The Cold War Expands Chapter 12, Section 3

The Arms Race Heightens Tensions ●September 1949: Soviets set off an atomic bomb ●Truman ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to create a hydrogen bomb o H-bomb: 1,000 times as powerful as an atomic bomb o 1952: US test hydrogen bomb; one year later the Soviets test o atmospheric radiation and long-range health effects

●arms race: contest between nations to build more powerful weapons o lasted for four decades o mutually assured destruction: policy in which the Soviet Union and the United States hoped to deter nuclear war by building up enough weapons to destroy one another

Eisenhower Introduces New Policies ●Agreed with Truman in the importance in containing communism ●Instead of spending money on troops and ships/tanks, Eisenhower focused on stockpiling nuclear weapons o Secretary of State John Foster Dulles introduced massive retaliation (policy of threatening to use massive force in response to aggression)  By going to the brink of war (brinkmanship), the U.S. could protect its allies and stop the spread of communism and hopefully prevent war

●March 5, 1953: Stalin dies o Nikita Khrushchev comes to power  communist and strong dislike for the U.S. but not as cruel or suspicious as Stalin

The Cold War Goes Global ●Countries like Poland and Hungary resented Soviet control ●1956: two uprisings: o Poland won greater control of their government o Hungary rebellion was crushed by orders of Khrushchev killing hundreds  Eisenhower’s massive retaliation policy powerless

●Suez Canal Crisis (1956) o Egypt’s president Gamal Abdel Nasser tried to use the U.S.- Soviet rivalry to his advantage o Wanted to build a dam on the Nile River at Aswan, with funding from Great Britain and the U.S. o Because he recognized the People’s Republic of China and talked with the Soviet Union, Eisenhower withdrew its offer o Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, placing it under government control

o Suez Canal linked the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and threatened the flow of Middle Eastern oil to Europe (history with the British and French)

o British and French plotted to get control back (without telling Eisenhower)  Eisenhower furious and refused to help  Britain and France, who were relying on the U.S. to help, had to pull their troops out of Egypt ●Eisenhower Doctrine: (1957) U.S. would help any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism

●Eisenhower used the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to help fight communism o approved covert operations to protect American interests  aided a coup in Iran (1953) and a similar mission in Guatemala (1954) to set up non-communist leaders ●created resentment towards the U.S.

●October 4, 1957: Soviets launched Sputnik I (tiny satellite into space) o following month, launched Laika (a dog) into space to see how living creatures would react in outer space

●Shocked the Americans who believed that superior technology by the U.S. would keep them ahead of the Soviets o National Defense Education Act was passed to produce more scientists and teachers of science o National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created to coordinate space-related efforts of American scientists and the military