The Cold War Expands
Arms Race On September 2, 1949, the balance of power between the U.S. and the Soviet Union changed forever. That day, the Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb.
H - Bomb In response, Truman ordered scientists to produce a hydrogen bomb a bomb 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb. In 1952, the U.S. tested the first H-bomb.
Mutually Assured Destruction In time, the United States and the Soviet Union would build enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other many times over. Both sides hoped that this program of mutually assured destruction would serve as a deterrent.
Further Threat to Peace? Nuclear Warhead Proliferation Year U.S. USSR Britain France China 1945 6 0 0 0 0 1950 369 5 0 0 0 1955 3,057 200 10 0 0 1960 20,434 1,605 30 0 0 1965 31,642 6,129 310 4 1
Civil Defense Guidelines Families built bomb shelters in backyards.
Civil Defense Guidelines Students practiced duck and cover drills at school.
Eisenhower s New Policies Under Eisenhower and US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, the US develops a new foreign policy Massive Retaliation - policy of threatening to use massive force in response to aggression Brinkmanship - belief that only by going to the brink of war could the U.S. prevent war
Eisenhower & Dulles
Death of Stalin Joseph Stalin died on March 5, 1953 and a new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev took control Peaceful Coexistence with the US
Cold War Goes Global Dulles wanted to roll back communism and liberate the countries under Soviet rule People in Poland, Czechoslovakia, & Hungary resented the control exerted by the Soviet Union. 1956 Polish workers rioted against Soviet rule and won greater control of their government.
The Hungarian Uprising Irme Nagy - Hungarian Prime Minister who sought separation from Soviet influence Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarian Uprising Soviet response under Khrushchev was a brutal crackdown Soviet Soldiers & tanks were sent to crush revolution
The Hungarian Uprising Soviets executed many of the revolution s leaders, killed hundreds of other Hungarians, and restored communists to power. Nagy's second term ended by Soviet invasion in the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956, resulting in Nagy's execution on charges of treason two years later
Suez Crisis Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal which was run by Britain and France Nasser s actions threatened the flow of Middle Eastern Oil to Europe. He also would not allow any Israeli ships to go through there
Suez Crisis Britain and France joined forces with Israel to seize control of the Canal. Eisenhower wouldn t support these Western allies and they were forced to withdraw their troops.
Suez Crisis
Eisenhower Doctrine Statement in 1957 - The United States would use force to help any Middle Eastern nation threatened by communism. The Eisenhower Administration used the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the struggle against communism.
CIA Eisenhower approved covert operations to protect American interests. Aided successful missions in Iran (1953) and in Guatemala (1954).
The Space Race October 4, 1957 the Russians launch a 184 pound satellite named Sputnik I into orbit
The Space Race One month later, the Russians launched another satellite carrying a dog, Laika, to see how a living creature would react to life in outer space. Laika died in orbit.
Space Race In a state of crisis, Congress quickly approved the National Defense Education Act, a $1 billion program intended to produce more scientists and teachers of science. In addition, Congress created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to coordinate space-related efforts.
The U-2 Incident 1. Ike had tried to get the Soviets to sign a treaty that called for an open skies flight to monitor and stem the arms race 2. Khrushchev refused this idea 3. the US sent U-2 spy planes over the USSR and one was shot down in 1960 4. Francis Gary Powers was the pilot and the Russian leader denounced the US and Ike lied saying it was a weather plane that strayed off course 5. a resulting summit was cancelled and the brief thaw in the Cold War ended