Cold War Discussion

[becca]

The Cold War seems pretty complicated--I was thinking that as people
are reading this chapter, we could go over some Cold War questions.
My question is--what exactly is reconversion (page 786)? Does Brinkley
mean reconversion to the economic progress of the Roosevelt
administration? Is it refering to national conditions during/after
WWII, a post-Depression boom? What types of federal action were
involved? I just feel like I'm missing something from the text...

[Ricky Wat]

Reconversion is the process in which America returns back from a
warring state to normality (economically speaking). Reconversion is the
stopping of war time production and a return to normal economic
conditions. During the war, America's industry was forced to mobolized
in specific sectors by the government such as production of steel for
tanks, rubber for jeeps, and aluminum for canned food. Since the
government was in control regulating all the industries, the economy
flourished, ppl had jobs, income was flowing in. Now that the Japan
surrendered so early, the government needs to shut down all these war
time industries and allow civilian private enterprises to take over
again. Taht iis reconversion. It is referring to the post-WW2 economy,
national conditions after WW2.

[saml...@yahoo.com]

Great Answer Ricky!!!! I will pose a question. Was Truman's proactive
attack on spreading communist nations justified?

[becca]

I feel like Truman was trapped after public approval of his Fair Deal
went down. The Red Scare and the spread of McCarthyism would have
occured with or without Truman's attack on communist nations.
Relations with the Soviet Union were declining while FDR was president,
and communists were very available targets as the public became
refocused on national problems after WWII. Truman's Fair Deal ended up
alienating both conservative Southern Democrats (because of Truman's
emphasis on civil rights) and Republicans (who wanted to restrain the
government). An attack on national communism and on the spread of
communist nations was, to some extent, a way of uniting Americans and
reaffirming the American faith in democracy.
Communism had also led to the rise of dictators and the fascist
governments that plagued Europe during WWII. This added to American
apprehensions about the spread of communism, and justified a provactive
attack on communist governments for many Americans. Looking back
Truman does seem overly aggressive, but the American public (and the
government, which had experienced a frusterating stalemate in
negotiations with Stalin and was threatened by communism in East
Germany) was primed for a war on communism.