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• the USSR exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949.

• Cold War tensions increased in the USSR when the US exploded its first hydrogen bomb in 1952. It was 1000 times more powerful than the

Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Cold War tensions heightened when

Spies? The Rosenbergs

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American communists who were executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges related to passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. This was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history

3

The Cold War in the 1950s

• Both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. had a change in leadership in the early 1950s:– Dwight D. Eisenhower won the 1952

Presidential election (recall that “Ike” was a war hero…Supreme Commander who oversaw D-Day invasion)

– Nikita Khrushchev (“Kroosh- joff ”) became the Soviet Premier upon Stalin’s death in 1953

4

Communism in Asia

• Recall: China falls (1949) and quickly signs treaties with the Soviets

• Recall: The Korean Conflict (1950-1953)

• Yet another problem: Vietnam

5

Early Vietnam

• Had been a French colony

• Vietnamese communists (the Viet Minh) tried to seize control…went to war with the French

• French outpost at Dien Ben Phu under brutal attack by Viet Minh…eventually surrendered

• Hostilities ended with Vietnam being divided (much like Korea)

6

Vietnam (con’t.)

• North Vietnam=communist• South Vietnam = free

• Q: With the French withdrawal, what would keep the South from falling to the communists?

7

Vietnam (con’t.)

• A: military aid from…the U.S.

• So, America became involved by sending military advisers to help train the South Vietnamese military

8

Vietnam (con’t.)

• Vietnam was important because American leadership believed in the “Domino Theory”…

• If one nation fell to communism, others would follow like so many dominos falling

9

The Foreign Policy of Dwight Eisenhower:

“Brinksmanship”

• Ike believed we needed to present a “tougher line” than containment

• Eisenhower’s Secretary of State: John Foster Dulles

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Brinksmanship

Brinkmanship is the practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the verge of disaster in

order to achieve the most advantageous outcome.

To pursue this new foreign policy, the U.S. chose a strategy of “massive retaliation” that would end in “mutually assured destruction”…this

required that we have MORE (in number) and MORE ( in destructive power) weapons than the

Soviets

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Massive Retaliation

• On January 12, 1955 U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles first announces the doctrine of Massive Retaliation.

• It threatens full-scale nuclear attack on the Soviet Union in response to communist aggression anywhere in the world.

John Foster Dulles and MacArthur in Korea, 1950

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BrinksmanshipThe shift in policy from merely

containing Communism to a willingness to take the world to the “brink of nuclear

war” fueled the arms race

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Was this insanity on both sides?

• The theory is that:

the fear of total annihilation…the end of the human race…is exactly what will keep it from happening

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Tensions continue around the globe:

• The Suez Crisis (1956):– When Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal,

war nearly broke out (the Soviets were strong supporters of Egypt)

– The Eisenhower Doctrine:

Ike issued a warning: “The U.S. would defend the Middle East against any attack by a Communist country”

The Hungarian Uprising: 1956The Hungarian Uprising: 1956

Denounced the Warsaw Pact & promised free Denounced the Warsaw Pact & promised free elections.elections.

This could lead to the end of communist rule in This could lead to the end of communist rule in Hungary.Hungary.

The Soviets sent in the tanks and crushed the revoltThe Soviets sent in the tanks and crushed the revolt

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Another shock for Americans: Another shock for Americans: Sputnik I (1957)Sputnik I (1957)

The Russians have The Russians have beaten America in beaten America in

space—they have the space—they have the technological edge!technological edge!

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1959 - Castro takes power in Cuba

• January 1, 1959 rebel forces under Fidel Castro overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista

• Castro nationalizes the sugar industry and signs trade agreements with the Soviet Union.

• The next year, Castro seizes U.S. assets on the island.

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U-2 Spy Incident (1960)U-2 Spy Incident (1960)

Col. Francis Gary Col. Francis Gary Powers’ plane was Powers’ plane was

shot down over shot down over Soviet airspace.Soviet airspace.

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Summary Concept: What were the six major strategies of the Cold War?

The six major strategies were:

•1. Brinkmanship,

•2. Espionage,

•3. Foreign aid,

•4. Alliances,

•5. Propaganda,

•6. Surrogate wars.2.

4.5. 6.

1.

3.