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CHAPTER 25
The Cold War and the Fair Deal
1945–1952
This chapter covers domestic and foreign affairs in the Truman administration, including demobilization,
the cold war, the Korean War, and the second Red Scare.
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Explain why and how the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union developed after the
Second World War.
2. Analyze the impact of American efforts to contain the Soviet Union and the expansion of communism
during Truman’s presidency.
3. Describe Truman’s efforts to expand the New Deal, and evaluate the effectiveness of his own “Fair
Deal” agenda.
4. Assess the major international developments during 1949–1950, including the outbreak of the Korean
War, and explain how they altered U.S. foreign policy.
5. Examine the emergence of the Red Scare after the Second World War, and explain its impact on
American politics and society.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The Cold War
A. Origins of the Cold War
B. Differences with the Soviets
2. The Containment Policy
A. The Truman Doctrine
B. The Marshall Plan
C. Divided Germany
D. Forming Alliances
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E. Reorganizing the Military
F. A New Jewish Nation: Israel
3. Expanding the New Deal
A. From War to Peace
B. Wages, Prices, and Labor Unrest
C. Political Cooperation and Conflict
D. Civil Rights during the 1940s
E. Jackie Robinson
F. Mexican Americans
G. Shaping the Fair Deal
H. The Surprise Election of 1948
I. The Fair Deal Rejected
4. The Cold War Heats Up
A. “Losing” China
B. The Soviets Develop Atomic Bombs
C. NSC-68
D. War in Korea
E. Turning the Tables
F. The Chinese Intervene
G. MacArthur Pushes the Limit
H. Sacking a Hero
I. A Cease-Fire
J. The Impact of the Korean War
5. Another Red Scare
A. The Hollywood Ten
B. Alger Hiss
C. Atomic Spying
D. McCarthy’s Witch Hunt
E. Assessing the Red Scare and the Cold War
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LECTURE IDEAS
1. An overview of the cold war is essential. Discuss the origins and the realities of this postwar develop-
ment in American diplomatic history. See John Gaddis’s The Cold War: A New History (2006) and
2. A lecture on the Marshall Plan can help draw connections among several different aspects of the cold
war for students, including the protection of both the economic and political interests of the United
States in western European countries. The presentation would ideally discuss the economic conditions
in western Europe, which lay in ruins because of the destructive nature of WWII, and would go on to
examine how these economic conditions made some western European countries vulnerable to Com-
munist ideology. The lecture should then examine how the Marshall Plan was designed to protect
American economic interests as well as prevent the spread of communism in the region. For additional
3. A lecture on the interactions among Truman, Stalin, and Atlee at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945
would be informative in explaining the shift in the U.S. position regarding the Soviet Union. You could
specifically examine President Truman’s views of Josef Stalin after the meeting, explaining that the
prospect of the cold war became clearly evident as the new “Big Three” left Potsdam, Germany. For
information on the Potsdam Conference and its significance, see the following:
4. An overview of Truman’s Fair Deal will enable the students to gain a good perspective on the postwar
economy. A critical look at Truman’s Fair Deal is Barton J. Bernstein’s “America in War and Peace:
5. Use the integration of baseball to illustrate the strengthening of the civil rights movement in the period
immediately after World War II. Such a lecture is an excellent way to show students how sports history
can be a powerful tool for the study of American society and culture. Good sources include:
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6. You should deliver at least one lecture on McCarthyism. See Robert Griffith’s “American Politics and
the Origins of ‘McCarthyism,’” in The Specter: Original Essays on the Cold War and the Origins of
McCarthyism, edited by Griffith and Athan Theoharis (1974). Griffith places McCarthyism within the
larger anti-Communist movement of the time. The following are also useful:
7. An entertaining and insightful presentation for students would be on the Red Scare in Hollywood,
which reminds us that the fear of domestic subversion predated the activities of Senator McCarthy.
Useful resources include:
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / FLIPPED CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS
1. Divide the class into two groups and ask each group to explain Harry S Truman’s response to the Sovi-
et occupation of eastern Europe after World War II. Then have each group present its findings and dis-
cuss how many causes can be identified.
2. Divide the class into two groups. Ask one group to review and take notes on Truman’s Fair Deal and
ask the other examine Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in detail. During class, have the groups discuss
the specifics of the Fair Deal and compare them with those of the New Deal.
3. Ask groups to explore the roots of McCarthyism and to compare their findings with prior “Red Scares”
in the United States. The class can also analyze more recent manifestations of the “witch hunt” hyste-
ria.
4. Ask students to read portions of H. W. Brands’s book The General vs. the President: MacArthur and
Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War (2016) or to watch his related lecture “The General vs. the Presi-
dent,” which aired on C-SPAN on October 27, 2016 (https://www.c-span.org/video/?417408-2/hw-
5. Divide the class into groups and ask them to look at the events that led up to the Korean War. A good
starting place would be to examine the cold war, the development of the United Nations, postwar Asia,
and so on. Good resources include:
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the issue of containment during the cold war. What was the idea surrounding this policy? Who
were the major players, and was this policy successful?
2. Discuss the significance of NSC-68 and America’s involvement in Korea and other regions believed to
be under the threat of communism. How did NSC-68 shape U.S. foreign policy during the early stages
of the cold war?
3. Evaluate the issue of civil rights in America during the 1940s. What did Truman do to promote such
rights? Give specific examples.
4. Discuss the election of 1948, paying particularly close attention to the role of the third-party candidate
in determining the outcome.
5. Discuss the Truman Doctrine and its significance to American foreign policy in the late 1940s. How
did George F. Kennan contribute to the development of the Truman Doctrine?
6. What was the policy of “containment”? How did the ideas behind it shape American reactions to
Communist activities in Greece and Korea in the late 1940s?
7. Analyze the causes, details, and outcome of the Korean War. How are its repercussions still felt today?
8. Discuss the new “Red Scare” McCarthyism. How did Truman handle charges of a Communist threat in
all realms of American society?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter refers to President Truman’s unsuccessful effort to establish a program of national health
insurance as part of his Fair Deal program for domestic reform. Through the election of Barack Obama to
the presidency, this remains one of the most contentious public policy proposals. Do some basic research
so that you can be an informed citizen on this matter. Begin by defining terms such as national health