Increasing Cold War tensions (7)

Question 1

Who were the Rosenberg’s?

Answer 1

A couple accused of selling US atomic secrets. They were executed in New York in 1953. Some people believed the Red Scare had gone too far but others thought it was justified, including Eisenhower.

Question 2

What was the Un-American Activities Committee?

Answer 2

Established in 1937 to investigate any un-American or revolutionary activities. In 1947 it began an investigation into the HollyWood Film Industry.

Question 3

What was Hoover’s influence?

Answer 3

Called teachers ‘Reducaters’

Question 4

What was the Alien Registration Act?

Answer 4

Passed in June 1940 it made it illegal to try and overthrow the government and began the registration of all Aliens in the US.

Question 5

How did McCarthy start?

Answer 5

In February 1950, he claimed to have a list of 205 people in the State Department that were part of the Communist Party. He was later made the chairman of the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate to investigate Communist Subversion. He then attacked the Truman organisation, the State Department and the UN.

Question 6

What two things brought the end of McCarthy?

Answer 6

On March 1954, Edward Murrow attacked McCarthy on his TV programme ‘See it now’. This sparked the beginning of criticism of him. He also outraged the public when his investigations of the US army were televised.

Question 7

What ended it for McCarthy?

Answer 7

In December 1954, Congress condemned his actions and he lost his position as the Chairman of the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate.

Question 8

McCarthy’s view of Asia

Answer 8

The US should shift its policy from ‘Eurocentric’ containment to ‘Asia first’
Blamed Truman for losing China in 1949 through not supporting Jiang Jieshi and therefore causing the Korean War

Question 9

US dominance in UN?

Answer 9

• Headquarters in New York
• Mostly pro-Western state members that allied with the US
• 20 of the original 50 members came from capitalist Central and South America alone
• Many of the states were economically dependent on the US through the Marshall Plan after 1947
• Decolonisation had not started by 1945 and so the USA had the alliance of many states through their European masters
• The USA insisted that Mao Zedong’s communist state could not take China’s seat and instead recognised the National Party in Taiwan as the communist state was seen as the aggressor in the Chinese civil war so the USSR had even less allies
• The only ally the USSR had in 1945 was Poland
• Western-allies had the majority of seats in the UN security council
• The USSR did have the power of veto however and used in 75 times from 1946-1955