The Cold War: The United States and East Asia By Mary Jansen
Feb 19, 2016
The Cold War:
The United States and East Asia
By Mary Jansen
Douglas A. MacArthur
-Led the Allies in the occupation of Japan
from 1945 to 1952-September of 1945:
took charge of Supreme Command of Allied
Powers (SCAP)-MacArthur had the
final say in all decisions-Considered on of
History's Greatest Men
Japan-1880-1964
-Spent his entire life with the Army
-Grew up in the remote areas of New Mexico
where his father was in charge of an infantry
-As a teen, MacArthur won the Congressional Medal
of Honor for leading an assault up Missionary
Ridge in Tennessee-Attended the West Texas
Military Academy
Life"You couldn't shrug your
shoulders at Douglas MacArthur," observes
historian David McCullough. "There was
nothing bland about him, nothing passive about him,
nothing dull about him. There's no question about
his patriotism, there's no question about his
courage, and there's no question, it seems to me, about his importance as
one of the protagonists of the 20th century."
Quote
Reconstructing JapanAfter WWII United States General Douglas MacArthur led
the Allies in occupation and Rehabilitation of Japan:
Enacted military, political, economic, and social reforms
United States, Great Britain, Soviet union, and Republic of China called for japan surrender in the Potsdam Declaration:
Achieved by August 1945
The reconstruction of Japan is considered to have three Parts:
Punish and Reform, Revise Economy, and Peace treaty and Alliance
Reconstructing Japan: Phase 1Punishment
• War crime trials in Tokyo
Government
• Japanese army was dismantles
government reformed
• A new Japanese constitution was made by Allies
Economic
• Land reform was introduced
• A free trade market was
created
The Punishment and Reformation of Japan 1945-47
Reconstructing Japan: Phase 2The Revising of the Japanese Economy,
“The Reverse Course” 1947-50
Biggest problem: Where to store raw
materials for Japanese industries and markets
Korean war in 1950 answered this
problem: when the UN entered this war, Japan
became their supply depot
This confined Japan to the united States and made sure no threat would be made on
Japanese soil
Economic crisis emerged and there
were concerns about the spread of
communism in Japan
Weakening economy addressed by tax
reform and controlling inflation
Reconstructing Japan: Phase 3The Formation of a Peace Treaty and an Alliance 1950-51
The political and economic future of Japan was deemed
as firmly established
• Now a formal peace treaty for end of war and occupation was needed
This treaty allowed the USA to maintain
its bases in Okinawa
• Japan was promised a bilateral security pact
In 1951, 52 nations net in San Francisco and 49 signed the
treaty
• The USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia did not sign
Primary Source
Origin• Japan: 1945-1951
Purpose
• To show how destroyed Japan was after WWII and how greatly reconstruction was needed.
Value
• This gives viewers a look into the lives of Japanese citizens. We can see how despite the rubble around them, people tried to continue on with their normal lives.
Limitation
• This is a picture of a rural area in Japan. We are not able to see how the urban population or the government reacted to the destruction of their city or the need for reconstruction.
The Chinese Civil War (1945-1949)Nationalist Party vs. Communist Party
-Led by Chiang Kai-Shek -Took control of urban
and industrial areas in the south
-Nationalists popularity decreased as inflation
grew and moral plummeted
-Led by Mao Zedong -Took control of rural
areas in the north: strong in Manchuria
-Most peasants and former soldiers joined the
communist movement
After japan left Chinese
soil, both groups
rushed to control the
formerly occupied
areas
The Chinese Civil War-300,000
nationalist troops surrendered to Communists in
Manchuria-Two months later,
66 nationalist divisions were
captured-Communists formed the
People’s Republic of china
-In response, Nationalists formed the
Republic of China
-Millions of citizens killed in war,
millions killed by starvation and
disease-The largest country
(through population) was now communist This war
impacted USA foreign policy: formation of the domino
theory
1948
1949
Effects
USA
The National Security Council Paper #68
After WWII, it was decided that the United states and the Soviet Union were the two dominant world powers
With the rise of communism, it was evident that the USA needed to review their national security strategy-they came up with NSC-68
Top secret report made by U.S. Department of State’s Policy Planning Staff April 7, 1950
Stated that the most pressing threat was the “Hostile design” of the USSR because the addition of nuclear weapons to the Soviet’s arsenal
Argued that the USA needed to massively build up its military and weaponry
United States Objectives and Programs for Nationals Security” or “NSC-68
NSC-68 included several possible ways of dealing with the Soviet Union
Isolationism Rejected: USA did not want USSR to dominate Eurasia
War Rejected: USA felt that this would not destroy the USSR’s military offensive but instead devastate western Europe
Diplomatic Efforts Not completely ruled out: May cause the Soviet union to pursue military solutions in the Cold War
Buildup of Arms Ruled the only plausible way to deal with the cold war conflict
Opposition to NSC-68: Many argued
that the USA could dominate the USSR
through political and economic
measures and no new military arsenal was
needed
However, after invasion of South Korea by USSR in
1950, NSC-68 recommendations
became policy
The defense expenditures almost tripled
between 1950 and 1953 (5%-14.2%)
“The Domino Theory”
Domino Theory
Governed most of
United states foreign policy
in the early 1950s
Said that one communist
victory would lead to a chain
reaction of communist takeovers
This theory was used to justify USA’s intervention
in foreign countries
Ex. Support of non-communist regime in South Vietnam against the communist regime in North
Vietnam
Communism failed to spread throughout the
rest of Southeast Asia
President Eisenhower
was the first to refer to the spread of
communism as domino in 1954
“Chinese Civil War: In Depth.” filebox.vt.edu. 3 April 2014. <http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bgilkers/digitaltimeline/chinesedepth.html>“Domino Theory.” history.com. 3 April 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/domino-theory>“Domino Theory.” princeton.edu. 3 April 2014. <https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Domino_theory.html>Gaddis, John Lewis. The Cold War. Penguin Publishing Press, 2005. Print. “General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964).” 2009, pbs.org. 3 April 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/peopleevents/pandeAMEX96.html>“NSC 68: United States Objectives and Programs for National Security.” mtholyoke.edu. 3 April
2014. <https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/nsc-68/nsc68-1.htm>“NSC-68, 1950.” history.state.gov. 3 April 2014. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-
1952/NSC68>“Occupation and Reconstruction of Japan, 1945–52.” history.state.gov. 3 April 2014. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/japan-reconstruction>
Bibliography