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Truman Summary - American Dream: reality or illusion (2Q)
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Summary of the Truman presidency, including key dates and statistics to help with exam preparation
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Keydates
People/country/organisations
Stats and figures
Truman: 1945- 1952
Foreign Policy
The Yalta Conference
4-11 February 1945 between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin
Splits germany into 4 zones to be controlled by Britain, France, USA and USSR
Would allow free election in Eastern Europe and for USSR to join war against Japan, also invited
USSR to the UN
Potsdam Conference
17 July-2 August 1945 truman determined to stand up to Stalin and establish his reputation on the
world stage
Agreed on German disarmament and reparations, trials for leading Nazis as well as the elimination of
the Nazi Party.
Truman failed to alert Stalin about the US’ atomic bombs (this would prevent the need for Soviet aid
and deny Stalin a place at any negotiations over Japan)
Japan
- 6 August 1945 first bomb dropped on Hiroshima, costing $2 billion
- 9 August 1945 second bomb dropped on Nagasaki, killing 100 000
- 14 August 1945 surrender is announced by Emperor Hirohito in a radio broadcast
- 2 September 1945 350 000 US troops poured into Japan
General MacArthur given dictatorial powers to transform the country from militaristic state into a
modern democracy like the US but without the same economic power
Between 1949 and 1952 communists band from government posts, Article 9 of the New
Constitution renounced war as an instrument of policy, a democratic elected govt was constituted
with votes for women
- 1950 Korean war broke out and Japan’s utility as a base led to sustained military spending
- 1952 occupation ends and within a decade they had reindustrialised and began competing
with the US in many industries
China
1946 General George Marshall failed to broker an agreement between the Nationalists (led by Jiang
Jieshi) and Mao Zedong’s communists, despite them previously working together to defeat the
Japanese invasion of 1931. By 1946 both sides were fighting in a civil war
Truman sides with Nationalists, although unconvinced of the strategic importance due to their failure
to keep China stable as he was aware of the political impact of China falling to Communism.
, Key
dates
People/country/organisations
Stats and figures
Truman sends limited military and financial ($2 billion) support but it was insufficient
Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists flee to Taiwan with much of the gold supply
- 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong proclaims China communist as the People’s Republic of
China was established, the largest most populous country in the world was now communist
- 14 February 1950, the Governments of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China
signed a 30-year Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance following Mao’s
visit to the Soviet Union in the winter of 1949
Berlin
Early 1948 USA, France and Britain discuss creating West German Government by combining zones
and reforming currency with Deutschmark
- 25 March 1948 Stalin cuts allies out of Eastern bloc due to ‘technical difficulties’
- 2.5 million people’s needs supplied for by Truman
- 1.5 million tonnes of supplies ordered with RAF assistance
- 270 000 flights to be flown over Berlin in 324 days
12 May 1949 Stalin lifts the blockade
Credited as Truman’s finest hour in foreign policy
- Allowed Truman to justify the creation of NATO 4 April 1949
- Justified the deployment of B-29 bombers (capable of carrying a nuclear device) across
Europe
Escalation in Vietnam
1930 Ho Chi Minh forms The Indochinese Communist Party to fight for independence against
France. They were fighting Japan who had occupied Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
1945 After defeating Japan, Ho Chi Minh expected US support for Vietnamese independence given
the US’ professed commitment to self determination
- Truman supported the French, covering 78% of the costs of French involvement in
Indo-China as the loss of China was still fresh and HCM was believed to be a puppet of Stalin
John Ohley, Senior Defense Department official, to Dean Acheson “these things unfortunately
have a way of snowballing”
Korea
Korea was divided along the 38th parallel, divided between its liberators, the Soviet Union in the
North, and the US from the south.
USSR blocked efforts to unify the country through the UN
July 1948 elections are held, appointed Syngman Rhee in the South and Kim il Sung in the North
where he ruled until 1994
25 June 1950 North Korean 100 000 troops invade the South, facing little opposition following
the removal of US troops June 1949
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