Two Nations Live on the Edge Two Nations Live on the Edge

The Arms Race: A “Missile Gap?” }The Soviet Union exploded its first A-bomb in 1949 }Now there were two nuclear superpowers }Truman had to decide whether or not to pursue an even more powerful weapon

Race for the H-Bomb Race for the H-Bomb }Scientists who worked on the atomic bomb had always suspected there was a way to make a more powerful nuclear weapon }H-bomb has the force of 1 mil. tons of TNT (67 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima) }Arguments over the morality of the weapon }US won the race to be the first to obtain the H-bomb }11/1/52 US explodes first H- bomb }8/1953 Soviets obtain the bomb

Brinkmanship }Policy of brinkmanship developed by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles }U.S. could prevent the spread of communism by promising to use all of its force against any aggressor nation }Willingness of the U.S. to go to the edge of all-out war became known as brinkmanship }U.S. scaled back the army and navy and expanded the air force }Built up a stockpile of nuclear weapons

Covert Actions in the Middle East Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi }First CIA covert actions }1951 Iranian prime minister, Mossadegh, nationalized Iran’s oil fields }British protested by not buying Iranian oil }U.S. worried Mossadegh will turn to the Soviets for help now that the Iranian economy is struggling }1953 CIA gave several million dollars to anti-Mossadegh supporters }Wanted pro-American Shah of Iran in power }Shah returned to power and turned control of the oil fields back over to Western companies Mossadegh

Covert Actions in Latin America }CIA also took action in Guatemala }Eisenhower was worried that Guatemala’s government had communist sympathies }Had given over 200,000 acres of American-owned land to peasants }CIA trained an army which invaded Guatemala }Guatemalan army refused to defend the president and he resigned }Army leader became the dictator of Guatemala

Death of Stalin Stalin dies in 1953 and is replaced by Khrushchev. Relationship between the U.S. and Soviets seemed to thaw until West Germany was allowed to rearm and join NATO. In response the Warsaw Pact was formed and tensions began to build again. Stalin’s Funeral

Premier Nikita Khrushchev About the capitalist states, it doesn't depend on you whether we (Soviet Union) exist. If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations, and don't invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it our not, history is on our side. We will bury you. you De-Stalinization Program

Geneva Convention }July 1955 Eisenhower met with Soviet leaders in Geneva, Switzerland }Eisenhower proposed an “open skies” policy » would allow flights over each other’s territory to prevent surprise nuclear attacks }Soviet’s reject the proposal but it was still seen as a step towards peace

The Suez Crisis:

The Suez Crisis }Great Britain and the U.S. agreed to help Egypt finance construction of a dam at Aswan on the Nile River }Egypt’s head of government, Naseer, tried to play the USSR and US off each other by improving relations with each to get more aid }Dulles withdrew US loans after learning of Naseer’s plan }In response Naseer nationalized the Suez Canal » owned by the French and British at the time }Refused to let ships headed for Israel pass through the canal » canal was supposed to be open to all nations }Great Britain, France, and Israel seized the Mediterranean end of the canal }The UN persuaded the three countries to back down but Egypt kept control of the canal

The Eisenhower Doctrine }Soviet prestige in the Middle East rose because of its support for Egypt }To counter the Soviet influence in the region Eisenhower issued a warning in January of 1957 }Said U.S. would protect the Middle East against an attack by any communist country }Doctrine was approved by Congress in March

The Hungarian Uprising: 1956 Imre Nagy, Hungarian Prime Minister }Hungarian people rose in revolt and demanded a democratic government. }Nagy, the most popular and liberal Hungarian Communist leader, formed a new government and promised free elections. }This could lead to the end of communist rule in Hungary.

The Hungarian Uprising: 1956 }Nagy also demanded all Soviet troops leave Hungary. }Soviet response was brutal. }11/1956 Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary and killed 30,000 Hungarians }Soviet’s overthrew Nagy and replaced him with a pro- Soviet leader }200,000 Hungarians fled to the west }The Truman Doctrine had promised to support free peoples who resisted communism but the U.S. did nothing to help the Hungarians

Sputnik I (1957) 10/4/1957 Soviet’s launch Sputnik » first satellite The launch was a triumph for Soviet technology American scientists were shocked at being beaten » poured money into the US space program 1/31/1958 U.S. launched its first satellite

Nixon-Khrushchev “Kitchen Debate” (1959) Kitchen DebateKitchen Debate Cold War ---> Tensions <--- Technology & Affluence

U-2 Spy Incident (1960) Col. Francis Gary Powers’ plane was shot down over Soviet airspace.

U-2 Spy Incident (1960) }CIA making secret high-altitude flights over the USSR }U-2 spy plane used for these mission » could fly at high altitudes without being detected }Infrared cameras took detailed photos of troop movements and missile sites }By 1960 U.S. worried about the missions because they were now common knowledge }Eisenhower had planned on discontinuing the flights before his May 15 th summit meeting with Khrushchev }Four hours into Powers’ flight on May 1 st he was shot down }Forced to parachute into Soviet territory }Was sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison }At first Eisenhower denied the mission but eventually was forced to admit to what had happened }Khrushchev demanded an apology » Eisenhower would not apologize and Khrushchev called off the summit