little bit of leverage. he's no longer sort of going to cooperate with the americans and the british. he's going to start making demands. this is what i want in the post war world. he begins to get more specific with his demands, one of which is poland. his buffer zone of protection is not 50 miles, he wants all of poland. i want a few other eastern european countries. not all of them, he said. i will allow for free elections to be held in some of them, but he's starting to define what he wants in terms of spheres of influence. there's no negotiation on this. here's the big three again. if you notice anything different about it, it's franklin roosevelt. this is the impact of war as well as his health.

he doesn't look well. some historians have said if roosevelt really wasn't well at yalta, he wasn't at his best. but roosevelt's going to agree to some of stalin's demands. poland, for example. part of it is simply he's maintaining that philosophy of wanting to try to cooperate with this guy. i'm not going to antagonize you. i want to cooperate with you. some historians claim part of the reason roosevelt gave in a little bit at yalta was he's simply not at his best. the fact is he's not. six weeks later, a little over six weeks later, roosevelt is dead. we talked about this on tuesday, cerebral hemorrhage april of '45. roosevelt is dead.

the president who carried us through the depression, the new deal, on the road to war and now almost, almost all the way through the war, is gone. that brings a change. missouri's own harry truman now becomes president of the united states. very interesting circumstances, obviously. we are just about to wrap up the war in europe. we are island hopping our way to japan. i mean, it looks promising, and yet there are all kinds of potholes along the way. we still have to finish the defeat of germany. we still have to finish off japan. how we do that, when we do that, and then one of the consequences of what we're doing, that's the rest of this story. truman is going to meet with stalin and churchill in potsdam,

germany, after hitler is defeated. it's a new big three now with harry truman being the president now instead of roosevelt. truman's attitude is going to be very different from that of roosevelt, and some indication of that change of u.s. policy comes right away. remember i mentioned to you that even vice president harry truman had not been kept informed of the manhattan project. when he becomes president it's like, okay, there are a few things that you probably need to know. one of them is we've been working on a bomb and, you know what, it's the biggest, baddest bomb around. here in potsdam truman gets the word that it works. we have successfully detonated an atomic bomb. it works.

and so he goes over to stalin and says to him, yeah, hitler's been defeated. we want to cooperate with you, but i need to let you in on a little secret. the secret is we're going to end this war with japan because we have an atomic weapon, the likes of which, again, the world has never seen. that was supposed to be news to stalin. it wasn't. he already knew. really ironic. our own vice president, harry truman, was sort of kept in the dark about the whole development, yet stalin already knew. we already have soviet spies in

the united states who had passed information along to stalin that we were working on it, we were close to it. he already knew we were very close to having a successful nuclear weapon. well, what truman's going to do then is to give the japanese an opportunity to surrender. when they don't, we've talked about this, we drop two. the first on hiroshima august 6th when there still was no surrender we dropped a second on nagasaki on august 9th and then eventually the japanese surrender. and i mentioned to you last time, the primary reason why truman dropped it, to save american lives. the estimates of americans, what was the casualty if we were going to invade mainland japan? as high as perhaps a million american casualties. exactly. that was the primary reason why truman drops the bomb. today i'm going to give you a secondary reason. it's possible that harry truman also decided to drop that bomb not just to save american lives but also to signal a shift in u.s. foreign policy, to send joseph stalin a completely different message about the role

of the united states and its relationship with the soviet union. we're going to drop this bomb to send you a signal that there he is a new sheriff in town. roosevelt's dead. cooperation is dead. harry truman is going to have a completely different foreign policy objective. he's going to rely on this guy. this is george kennan, our so-called expert on all things soviet, all things stalin. george kennan probably knew more about the history of the soviet union, its current status, than anybody else and he came to truman with basically a couple of themes, if you will. he told truman first that there

can never be any permanent or lasting peace between the united states and the soviet union. we are simply two different countries so don't even try. roosevelt tried to cooperate with them and kennan is saying, we are simply too different. the second thing that he told truman is that joseph stalin is determined to undermine and overthrow free and democratic countries around the world. if you thought hitler was determined to take over the world, joseph stalin probably is. he will use every opportunity he can to spread communism around the world, therefore, what truman was hearing was a change in foreign policy. kennan is going to recommend that the united states not cooperate with the soviet union anymore, but we need to contain the soviet union.

this is a dramatic shift in u.s. foreign policy, containment. stalin is trying to infiltrate this area or this country, we must be there, stop them, thwart, hold them back, contain their expansion. this is what kennan is advising. so the days of cooperation are gone. the days of containment are here. this is going to mean that the united states is going to have a dramatic shift in foreign policy that largely lasts up to this day where we are going to become sort of the big brother to the world. we are going to be involved in other countries around the world. the days of isolationism are gone now. how does containment play itself out? well, 1947 is a big year for the cold war. harry truman is now going to start to describe for the american people and for the world what containment actually means.

there's trouble in greece and turkey. after world war ii both greece and turkey are struggling financially, politically. there's rebellions. there's insurrections in these two countries. harry truman is going to develop what's known as the truman doctrine in which the united states is going to send over $400 million worth of economic assistance to greece and turkey. now, brief explanation. this is exactly what kennan was talking about. there's insurrection now, rebellions, people rioting in the streets. there's a problem. is it possible they have infiltrated greece and turkey? this is exactly what we've been warned about. stalin is not just content with controlling eastern europe, now he's spreading his influence down into the mediterranean. now that's not the case. we know that today.

in 1947 it fit perfectly with our suspicions of stalin and the soviet union, so we're going to get involved. we're going to send $400 million worth of aid to try to prop them up to defend themselves against this insurgency. second element of containment, the marshall plan, named after george marshall. $13 billion, as it turns out, $13 billion of economic assistance to rebuild western europe. world war ii has devastated france, belgium, the netherlands, britain. they are in weakened state. as long as they are in a weakened state, they are susceptible to influence, foreign influence, communist influence.

when people are at their bottom rung they're willing to listen to anyone who offers them a different message of hope, whatever. the best way to hold back communist expansion is with a healthy, rebuilt europe. $13 billion to rebuild western europe to hold back the soviet expansion. congress passes the national security act in 1947. this is an amazing piece of legislation. it's got lots of different facets to it. creates a national security agency. we're going to revamp our military. we're going to coordinate our various branches of the military. but what i wanted to talk about specifically today is it created the cia. what does that stand for? >> central intelligence agency. >> if yes self stalin is bent up on getting free and countries around the world, we need to know that. how do we know that? we need to start sending out secret agents, folks who are going out there to gather intelligence.

i'm not talking about james bond, we're talking about we're going to be sending out individuals working for our government, eyes and ears. what's going on in this country. are they susceptible to influence? and, of course, if we think that the soviet union is going to undermine and overthrow free and democratic countries, maybe those guys might have an opportunity to undermine a weak and vacillating communist state as well. so we're not only going to go out there and gather intelligence, we might spark a little rebellion on our own behalf if we see stalin sort of asleep at the wheel. and then, finally, in 1947 we signed the rio pact. sounds like a song. it's a military alliance between most of the countries of central and south america and the united states. it's a defensive alliance, where an attack upon one is an attack upon all. and, of course, big brother, the

united states, will come to their aid and rescue. we've always been sort of the protector of the western hemisphere from the days back in the monroe doctrine in the 1800s. now we've sort of codified that. we are saying that we will militarily come to the aid and assistance of countries in central and south america. this is a lot of stuff in just one year. this is containment. now stop for a second and put yourself in joseph stalin's shoes. the united states has gotten involved in greece and turkey, the mediterranean. the united states has gotten involved in rebuilding western europe. the united states is sending out guys all around the world, and now we have signed on to a military alliance with central

and south america. if you're joseph stalin, who is the great threat to the peace, safety, and security of the world? who's trying to take over the world? >> u.s. >> yes, the united states. if you're paranoid, suspicious, it's the united states. and so if you're joseph stalin, you have to respond. the cold war is like a tennis match. it goes from one court to the other. we do something, the soviet union does something. we respond, they respond. here is stalin's response. he's going to tighten up control over countries in eastern europe, hungary and czechoslovakia i've mentioned specifically because those were two countries that were supposed to have free elections after world war ii was over. well, yeah, those free elections sort of go out the window by 1948. the communist, there is a purge of leadership and these two countries are going to basically become puppet regimes of the soviet union.

then there's berlin. it gets a little complicated now. just keep in mind that during world war ii at the very end you've got the russian, the soviet army is driving deep into germany. they're going to get to berlin before we do. they're going to occupy much of eastern germany with their army, with their forces. berlin is a very important city in german history, culture, government, politics, but it is going to be a divided city here in the cold war era. we're going to have the eastern part of berlin controlled by the soviet union and the western part of berlin is going to be divided into different sectors, the french, the british, the

american sector. it's a divided city in a divided country. now i know this is a foreign concept to you guys. my generation, it makes perfect sense. i grew up understanding that there was always an east germany and a west germany and an east berlin and a west berlin up until 1989, 1990. you guys weren't even born then, so this is really difficult for you to comprehend, but back in the end of world war ii the soviet red army moved into and controlled much of east germany and surrounded berlin. the americans, the british, and the french are going to have a presence there simply because we have to wind up the war, we have to have negotiations, we have to have a demilitarization. we're going to have a presence in berlin. as a response to containment, as a response to everything that truman was doing, what joseph stalin did was to try to drive us out of berlin in the summer of 1948. what he's going to do is to cut

off all ground access in to and out of west berlin. up until this point you could freely and easily move from one sector to the other without much of a problem or much of an issue. you show proper identification, you can simply cross from the american sector to the soviet sector, back and forth into different sectors. in june of '48 stalin puts a stop to that. now we're not building a wall yet. the berlin wall comes later. what stalin is going to do is to put up a perimeter that separates east from west and around the exterior of west berlin. he is basically holding west berliners prisoners. nothing is coming in, nothing is going out. he's trying to basically starve west berlin, meaning the americans, the british, and the

french, to get our countries out of west berlin so that he has complete control over the city. it's a blockade, if you will, of west berlin. what does truman do? is he going to allow our interests, our ally's interest in west berlin to be eliminated simply because stalin has this ability to close us off by land? no. truman is going to respond with almost an entire year of an airlift of goods and supplies, food, fuel. anything that the people of west berlin needed will now be flown in. they are going to have to fly from -- take off maybe from a base in great britain, fly across the channel, across friendly air space in western europe and then they have to fly over eastern germany before they can get into west berlin. they are actually flying into soviet controlled air space. truman says, they won't be shot down.

there's nothing stalin can do about us ai lifting all these goods and supplies into west berlin. he won't shoot down our planes. why not? >> start a war. >> if a war starts? >> we've got a bomb. >> we've got a bomb and they don't. truman has a very tough stance against stalin. he's talking tough. we've got the bomb and you don't.

our experts had told truman that it would probably be at least five, if not ten or maybe even more than that years down the road before the soviet union would ever have the ability to successfully detonate an atomic bomb. and so we can fly all these planes in to re-supply and help the people of west berlin, fly over soviet-controlled air space, and they won't be shot down. we have the bomb and they don't. eventually the airlift is over in may of 1949. stalin was trying to drag this thing out and see if our resolve would weaken. it didn't. we've got planes taking off and landing 24/7. it's a battle of wills, and we won out. when it's all said and done berlin is going to be a divided city. we're going to string up barbed wire.

>> how did the takeover of the west happen? was it just like a 24-hour descent of troops? >> yes. basically he's going to have forces along the interior separating east and west berlin as well as simply move them in. since west berlin is technically in east germany, there are going to be forces that they can quickly move in and blockade the roads and the water ways to make sure nothing gets in or out. at the very bottom of that slide truman's response to this attempted blockade. what does nato stand for? >> north atlantic treaty. >> what's the o stand for? organization. good. north atlantic treaty organization. this is sort of the byproduct of the rio pact. if we are going to have a military alliance with latin america, nato is sort of a military alliance with western europe. an attack upon a country of nato

is going to bring the united states' involvement. you don't want that, joseph stalin. you don't want that at all. why? because we have the bomb and you don't. the cold war is back and forth and back and forth. we do something, they do something. well, here's the soviet response to the creation of nato and the airlift. remember experts informed truman it would be five years, ten years, maybe more down the road before the soviet union would ever have the atomic bomb. no. in early september an american spy plane picks up evidence of a successful nuclear blast. it's not us.

the blast actually occurred at the very end of august. truman is informed in early september. folks, this changes everything. truman's foreign policy, his containment has been predicated on this very tough stance against the soviet union because when push comes to shove, we have the bomb and they don't. well, now that changes because the soviet union has successfully detonated an atomic bomb. by the end of 1949 we basically have a stalemate in europe. the united states is propping up western europe, economically, militarily. the soviet union is propping up eastern europe, economically and militarily. both countries are mutually suspicious of each other and both countries have an atomic bomb.

we're an awful lot alike, and we know that we simply don't want to push that envelope much further with both countries possessing nuclear weapons. and so what happens then when we have this sort of stalemate in europe, it simply means that the cold war is going to spread into a different area. and we're headed into asia now. who's this fellow? >> mao. >> mao zedong. >> i live right down the street from mao. it's a big street in cambodia. i live a block away from it. >> wow. >> isn't that cool? >> how many years ago what was that? >> mao zedong? >> no, where you're living. >> december a year ago. >> really? recently.

>> all right. here's the situation in china. after the war is over there is a civil war that engulfs china between the forces of the nationalists and the communists. a civil war. long story short is, by the end of 1949, mao and the communists drive the nationalists out over to the island of formosa, taiwan, and china falls to communism. this has not been a good couple of months for harry truman. if you stop and think about it, he is informed that the soviet union has successfully detonated anatomic bomb and then a couple of months later he finds out that the most populous state in the world has fallen to communism. it's not a good fall, early

winter for harry truman. the largest territorial state in the world has an atomic bomb. the most populous state in the world has now fallen to communism. in our minds they are linked, and in fact in early 1950 the chinese and the soviets, they sign a treaty of mutual assistance, which just solidifies the fact that a communist is a communist is a communist. again, what we know today is that chinese communism and soviet communism, there are some real differences, but back in 1949, 1950 this is panic starting to envelope in the united states. we've stopped the spread of communism in europe but look what's happened in other parts of the world, so we have to respond some way some how. this is containment. instead of containing communist expansion in europe, we have to contain it in another part of the world. what do we do?

one is that we simply refuse to recognize the legitimacy of mao. for over 30 years the united states is not going to have any sort of diplomatic relationship with communist china. we will continue to recognize the chinese government in taiwan as the legitimate government of china. we simply aren't going to have anything to do with mao and the communists in china. that doesn't hurt them much, but we have to find a way to stop or contain communism in this part of the world, and that is, we need a new best friend. one of the strange ironies of the cold war is the nation that we've just nuked back into the flintstone era a few years earlier is now our new best friend. by 1950 we're going to start rebuilding japan so that they can help us stop the spread of chinese communism in this part of the world. and then finally, there is a document that is known as nsc 68.

report. it's going outline what the united states should do as we turn into the 1950s in dealing with communism. three things. first it said we shouldn't try to contain it anymore, we need to literally go to war. we need to have victory over communism, not just try to contain it, but be victorious over it. second, in order to do that, we're going to have to have a huge increase in our defense budget. just threw some numbers up there for you. i haven't done the math yet. somebody will have to help me out. our defense budget goes from $13 billion in 1950 up to $50 billion just three years later. i don't know what percent of increase that is, but it's big. we're building up not only our conventional weapons, more planes, more ships, more tanks,

artillery. but we're also going to build up a new bomb. the development of the thermonuclear bomb or it's just simply called the hydrogen bomb. we have to do this because the soviet union has the atomic bomb. if they have the atomic bomb, we need a new, bigger, badder bomb. and so we're going to begin to develop the hydrogen bomb. in other words, we're starting an arms race with the soviet union. >> is that why japan wanted to join us as an ally? >> fair question. i think they're looking for who's going to offer them economic assistance. who's going to help them rebuild. it's not -- they are always weary of the chinese, certainly weary of the soviet union. united states is reaching out,