Though this treat he was able to have his way at the Yalta conference. Truman thought of America as the World’s atomic power and was assured by Cabinet advisers; America would reign supreme in the arms race. However Joseph Stalin was also attempting to build Russia’s power in this arms race too. Truman began to get tough on Russia in 1946 when there were strong protests in the Iran against Russian Troops. The Soviets had denied sharing control of the Turkish Straits as they had claimed they would not have.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s lengthy depiction of the rest of Lincoln’s rivals tells the rollercoaster ride of emotions they all felt during the presidential nominations. The author is able to show how each of the men who shared the spotlight with Lincoln before his nomination and eventual victory in the race for the presidency strategized with and against each other. The shared opinion about Lincoln’s finances, qualifications, or lack thereof is a common theme throughout the entirety of the book. The book itself is a very detailed, long read. Doris Kearns Goodwin is a noted historical, nonfiction, author with many works especially about former presidents of the United States.
Gar Alperovitz, another revisionist, says that Truman’s main purpose in dropping the bombs was to demonstrate its power in order to intimidate the Russians (127). Even American generals, such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and Curtis LeMay have stated that the A-bombs were unnecessary (Dower 92), arguing that Japan could have been forced to surrender by conventional means. If these charges are true, than Truman committed a war crime against Japan and its people. However, the historical record shows that in the summer of 1945 Truman was concerned only
Reagan, even before his presidency was displaying his anti-communist stance. In 1977, Reagan famously commented on a national radio broadcast “My idea of American policy toward the Soviet Union is simple, and some would say simplistic. It is this: We win and they lose”(Jarausch, K. 2012) This stand paved the way for the hard line he would draw against the Soviets during his Presidency. Reagan, throughout his time in office, anticipated that communism would inevitably collapse in on itself, he just wanted to be the man that triggered the fall. In 1981, at the beginning of his presidency, he spoke about how he planned to use his attitudes to end communism, and in turn the Cold War.
How far was President Kennedy determined to use military force in South Vietnam in order to stop the spread of communism in SE Asia? (24) President Kennedy was very determined to use the United States’ military strength in South Vietnam in order to stop the spread of communism in South East Asia. The US was the greatest military power at the time and so had the resources available to halt or stop the spread of communism by using military force. According to source C, Kennedy ordered the US Army Special Forces to the train the South Vietnamese Army in guerrilla warfare to overcome the threat of National Liberation Front (NLF) soldiers, who were excellent demonstrators of guerrilla warfare. Kennedy thought that in order to stop the communist soldiers, then the US and the South Vietnamese should use their own techniques in warfare in order to stop them.
Chiefs of Staff and CIA’s stance: to use coercion (launch of pre-emptive airstrikes) and implement a threat strategy against the Russians. Challenging the legitimate power of a suspected-lukewarm President, they tried to influence him, by using negative framing effects and implicit threat: Kennedy would be made accountable for the death of million US citizens if he implemented a naval blockade that would cause annihilation of strategic surprise and first nuclear strikes by cornered Russians. However, having read “the guns of August” book, Kennedy was aware of the escalation risks of a threat strategy with low probabilities that: a. the airstrikes would remain “surgical” b. all USSR missiles could be 100% destroyed making the consequent retaliation risk insufferable. 2. Tusk and McNamara’s position: the implementation of quarantine.
JFK did what he could to ease the tension between the two nations. America removed missiles from Turkey, therefore the soviets removed their missiles from Cuba. What are the implications to the more recent interpretation of international politics? What makes a leader a strong leader? A leader that’s strong doesn’t necessary have to and or want to go to war all the time.
Assignment: The Vietnam War His/135: The American Experience Since 1945 Instructor: Jordan Billings Joseph Ioppolo After World War II ended, and the cold war began, American’s were focused on the spread of communism. The United States citizens shared a feeling of unity with their western allies. As the cold war dragged, the threat of communism to places such as, China, Eastern Europe, and Vietnam, seemed all too real. John Foster Dulles, America’s Secretary of State during the 1950’s, spread the fear of communism by implementing the Domino Theory, which stated that once one
Later that night Kennedy got on television to tell the U.S that the Soviet Union had secret installed nuclear missiles in Cuba that were aimed at American cities. Kennedy didn’t know how to get the missiles removed without starting a nuclear was with the Soviets. If this were to happen tens of millions on both sides would be killed. Communism was a threat and it was coming to America in 1959 when Castro staged a revolution in Cuba and became allies with the Soviet Union. Khrushchev thought that by moving nuclear missiles to Cuba, he would not only help close the missile gay with the U.S but that it would also prevent another American invasion of Cuba.
By the time World War 2 ended, most American officials agreed that the best defense against the soviet threat was a strategy called “containment“. In 1946, in his famous “Long Telegram” the diplomat George Kennan explained this policy: The Soviet Union, he wrote, was a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus Vivendi (agreement between parties that disagree); as a result, Americas only choice was the „long – term” patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies (History). Albert Einstein said: “so long as there are men there will be wars” (Brainy Quote). After WWII, another war started. Two countries had grown up into global forces.