Relations between Truman, Stalin and Attlee Flashcards
(24 cards)
what did Truman want?
a post-war world based on national self-determination, an open world trading system based on international economic cooperation, and world economic reconstruction through the creation of the IMF and the World Bank
what would Truman’s wishes do for the USA?
minimise the possibility of the USA returning to conditions experienced during the Great Depression
what would this fulfil for the USA?
it would fulfil the USA’s ideological imperatives and ensure the USA’s geostrategic interests by limiting the expansion of territorial influence of other states, particularly the USSR
geostrategic definition
those geographic areas that have some degree of strategic importance to a state; the term usually relates to a location in terms of how an area impacts on the power of states within a particular region
The Great Depression.
In 1929, most of the world faced an economic crisis that for most countries began with the Wall Street Crash in the USA. After the USA faced its crisis in confidence, it requested that foreign firms and governments repay their loans immediately, causing other countries to plunge into even deeper crises. Some countries, such as Italy and the USSR were the exceptions. They were somewhat protected by their economic policies of autarky
what was Truman’s approach to the Soviet Union?
confrontation over cooperation as a basis for relations with Stalin
what did Truman hope the USA’s possession of nuclear technology would do?
hoped it would be the key to ensuring Stalin’s cooperation over the composition of provisional governments in Eastern Europe
What did Truman fear?
the growth of Soviet power in Eastern Europe, the removal of anti-communist leaders, and the rise of pro-communist provisional governments
what did the US ambassador to Moscow warn Truman of?
the effects of Soviet expansionism, describing it as a ‘barbarian invasion of Europe’, but thought there was still potential for agreement
what did Truman become increasingly convinced of?
that the USSR wasn’t receptive to diplomatic solutions and some form of force may be necessary to ensure Soviet compliance with US wishes - believed that this approach was the only one that Stalin would understand
what was Stalin convinced of by Potsdam?
that the USA and its allies were potential rivals for dominance in Europe
what did this potential rivalry reinforce?
his obsession with Soviet security, which necessitated the Red Army’s continued presence in Eastern Europe and the intensification of the programme of installing pro-communist regimes in these liberated states
what was acceptable to Stalin?
what was agreed on Germany
what did Stalin have a clear and unspoken alternative agenda for?
the rest of Europe
what did Stalin need to ensure?
that Eastern European states formed the basis of the USSR’s long-term security system
what did the USSR’s long-term security system require?
that these states have comparable political and economic systems to those of the USSR
what did the Soviet strength come through?
unity and a common identity
what did Stalin soon come to see the USA as?
having an anti-Soviet agenda
what did events since Yalta confirm to Britain?
that Stalin was expansionist in Europe
what was of supreme importance for Britain?
Germany’s geostrategic significance in Europe
what did Britain see was vital for the USA to do?
for the USA to act as the primary defender
what was the focus of British foreign policy?
clearly focused on an anti-communist Soviet stance
what was Attlee conscious of in the short-term as a result of him supporting the Potsdam Agreement?
that the Soviets weakened Germany
when did the issue of the future of Germany become particularly urgent for Britain?
in the context of Stalin’s absolute failure to implement his agreements on Poland and the Declaration on Liberated Europe made at Yalta
