1. Eisenhower and the Cold War

2. Dwight Eisenhower 1890 – 1969 (life) 1953 – 1961 (President)
Nicknamed “Ike”
Highly popular due to his efficient military leadership during WWII
Staunchly anti-communist, but also dedicated to scaling back military spending
Chose to focus on a build up of nuclear weapons as a cheaper way to deter communist aggression

3. The Warsaw Pact
May 14, 1955: Soviets responded to NATO by creating an alliance of communist states
Unlike NATO, which was an alliance of free nations, Warsaw Pact members had no choice but to join, since their communist governments were indirectly controlled by the Soviet Union
Officially disbanded July 1, 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet power

4. Nuclear Arms Race
Soviets and Americans rapidly built enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world many times over
“MAD” (Mutually Assured Destruction) was the theory that the more nuclear weapons both sides had, the safer the world was because it made a nuclear war unwinnable for both sides

5. Brinksmanship
Term originally coined by Eisenhower’s Sec. of State John Foster Dulles
Brinksmanship is the practice of escalating international tensions to the brink of war, with the hope that the other side will back down at the last minute and thereby give you an advantage in future negotiations

6. Domino Theory
Eisenhower believed strongly in the idea that if you let even a single nation fall to communism, then you would set off a chain reaction where its neighbors would also fall to communism (like dominos)

7. CIA Interventions
Iran: Ike allowed CIA to stage a coup to remove a Prime Minister who was willing to sell Iranian oil to the Soviets
Guatemala: Ike allowed CIA to train opposition rebels to overthrow a pro-communist regime

8. Eisenhower Doctrine
In 1957, Eisenhower pledged US assistance to any nation in the Middle East which found itself threatened by communism
Almost immediately, US forces were sent to Lebanon to help that government combat communist rebels

9. Suez Crisis
Egypt confiscated the Suez Canal from French and British investors in order to raise funds for the dam
Britain and France invaded Egypt to retake the canal, leading the Soviets (who saw an opportunity to win Egypt as an ally) to threaten war
Eisenhower forced Britain and France to withdraw, but the damage was already done - many Arab states now saw the West as an aggressor and aligned themselves with the Soviets
The US withdrew financial support from an Egyptian dam project over Egyptian weapons purchases that threatened Israel

10. Nikita Khrushchev 1894 – 1971 (life) 1953 – 64 (Soviet leader)
Named head of the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin in 1953
More liberal than Stalin in Soviet domestic issues, but more confrontational in foreign policy, pushing the Soviet Union to the brink of war with the US on several occasions

11. The U-2 Incident
1960
Just weeks before a major peace summit, the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane over their airspace and captured the pilot, Francis Gary Powers
Marked a turning point in US-Soviet relations, as the peace summit was cancelled and the American pilot was tried as a spy and sentenced to prison (the Soviets later traded him back to the US for one of their own spies)

12. Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
Authorized the spending of $25 billion in federal funds to build 41,000 miles of highways over a period of 20 years
Interstate highways were built in order to allow the speedy movement of troops and supplies around the country in case of invasion or other national emergency

14. The Space Race Both the US and USSR were pursuing missile technologies
Starting in 1957, these technologies were used to compete against each other for control of outer space – a multi-billion dollar “space race” to see who could accomplish certain objectives or discoveries first

15. ICBMs Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
The development of missile technologies allowed both sides to mount atomic warheads onto long-range rockets which could be launched against distant targets

16. Sputnik
The first man-made object to attain orbit around the earth (satellite)
Sputnik I launched by the Soviets in Oct. 1957, followed by Sputnik II in November
These launches triggered a panic in the US, as Americans worried that the Soviets were gaining a technological advantage over the US

17. National Defense Education Act of 1958
Law which provided for dramatically increased spending on education, especially in science, math, and foreign languages
Passed in response to the belief that the US was falling behind the Soviets in scientific and technological fields
Increased the number of high-school graduates who went on to college from less than 15% in 1950 to over 40% by 1970

18. NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Created in 1958
Civilian agency which was created to take over space exploration programs from the various military branches to increase coordination and efficiency