TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS AND POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE WESTERN

LEADER

The Space Race and American Politics

How Quickly it all changes…

2 Sept 1949 – A B-29 flying over Alaska detects atmospheric radiation Drifting from Siberia

The Soviet Union had an atomic bomb!

1952 – the Hydrogen Bomb

Built by the Atomic Energy Commission after Truman ordered it Predicted to be 1,000 times more powerful that an A-Bomb Nicknamed the “Superbomb” Edward Teller – “Father of the H-Bomb”

The Difference Between the Two Bombs

VS.

Fission Reaction (A-Bomb)

Fusion Reaction (H-Bomb)

What This Means…

Comparison of Fireball Sizes

seen and felt 1,000 km away. The heat from the explosion could have caused third degree burns 100 km away from ground zero. The subsequent mushroom cloud was about 60 km high (nearly seven times higher than Mount Everest) and 30–40 km wide. The explosion could be seen and felt in Finland, even breaking windows there. [6] Atmospheric focusing caused blast damage up to 1,000 km away. The seismic shock created by the detonation was measurable even on its third passage around the Earth.

Mutually Assured Destruction

Both sides started to build up their nuclear programs Submarines, planes, missiles…

MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION – Policy in which the United States and the

Soviet Union hoped to deter nuclear war by

building up enough weapons to destroy one another

Sputnik I (1957)

4 October 1957 – Soviet Union launches a 184 lbs steel ball containing a transmitter into space

The next month they send a dog named Laika

So now the Russians have the technological advantage…

Reaction to Sputnik

National Defense Education Act (1958) – Teach more math and science in schools

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1958) – to coordinate American space-related efforts

Open Skies and the U2 Incident

At Geneva Summit in 1955 – Eisenhower proposed an “Open Skies” treaty to monitor each other Soviets turned it down

(secretly too weak to do it)U-2 Spy Plane

1 May 1960 – Francis Gary Powers is shot down over Russia

Relations collapse…

The Hollywood 10

McCarthy

Cuba under Castro

Fidel Castro was born 13 August 1926 in eastern Cuba

1952 - Castro ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in an election that never happened because Batista seized power

1953 – Castro led an attack on an army barracks in Santiago de Cuba but it failed

Cuba under Castro

Castro and his forces were on the run for a while until… 1958 - when Batista

tried to completely destroy the uprising forces with a massive offensive

The Rebellion held its ground and took control from Batista 1 Jan 1959

Castro became Prime Minister of Cuba

Life under Castro – the real reason the US is not too fond of him

1960 – Castro nationalized all US-businesses Oil refineries, factories, and

casinos US enacted embargo

Plus…the US tried to kill him April 1961 – 1,400 Cuban exiles

trained by the CIA landed near the Bay of Pigs to overthrow Castro

1,300 were captured and in 1962 Castro freed them for medical supplies and baby food (worth $52 million)

Operation Mongoose – renewed attempts to destabilize the Cuban regime

Cuban Missile CrisisEarly 1962 – Americans station Jupiter missiles in

Turkey Later 1962 – Khrushchev answered the threat,

secretly sending 80 missiles to the island of CubaAug 1962 – the first rumors about Soviet missiles in

Cuba began to surface in the US press

Soviet ambassadors denied the missiles 14 Oct 1962 – U-2 spy planes find the missiles

The Tensions Continue to Rise

Kennedy knew they could not invade Cuba but needed to get rid of the missiles without any concessions Decided to blockade Cuba USSR said that was illegal

and that they would test itUSSR sent ships toward

the blockade but turned back at the last moment Khrushchev sent a letter to

Kennedy appealing to reason and trust to prevent a war

The Crisis is Resolved

USSR suggests that the US removes the missiles in Turkey if the USSR removes the missiles in CubaExComm (Executive Committee of the National

Security Council) does not want this to happenKennedy makes the deal and Khrushchev

accepts Russian ships leave Cuba with their hatches open so

the US can see the missiles leaving the base