Kenneth Li

Euro Hist.
Period 6th
5-22-08
Ch. 36 pgs. 999-1013

I. The West since World War II

1) In more than half a century since conclusion of WWII, Europe’s influence
on world scene has been transformed.
i) U.S. and Soviet Union entered Cold War, fighting for European territory.
ii) America dominant in Western Europe, Soviet Union’s dominant in
Eastern Europe.
2) In 1945 U.S. became fully active great power.
i) Since America took leadership role, American politics and foreign
policy became intertwined as in no previous period of American
history.
3) Europe developed in different directions.
i) American culture influenced Europe through military alliances, trade,
tourism, and popular entertainment.
4) Yet for 45 years after Second World War, Europe remained divided
between western region generally characterized by democracies and
eastern region characterized by Communist party authoritarian states
dominated by Soviet Union.
i) For over a decade since those events Europeans have been seeking to
forge new political directions.
ii) But several nations that emerged from the former Soviet Union
continue to experience political confusion and economic
stagnation.
II. The Cold War Era
A. Initial Causes
1) Tense relationship between United States and Soviet Union that dominated
world history during second half of 20th century originated in closing
months of WWII.
i) United States, on other hand, was taking harder line on extent of
German reparations to Soviet Union.
2) In retrospect it appears unlikely that friendlier styles on either side could
have avoided split that rested on basic differences of ideology and
interest.
i) It had been Britain’s traditional role to restrain Russian expansion into
those areas; the United States inherited that task as Britain’s power
waned.
ii) Few nations would be likely to take such risks.
3) In aftermath of WWII Americans made no attempt to roll back Soviet power
where it already existed.
i) Speedy withdrawal reflected pressure to “get the boys home”, but it was
also fully in accord with America’s peacetime plans and goals.
 ii) As strongest, richest nation in world - one with the greatest industrial
plan and strongest currency – U.S. would benefit handsomely if
international order based on such goals were established.
4) American hostility to colonial empires created tensions with France and
Britain, but these stresses were minor.
i) The Soviets could thus see American resistance to their expansion as
threat to security and would compensate Soviet people for fearful
losses they had endured in war.
5) Growth in France and Italy of large Communist parties plainly taking orders
from Moscow led American to believe that Stalin was engaged in great
worldwide plot to subvert capitalism and democracy.
i) Most people in West considered them plausible.
B. Areas of Early Cold War Conflict
1) New mood of hostility among former allies appear quickly.
i) In Feb. 1946 both Stalin and his foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov,
gave public speeches in which they spoke of Western democracies
as enemies.
2) Attempt to deal cooperatively with problem of atomic energy was early
victim of Cold War.
i) U.S. continued to develop its own atomic weapons in secrecy, and
Russians did the same.
ii) By 1949, with help of information obtained by Soviet spies in Britain
and U.S., Soviet Union had exploded its own atomic bomb and
race for nuclear weapons started.
3) Resistance of Westerners to what they increasingly perceived as Soviet
intransigence and Communist plans for subversion and expansion took
clearer form in 1947.
i) On March 12 President Truman asked Congress for legislation that
would provide funds to support Greece and also Turkey, which was
under Soviet pressure to yield control of Dardanelles, and Congress
complied.
4) American aid to Greece and Turkey took form of military equipment and
advisers.
i) Named the Marshall Plan after George C. Marshall, secretary of state
who introduced it, this program provided broad economic aid to
European states on condition only that they work together for their
mutual benefit.
ii) Soviets forbade them to take part.
5) Marshall Plan helped restore prosperity to Western Europe and set stage for
Europe’s unprecedented postwar economic growth.
6) From Western viewpoint, this policy of “containment” was new and
successful response to Soviet and Communist challenge.
i) His answer was to replace all multiparty governments behind Iron
Curtain with thoroughly Communist regimes completely under his
control.
 ii) There they organized Communist Information Bureau, revival of old
Comintern, dedicated to spreading revolutionary communism
throughout world.
7) In Feb. 1948 more dramatic and brutal display of Stalin’s new policy took
place in Prague.
i) President Eduard Benes was forced t resign, and Czechoslovakia was
brought fully under Soviet rule.
8) These Soviet actions, especially those in Czechoslovakia, increased
American determination to go ahead with its own arrangements in
Germany.
i) To Soviets restoration of powerful industrial Germany, even in western
zones only, was frightening and unacceptable.
C. NATO and the Warsaw Pact
1) Meanwhile, nations of Western Europe had been coming closer together.
i) In April 1949 these nations joined Italy, Denmark, Norway, Portugal,
and Iceland to sign treaty with Canada and U.S. that formed North
Atlantic Treaty Organization.
ii) Few years later West Germany, Greece, and Turkey joined alliance.
2) Soviet relations with states of Eastern Europe were governed by series of
bilateral treaties providing for close-ties and mutual assistance in case
of attack
i) Unlike NATO states Eastern alliance system was under direct Soviet
domination through local Communist parties controlled from
Moscow and overawed by presence of Red Army.
3) In 1953 Stalin died; later that year an armistice was concluded in Korea.
D. Crises of 1956
1) Events of 1956 had considerable significance both for Cold War and for
what they implied about realities of European power in postwar era.
E. Suez
1) In July 1956 President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt nationalized Suez
Canal.
i) In October 1956 war broke out between Egypt and Israel.
ii) Soviet Union protested vehemently.
2) Suez intervention proved that without support of U.S. nations of Western
Europe could no longer undertake meaningful military operations to
impose their will on rest of world.
i) Fact that neither of superpowers wanted war constrained both Egypt and
Anglo-French forces.
F. Poland
1) Autumn of 1956 also saw important developments in Eastern Europe that
demonstrated similar limitations on independent action among the
Soviet bloc nations.
i) Soviet leaders even visited Warsaw to make their opinions known.
ii) Within those limits he halted collectivization of Polish agriculture and
improved relationship between Communist government and Polish
Roman Catholic church.
 G. Uprising in Hungary
1) Hungary provided second trouble spot for Soviet Union.
i) New ministry headed by former premier Imre Nagy was installed by
Hungarian Communist party.
ii) He even called for Hungarian withdrawal from Warsaw Pact.
H. The Cold War Intensified
1) Events of 1956 ended era of fully autonomous action by European nation-
states.
i) However, in same year Soviet Union also announced that status of West
Berlin had to be changed and Allied occupations forces withdrawn.
ii) In 1959 tensions relaxed sufficiently for several Western leaders to visit
Moscow and for Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to tour U.S.
2) Just before the gathering Soviet Union shot down American U-2 aircraft
that was flying reconnaissance over Soviet territory.
i) Khrushchev refused to take part in summit conference and Eisenhower’s
trip to Soviet Union was canceled.
3) Soviet actions to destroy possibility of summit conference on eve of its
opening were not simply the result of American spy flights.
i) Khrushchev had hoped that leaders of Britain, France, and U.S. would b
sufficiently front would be impossible.
ii) Latter accused the Russians of lacking revolutionary zeal.
I. Détente and Afterward
1) In 1963 2 powers concluded Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
i) In 1968 Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to block its growing
independence and to overthrow government of its relatively liberal
leader.
ii) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 hardened relations between
Washington and Moscow and U.S. Senate refused to ratify
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty of 1979.
2) Administration of President Ronald Reagan initially slowed arms limitation
negotiations and successfully deployed a major new missile system in
Europe.
i) Proposal was controversial at home, but played major role in arms
negotiations between U.S. and Soviet Union.
3) President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev held friendly
summit meeting in 1985, first East-West summit in 6 years.
i) Treaty provided for mutual inspection.
4) Thereafter political upheavals in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union
overwhelmed issues of Cold War.
i) By close of 1991 Soviet Union itself collapsed and been replaced by
Commonwealth of Independent States.
III. European Society in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
1) Sharp division of Europe into democratic west and Communist east for most
of second half of 20th century makes generalizations about social and
economic developments difficult.
 i) Most developments discussed in chapter have taken place in Western
Europe.
A. Toward Western European Unification
1) Since 1945, nations of Western Europe have taken unprecedented steps
toward economic cooperation.
i) Collapse of Soviet Union and emergence of new free government sin
Eastern Europe have further complicated an already difficult
process.
2) Marshall Plan and NATO gave involved countries new experience in
working with each other and demonstrated productivity, efficiency, and
simple possibility of cooperative action.
i) Its success reduced suspicions of government and business groups about
concept of coordination and economic integration.
3) Took more to draw European leaders toward further unity.
i) Consequently, in 1957, through Treaty of Rome, 6 members of Coal and
Steel Community agreed to form new organization: European Economic
Community.
ii) Chief institutions of EEC were Council of Foreign Ministers and High
Commission composed of technocrats.
4) Common Market was stunning success.
i) Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Portugal formed European
Free Trade Area.
5) Nevertheless Common Market survived and continued to prosper.
i) Throughout late 1970s and into 1980s momentum slowed.
ii) Although in 1982 Spain, Portugal, and Greece applied for membership
and were eventually admitted, there continued to be sharp
disagreements and sense of stagnation within Community.
6) Finally, leaders of Community reached an important decision in early 1988.
i) In 1991 leaders of Community signed Treaty of Maastricht, which made
series of specific institutional proposals that would have led to unified
currency and strong central bank.
ii) When treaty went into effect in November 1993, the European
Community was renamed European Union.
7) Troubles of Maastricht Treaty illustrate new phase in process of European
unity.
i) As prospect of unity becomes imminent the people of Europe have
begun to raise issues about democratic nature of emerging political
entity they are being asked to join.
ii) Finally, European Community, now the European Union, has had to
deal recently with how it should relate to newly independent states
in eastern Europe.
8) Most striking recent element of expanding momentum of economic
cooperation is movement toward common currency.
i) In January 1, 1999 currencies of these nations will be fixed according to
value of the Euro.
ii) Such common currency is unprecedented in European history.
 B. A Consumer Society
1) Although European economies have been under pressure in early 1990s, in
last half century consumer sector has expanded dramatically.
2) Consumer orientation of Western European economy emerged as one of
most important characteristics differentiating it form Eastern Europe.
i) Those nations produced inadequate food for their people and few
consumer goods.
3) By contrast, last 50 years has seen steady increase in availability of
consumer goods elsewhere in Europe.
i) Variety of fresh and frozen foods and vegetables available to western
consumers has increased, and number of fast food outlets has
expanded markedly.
4) Western Europe has enjoyed similarly great expansion of virtually all other
kinds of consumer goods and services.
i) Wide variety of everyday clothing became available, form woolen
goods to blue jeans and sneakers.
ii) They take foreign vacations year round, prompting expansion of ski
resorts in Alpine countries and beach resorts on Mediterranean.
5) This vast expansion of consumerism stood in marked contrast to consumer
shortages in Eastern Europe.
i) They saw Western consumerism clearly linked to democratic
governments, free societies, and economic policies that favored
free market and only limited government planning.
C. Students and Popular Music
1) Nothing has so characterized both student and youth culture in 2nd half of
20th century as rock music, which first emerged in 1950s.
i) Lyrics of the Beatles, the British rock group that became wildly popular
on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1960s, may have become most
widely dispersed poetry in history.
2) Rock music became part of continuing critique of contemporary society.
i) In 1970s and 1980s it emerged as major vehicle for cultural and political
criticism in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union.
ii) Lyrics directly criticized Communist governments.
D. The Movement of Peoples
1) In decade and a half after 1945 approximately half million Europeans each
year settled elsewhere in world.
i) While earlier migrants had mostly been from rural areas, later migrants
often included educated city dwellers.
2) Decolonization in postwar period contributed to inward flow of European
colonials from overseas.
i) British citizens returned from various parts of British Empire; Dutch
came back to Netherlands from Indonesia; and Portuguese returned
from Africa.
3) Decolonization also provoked a migration of non-European inhabitants of
former colonies to Europe.
 i) France received many immigrants from its former colonies in Indochina
and Arab world.
ii) This group has drawn strength from racial and ethnic tensions that have
developed as tight job market provokes resentment among some working-
class voters toward North African immigrants.
4) As result of this external migration into Europe, large Islamic populations
now exist in several European nations and have become political
factors in France and Germany.
E. Internal Migration
1) WWII and its aftermath created vast refugee problem.
i) Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers had been moved into
Germany to contribute to war effort.
ii) Hundreds of thousands of Poles left from territory taken over by Soviet
Union.
iii) Estimated 3 million East Germans migrated to West Germany.
2) Once the Cold War set in, Soviet domination made it impossible for Eastern
Europeans to migrate to other parts of Europe, whether for political reasons or
economic reasons.
3) Major motivation for internal migration from late 1950s onward was
economic opportunity.
i) There was flow of workers from poorer countries of Turkey, Greece,
Yugoslavia, Italy, Spain, and Portugal into wealthier countries of
France, West Germany, Switzerland, and Benelux nations.
4) Migration of workers into northern Europe snowballed after 1960.
i) They were usually welcomed during years of prosperity, and resented
later when European economies began to slow in mid-1980s.
5) In late 1980s politics again became major factor in European migration.
i) Since 1989 people from all over Eastern Europe have migrated to West.
ii) Several nations have taken legal and administrative steps to restrict
migration.
F. New Patterns in the Work and Expectations of Women
1) In decades since WWII work patterns and social expectations of women
have changed markedly.
G. More Married Women in the Work Force
1) Number of married women in work force has risen sharply.
i) Married women entered job market to replace them.
ii) Some factories changed their work shifts to accommodate needs of
married women.
IV. American Domestic Scene Since World War II
1) Three major themes have characterized postwar American experience – an
opposition to spread of communism, expansion of civil rights to blacks
and other minorities at home, and determination to achieve ongoing
economic growth.
A. Truman and Eisenhower Administrations
1) Foreign policy of President Harry Truman was directed against Communist
expansion in Europe and East Asia.
 i) Domestically, Truman administration pursued what may be regarded as
continuation of New Deal.
ii) Through policies he termed the Fair Deal, he sought to extend
economic security.
2) Those efforts were frustrated as fear of domestic Communist menace swept
much of country.
i) Patriotism and loyalty of scores of prominent Americans were
challenged.
3) In retrospect Eisenhower years now seem period of calm after war years of
1940s and before turmoil of 1960s.
4) Beneath apparent quiet of Eisenhower years stirred several forces that
would lead to disruptions of 1960s.
i) One of those commitments led to American involvement in Vietnam;
indeed, that involvement began under Eisenhower.
B. Civil Rights
1) In 1954 US. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the segregation of
black and white races.
i) Southern states attempted to resist school desegregation.
ii) Eisenhower sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to integrate schools,
but resistance continued in other southern states.
B. New Social Programs
1) Advance of civil-rights movement in late 1950s and early 1960s represented
cutting edge of new advance of political liberalism.
i) JFK saw himself as attempting to set country moving again after years
of Eisenhower torpor.
ii) In civil-rights movement he basically reacted rather than lead.
2) Nevertheless reaction to Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 provided occasion
for his successor, Lyndon Johnson, to press for activist legislation.
i) New entitlements were added to social security program, including
Medicare, which provides medical services for elderly and
disabled.
ii) Liberal impulse remained alive in American politics, but by late 1960s
the electorate had begun to become much more conservative.
C. The Vietnam War and Domestic Turmoil
1) Johnson’s activist domestic vision quickly was overshadowed by U.S.
involvement in Vietnam.
i) Policy led to longest American wars.
ii) Large-scale protests involving civil disobedience, often patterned after
those of civil-rights movement, erupted on campuses throughout
country.
iii) In all respects, Vietnam War divided nation as had no conflict since
Civil War.
2) National unrest led Lyndon Johnson to decide not to seek reelection in 1968
i) Nixon’s election marked beginning of era of campaigned on platform of
law and order.
 ii) Perhaps most important act of his administration was his
reestablishment of diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of
China.
iii) Same year he was reelected, but soon thereafter Watergate scandal
began to erode his administration.
D. The Watergate Scandal
1) Watergate scandal involved only burglary of Democratic party national
headquarters by White House operatives in 1972.
i) Testimony before that committee revealed that President Nixon had
recorded conversations in White House.
ii) In meantime Judiciary Committee of House of Representatives voted 3
articles of impeachment against Nixon.
2) Watergate scandal further shook public confidence in government.
i) Subsequent administrations of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter without
significant success.
ii) Iran hostage crisis of 1980 after Iranians took more than 40 Americans
hostage and held them for over year.
E. The Triumph of Political Conservation
1) In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected president by large majority and
reelected 4 years later.
i) Chief vehicle to this end was major tax cut and reform of taxation
system.
ii) Inflation was controlled, and American economy experienced its
longest peacetime expansion.
2) Straightforward conservatism of Reagan administration proved offensive to
many Americans who had traditionally supported liberal political and
social agenda.
i) Despite these difficulties Reagan left office as probably most popular
and success of Post-World War II American presidents.
3) In 1988 Vice-President George Bush was elected to succeed Reagan.
i) Bush kept NATO alliance strong and close to U.S. at a time when
observers had begun to question its utility.
ii) Using United Nations, he forged broad worldwide coalition against
Iraq’s aggression.
4) Victory in Persian Gulf War was high point of Bush presidency.
i) In 1992 Democratic nominee, William Clinton of Arkansas, won
election.
5) Clinton presidency encountered difficulties almost from beginning.
i) Effort ultimately failed, and Clinton presidency was viewed as poorly
managed.
6) In 1994, one most far-reaching changes in recent American politics,
Republic Party won majorities in both houses of Congress.
i) New Republican-controlled Congress undertook major changes in
funding of welfare, taxation, and government regulation.
ii) Congress continued conservative redirection of federal policy that
commenced with election of Ronald Reagan.
 7) Presidential election of 1996 saw re-election of President Clinton and
Republican dominated Congress Representative censured and fined Mr.
Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House.
i) Personal sexual scandal and allegations of perjury plagued President
Clinton during 1998.
ii) Was acquitted in early 1999 by Senate. Clinton was seen as moving
Democratic Party into more conservative senate.