Word Count: Date: 30/03/2011

Li Chun Ho (Alvin) IB History HL

Essay Question: Why did the US believe it was losing the Cold War in the 1950s? The US government strongly believed it was behind in the race against Communism in the 1950s for a number of reasons. Technology wise, it underestimated the technological expertise of the USSR towards the superiority of weapons including the atomic and hydrogen bomb. The fact the first satellite ever launched in space was also Russian made accelerated Washingtons fears that it had failed to stay with grips against the Soviet Union. The same can be said with the missile capabilities of the Russian made ICBM that forced America to react quickly through creating stronger missiles and defense systems. Because of the spread of communism to neighboring countries which included China in 1949 as well as North Korea and Vietnam later on, this confirmed the aggressive tactics Moscow had used to contaminate other countries with communist ideals in a relatively short span of time. This belief was further fuelled with negative public opinion at home, known as McCarthyism and the Red Scare that suggested there were internal moles within the US administration that would eventually take over the countrys capitalist system that was emphasized by the mass media and the Republicans who were strongly anti-communist. To begin with, American superiority in the arms race was undermined by the USSR. Developed by the US in 1945, the US military predicted it would take at least 20 years for Russia to be able to develop such weapons comparable to the US. However, this figure was extremely underestimated when the Russians announced their successful testing of the device in 1949. This fear of Russian superiority was emphasized by the Hydrogen bomb which the US developed in 1952 followed up by the Russians in only a years time. The main purpose of developing atomic weapons by the Americans were to act as evidence of what consequences the Soviet Union would face if it adopts a very aggressive foreign policy. Because at the 1950s Russian superiority was comparable to American standards, this confirmed America of Russias increasing capabilities. Moreover, Russian technology eventually went past Americas when they successfully launched the first space satellite known as Sputnik into orbit. The same concept can be said with US missile capabilities compared to the Russians, which led to the increase of budget approved for military purposes from 15 billion to over 50 billion dollars per year in the mid 1950s. It is also important to suggest the security and military divisions within the American government had substantial influence in Washingtons perception of its place in the Cold War race. NSC 68 was a report by the National Security Council which ruled out the prior peaceful possibility of using containment methods by to adopt a more aggressive policy known as rolling back. However, no specific reasons are given that were used to justify this change of policy. This report also suggested the Cold War was fuelled by the expansion policies of the USSR, which was sound when compared with the developments in Asian countries turning into communist governments. Eventually, during the Eisenhower administration, the policy turned to brinkmanship, an all or none action of using nuclear weapons to destroy the opposition. On the other hand, the rapid spread of communism into three countries around the 1950s during a short period of time had panicked the Americans who believed this was another plot of the Soviet Union in an attempt to spread communism aggressively. In 1949, China was declared under a communist government by Mao Zedong. This was primarily achieved due to Japans major destruction, hence unable to regain a firm grip of its former colony, China. This escalated US fears and interpreted it as part of a plan devised by Moscow. Similarly, North Korea became communist 1

Word Count: Date: 30/03/2011

Li Chun Ho (Alvin) IB History HL

Essay Question: Why did the US believe it was losing the Cold War in the 1950s? shortly after its ruler was devastated in World War One, France. This is often suggested as a reason which led to the collapse of Vietnam into a communist government as well. By this time, a significant portion of Asia had been under communist control, undermining US hopes of containing it. The Americans had failed to contain it, including persuading its French allies to retake Vietnam shortly before the end of World War Two. It also highlighted the failures of the Marshall aid to include providing financial assistance to Asian countries. This is possibly because US did not perceive Asia as a continent of interest to them but only concerned of the East European blocs set up by the Soviet Union earlier before the 1950s. Furthermore, US fears were emphasized by strong anti-communist feelings back at home. Republicans were more anti-communist when compared to Democrats. This sensation was known as Mc McCarthyism and the Red Scare that suggested there were moles and internal spies in Washington. This was convincing enough that President Truman ordered background checks on government employees, leading to thousands of employees dismissed with very vague explanations. The sensation was so strong that even mild sympathy towards the communist cause was perceived as a crime.