HISTORY 104 - THE UNQUIET TIMES

BLACK POWER
THE WEST
LAISSEZ FAIRE
BLOOD AND ROSES
FEELING OUR OATS
DAY OF THE DREAMER
TAKE A SPIN
LET THE FUN BEGIN
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE
THE UNQUIET TIMES
A LESSON UNLEARNED
A LINE 100 YEARS LONG
MODERN TIMES
WHERE TO FROM HERE

WHAT IS HISTORY?

THE UNQUIET TIMES

Charles Mee argues that the Cold War was a diplomatic tour de force. The Soviet Union had two fears-external and internal. The external fear involved the fact that Russia had no natural frontiers and so had been invaded again and again throughout the previous ten centuries. With the Cold War came the satelites of Eastern Europe as a defensive perimeter. The internal fear involved Stalin's not being a great administrator, nor a great military leader and the military and others having seen the wealth of the West in contrast to the poverty of the Soviet Union. Throughout history rulers have used external enemies to unite their people. Britain was bankrupt but wanted to create a new empire. If there was a conflict between the U.S. and Russia, Britain could obtain financing to lead Europe. For the United States, the war had licked the Depression. The war had meant deficit spending. The Cold War justified deficit spending in the form of the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and the various military alliances. Thus prosperity would continue.

Is diplomacy that well planned and simple or is Charles Mee offering an explanation after the fact? Why was there a cold war?

The Cold War led to fear and intolerance in the United States, the imperial presidency, a government out of balance and spying. A conformistic society was created. A society was created which emphasized material growth and an antipathy to different ideas. Why did Americans support Joseph McCarthy? Why did he lose his power? Why after his fall from grace did people still support him and consider him to be a hero?

Korea brought up issues that would reappear in American history. When only the unlucky ones fight a war, what are the effects on a nation? How does one fight an undeclared war? Does the Constitution matter? Should we be involved in the internal affairs of other countries? Are you at a disadvantage when your opponent chooses the playing field and uses his second rate troops against your first rate troops? How do you use technology to defeat an enemy who uses numbers to balance the scales? Do military leaders have the right and duty to speak out when they disagree with the political leaders?

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