Author Question: Discuss the issue of American aid to the Allies at the end of World War II and explain how the ... (Read 43 times)

sarasara · **on:** Sep 21, 2019

Question 1

Imagine that you were the Central American correspondent of an American news magazine during the 1950s.

How would you evaluate the economic and political conditions of Latin America, and how would you explain the United States's reaction to the Castro revolution in Cuba?
What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Suppose that you had been General Douglas MacArthur leading the United Nations' forces in the Korean War. Explain your objectives in the war, as well as how you would respond to President Truman's approach to the war.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 3

Suppose you were a Chinese communist leader in 1950. Explain how you would have felt about the situation in China, as well as about the response of the United States to that situation.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 4

Discuss the development of the United States' containment policy and explain the major attempts of the American government to implement it prior to 1950.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 5

Discuss the issue of American aid to the Allies at the end of World War II and explain how the American position contributed to the development of Cold War with the Soviet Union.

What will be an ideal response?

bassamabas · **Reply #1 on:** Sep 21, 2019

Answer 1

Answer: Americans controlled much of the Central American economy. This fact and exercise of American power in the region had generated much hostility toward U.S. involvement in Central America. The forces of nationalism and social reform were at work in the area. Many Americans feared the spread of communism there, leading to Eisenhower's decision to cut off exports and sever diplomatic relations with Cuba after Castro established a communist-oriented government on the island.

Answer 2

Answer: MacArthur believed he was a military commander of superior abilities. He was determined to defeat the North Koreans and establish United Nations' control in the North, and he believed that bombing North Korean supply bases inside China was essential to achieving these goals. The limited war that Truman attempted to pursue resulted in great frustration for him and led him to criticize the president publicly.

Answer 3

Answer: The Chinese communists saw the existing government in China as corrupt and inefficient, leaving the Chinese people in poverty, disease, and oppression, which they believed were the causes of the civil war that developed. They viewed the Americans as imperialists and confiscated American property in China, leading to a hysterical reaction in the United States. This American hostility led the communist Chinese to ally more closely with the Soviet Union.

Answer 4

Answer: George Kennan argued that diplomatic negotiations with the Soviets were useless for a variety of reasons, a position reaffirmed in 1950 in National Security Council document 68. Only by containing the spread of Soviet control and influence could the United States effectively deal with the Soviets. Hence, the United States provided aid to Greece and Turkey, announced the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, supported the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, unified West Germany, and carried out the Berlin airlift.

Answer 5

Answer: Truman decided to abruptly end lend-lease against the advice of Secretary of State Stettinius, which hurt the Soviet Union most of all the affected countries. Truman then attempted to use the offer of American economic aid to press the Soviets into developing a five-year plan for the rebuilding of the Soviet economy, independent of American help.