Sample Answer for US policy in Berlin, Cuba and Korea 1945-89

Essay Plan

INTRODUCTION:

• Post-WWII Context
• Containment Policy
• Red Scare

BODY PARAGRAPHS:

1. Superpower Emergence
2. Containment Policy
3. Red Scare and McCarthyism
4. Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
5. Berlin Crisis
6. Korean War
7. Korean War Aftermath
8. Cuba and Bay of Pigs
9. Cuban Missile Crisis
10. Post-Crisis Relations

CONCLUSION:

• Containment Success
• Cold War Legacy
• Fall of USSR

Sample Essay

From 1945-89, US foreign policy greatly impacted Berlin, Korea, and Cuba. After World War II, the USA's and USSR's alliance fell apart, and they regarded each other's actions with high suspicion because of the USA's use of atomic bombs. The USA was capitalist and democratic, while the Soviet Union was communist and a dictatorship. The US carried out a policy of communist containment, which had a significant influence on foreign policy in countries like Germany, Korea, and Cuba. Countries seen as under threat of communist takeover received US support. This period was marked by the Red Scare and McCarthyism, causing intense anti-communist sentiment domestically.

After WWII ended in 1945, the USA and the USSR became world superpowers. The Iron Curtain formed in Eastern Europe, and countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia came under communist rule. Due to deteriorating relations between the superpowers, the USA feared communist expansion in Europe and employed the foreign policy of containment. The USA wanted Europe to be free, democratic, and capitalist, which was the opposite of the USSR's autocratic and communist ideology. Foreign policy changes were put in place to stop communist expansion.

The Red Scare and McCarthyism had a huge influence on US foreign policy. There was rampant anti-communist hysteria, and many people lost their jobs due to suspicion of being communist sympathisers. McCarthyism dominated foreign policy for almost a decade, leading directly to the Cold War between the USA and Soviet Russia. Both Republicans and Democrats agreed on anti-communism, supporting corrupt anti-communist dictators in Africa and other places around the world. This vicious suppression and fear of compromise led to the Vietnam War, the Berlin Blockade, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Truman Doctrine was a considerable part of US foreign policy. In 1947, $400 million was sent to Greece and Turkey to prevent a communist takeover. It was a turning point for foreign policy, leading to a global campaign against communist expansion. George Marshall introduced the Marshall Plan in 1947 to assist Europe's economic recovery on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The new Deutsche Mark currency was introduced, and $13 billion was sent in aid; this threatened Stalin and saw it as an attempt by the USA to control Europe.

The effects of anti-communist policy were very strong in Berlin after the Allies split Germany between the US, France, Britain, and Russia. A communist coup d'état in Czechoslovakia led to a merger of the western zones, and a federal government was established. Stalin rejected this, wanting Germany to be weak, reduced and divided. This, along with the introduction of the new currency, led to Stalin imposing a blockade on the city of Berlin, which was split into Western and Eastern Berlin.

In June 1948, Stalin blocked all rail, water, and road routes into the city. This prompted the US operation "Vittles". Truman insisted on remaining in Berlin, saying, "We are going to stay, period," to stop the domino effect. A massive airlift was organised; 100,000 tonnes of supplies were flown in at the height of the airlift while B-29 planes with atomic bombers were ready and stationed in Britain. The conditions in the city were harsh, but morale remained high. After a year, Stalin lifted the blockade. This was seen as a huge success, and NATO, along with the Democratic Federal Republic of Germany, was formed in line with the US foreign policy of containment.

In 1945, Korea was divided between the US and Soviet Russia along the 38th Parallel. The South was democratic, and the North was communist, under the control of Kim Il-sung. The Korean War is also known as the "Forgotten War." North Korea attacked the South, intending to establish a unified communist state using Soviet weapons. South Korean forces were forced into the very South of the country until US troops liberated Seoul and cornered the communist forces in the North, as ordered by Truman. General MacArthur then drove the US troops back to the 38th Parallel.

In 1953, a ceasefire was called after Stalin died, and Eisenhower became president of the US. No permanent peace treaty was implemented after the ceasefire. The Korean War is seen as a success as communism was contained. However, relations between China and Russia became strained. The US allied with Japan and the Philippines and formed the ANZAC Pact in response. The policy of communist containment continued because of the domino theory. The policy of deterrence was also implemented in order to scare off the enemy with the threat of nuclear weapons.

Similarly to Korea, communist containment was also implemented in Cuba when Fidel Castro overthrew Batista. The US was angered when Castro nationalised US-owned land and companies, viewing it as a communist threat. This led President John F. Kennedy to authorise an invasion of Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs; it was a massive failure and an embarrassment for Kennedy. Castro then allied with the Soviets and declared Cuba a communist country. Khrushchev, who succeeded Stalin, sent supplies to Cuba in 1961. Then, a US spy plane pictured missile sites on the island. According to the US policy of containment, something had to be done, as this threatened to escalate into a nuclear war.

In 1962, Kennedy announced the presence of Soviet atomic missiles in Cuba in an attempt to force the USSR to withdraw. He ordered no attack, only a naval blockade to stop supplies, demonstrating the US's strong opposition to Soviet pressure. Soon, an agreement was reached: Khrushchev would remove Soviet missiles from Cuba if the US promised they would not invade Cuba and if they removed their missiles from Turkey. America needed to consult with NATO about the missiles in Turkey, and Khrushchev agreed to these terms. This was another successful example of communist containment as a US foreign policy.

Both sides recognised how close they came to a nuclear fallout, leading to a relaxation of tensions. A telephone link called the "hotline" between Washington and Moscow was established, and Britain, the USA, and the USSR signed the Nuclear Testing Ban Treaty in 1963. Kennedy's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis was considered one of the greatest diplomatic victories of a US president and US foreign policy.

In Conclusion, Cuba was the most severe test of the containment doctrine, as it nearly provoked World War III. However, US foreign policy successfully contained communism in Korea, Berlin, and Cuba. Khrushchev also called for "peaceful coexistence" between the USSR and the USA, leading the superpowers to reevaluate their stance. Nixon went on to implement a policy of détente in the 1970s, but the Cold War between the USA and Soviet Russia continued until the USSR's dissolution in 1991.