‘ McCarthyism Was Responsible For Moving US FP Towards A Global Rather Than A Regional Focus During The Years 1950-54’

Question 1

Intro

Answer 1

Mcc was not responsible for moving US fp towards a global focus because it was largely a domestic hysteria about communist infiltration that mainly impacted the US conscious internally. There are multiple grounds to consider such as the Korean War and the new look policy and mcc. However if we were to assess which event widened the pool of cw actors, increased containment and paved the way for future conflict, then undeniably, it was the kw that shifted the us fp towards a global focus. Although mcc did intensify the Asia first policy, it had a greater impact on shaping the red scare hysteria in the USA. We have to recognise the sig of the new look policy because it increased containment and the rolling back of communism globally, but this approach was reversible because Kennedy shifted away from massive retaliation and did not fundamentally rewrite Truman’s containment—its very nature remained the same. Therefore, the Korean War dramatically globalised the usa’s FP since it marked their americanised entry into the Asian theatres, globalised the war and paved the way for more global proxy conflicts.

Question 2

Mcc

Answer 2

Anti-com due to the USA under pressure from the perceived threat of com: ussr bomb 1949, the same yr china became communist and 1950 sino-soviet alliance. Criticised Truman too soft on com and loss of china. Led to huac, death penalty of alleged com spies likes the rosenbergs and suspected com in Hollywood actors and filmmakers. Even hoover’s reducators. This indirectly strengthen nato bc Britain was afraid of communist takeover in Europe.

Ca-more domestic and internal investigations of suspected communists so lacked a global focus. Asia first had already begun under truman

Question 3

New look policy

Answer 3

Wanted to reduce conventional troops so focused on nuclear expansion— global impact as it led to the arms and space race with countries like china and the ussr competing in a battle of firsts.
Roll back- and extension of containment
Massive retaliation - expansion of nuclear capacity seen in NSC 162/2 and the mark 17 h bomb 1000 times more powerful than Hiroshima bomb. This intimidation and nuclear prowess of the USA did have an impact on the USA’s relationships with other countries as it led to the alliance system and a nuclear umbrella to shield its allies whilst they provided ground troops.
This underpinned the usa’s fp that was used under Eisenhower and globalised containment

Ca- Truman already shifted to Asia first as he saw Asia as a second front and defended Taiwan.
Massive retaliation already planned in operation unthinkable under Churchill in 1945 to push back communist forces after the Lublin govt was installed in Poland despite the valiant fighting of the poles.

Question 4

Korean War

Answer 4

Not included in the Acheson line
NSC-68
First hot conflict
Paved the way for proxy wars
Involved the UN, china ,ussr, USA, nk and nk
Globalisation of containment
Led to SEATO which also paved the way for alliance systems like CENTO.

Ca- nsc-68 was not a change in and of itself because it was only a change approach to containment bc it did not rewrite the Truman doctrine or containment.

Question 5

Judgement

Answer 5

Kw Asia first set the style of every American - soviet fp in the Asian theatres of the cw