Chapter 21, Section 3 The Cold War Expands

The Arms Race Heightens Tensions When American planes detected radiation above the Soviet Union, they realized they were no longer the only country with atomic weaponry. Truman responded to this threat by calling for the development of a hydrogen bomb. Its development began an arms race between the two countries. It was hoped by both countries that the threat of mutually assured destruction would deter each side from using their atomic weapons.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

Eisenhower Introduces New Policies When Dwight D. Eisenhower took over after Truman, he understood both the military and political aspects of war. Eisenhower and his secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, favored a new form of foreign policy. This idea would become known as massive retaliation, in which the United States promised to respond to Communist threats with full force. Dulles’ policy of going to the “brink of war” to protect allies was known as brinkmanship.

The Cold War Goes Global Upon Joseph Stalin’s death, Nikita Krushchev emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union. The “peaceful co-existence” talks between Krushchev and Eisenhower encouraged some of the countries behind the ‘iron curtain’ to gain their independence. Two uprisings took place—one in Poland, one in Hungary. Hungarian students led an uprising against communism. Krushchev sent numerous troops to execute the leaders. This violated what?

The Cold War Goes Global When Gamal Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, taking it under Egyptian control, both Britain and France were upset. As Israel invaded in 1956, Eisenhower refused to support his Western allies. Counting on U.S. support, Britain and France withdrew their troops. This ended the Suez Crisis.

Cold War Goes Global The Eisenhower Doctrine stated that the U.S. would use force to help any Middle Eastern nation threatened by communism. The Central Intelligence Agency was formed to be an intelligence-gathering agency. They exerted influence in Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s. This created long-term resentment of the U.S.

Cold War Goes Global The launch of the Soviet satellite, Sputnik, set off a ‘space race’ between the Soviet Union and the U.S. The two responses by the federal government were: More money devoted to science and math education through the National Defense Education Act; Creation of NASA– National Aeronautics and Space Administration.