within the United States even
as both parties supported the broader strategy of containing communism.
Examples: House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigation
of Hollywood (1947), Hollywood Ten (1947), Federal Employee Loyalty Program
(1947), Trial of Alger Hiss (1950), Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950), McCarthyism
(Second Red Scare), Execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (1953),
Army-McCarthy hearings (1954)
B. Although anticommunist foreign policy
faced little domestic opposition in previous years, the Vietnam War inspired sizable and passionate antiwar protests that
became more numerous as the war escalated, and sometimes led to violence.
Examples: Teach-ins (1965), hawks vs. doves, credibility
gap, Fulbright hearings (1966-1967), Students for a Democratic Society Columbia
University protest (1968), Democratic National Convention riots (1968), Vietnam
Moratorium Day (1969), Woodstock (1969), exposure of the My Lai Massacre
(1969), Pentagon Papers (1969), Kent State and Jackson State (1970)
C. Americans debated the merits of a
large nuclear arsenal, the military-industrial complex, and the appropriate
power of the executive branch in conducting foreign and military policy.
Examples: Eisenhower’s Farewell Address warning against
the growing military-industry complex (1961), Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964),
SALT I (1969), New York Times v. US (1971),
War Powers Act (1973)
D. Ideological,
military, and economic concerns shaped U.S. involvement in the Middle East,
with several oil crises in the region eventually sparking attempts at creating
a national energy policy.
Examples: Suez Canal crisis (1956), Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (1960), Arab oil embargo (1973), Iranian hostage
crisis (1979)
3. Review Main Cold War Foreign Issues (1946-1953)
Containment Strategy (George Kennan)
- Truman Doctrine – Truman pledges to give $$ (weapons) to Turkey and Greece (prevent spread of communism).
- Marshall Plan – US Gov. provided billions of aid and economic investment into war ravaged Western European nations. Prevent the spread of communism by strengthening the capitalist countries of Western Europe. Countries also became exclusive trade partners with US (benefit to US industry/economy).
- NATO (1949) – alliance to oppose Soviet expansion into Western Europe. Soviets form Warsaw Pact to oppose Nato (Chamberlin calls it the Iron Curtin)
- Berlin Crisis (1948-49) – Soviets blockade West Berlin
- Soviets test first Nuke (1949)
- Communists take over in China (1949)
- Communist North Korea attacks (US backed) South Korea leading to the Korean war from 1950-1953.
- NSC – 68 (1950) - Policy document that determined the US must take lead role in defeating the Soviet threat to the world, and protecting capitalism and democracy. The US should spend whatever is necessary to counter the Soviets and proven spread of communism. Led to huge increase in defense budget (benefit to "Military-Industrial complex". Helps push US in second Red Scare!
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