President Dwight D. Eisenhower 1952-1960 What were the Cold War fears faced by the American People, and how successfully did the Eisenhower Presidency address them?

Communist Fears @ Home

1949, THE YEAR OF SHOCK Soviets detonate their first atomic bomb….. The question is raised, where did they get the technology the bomb? Ethel and Julius Rosenberg would be accused of giving away atomic bomb secrets. Charged with espionage they would be found guilty and executed in 1953. NATO

H U A C House Committee for Un-American Activities red scare3 McCarran Act Internal Security Act of 1950 All communists were to register and groups to give lists of members 1950–77, Congress and FBI investigated Americans suspected as communists HUAC committee warned of civil rights violations. Witnesses who refused to answer were cited for contempt of Congress.

Hiss found guilty of spying & sentenced to 10 yrs in prison HOUSE COMMITTE FOR UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES red scare3 Alger Hiss Whitaker Chambers Richard Nixon In 1948, Whittaker Chambers made accusations of Soviet espionage against former State Dept. official Alger Hiss Hiss found guilty of spying & sentenced to 10 yrs in prison Richard Nixon, Congressmen from California was part of the HUAC that investigated Alger Hiss.

HOUSE COMMITTE FOR UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES red scare3 1947 investigation led to prison sentences for contempt known as the Hollywood Ten. Blacklisted: a list of persons who are under suspicion, disfavor, or censure, or who are not to be hired, served, or otherwise accepted.

Red Scare was Americans response to the fear of Communism Senator Joseph McCarthy accused 205 US Govt. officials of being Communist. McCarthyism to destroy or assassinate one’s character without proof and it ruined the careers of many Americans. Became a witch hunt that led to Americans pledging a “loyalty oath” to the United States……. red scare

Communist Fears Abroad

Containment Policy TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR Developed by State Department assistant, George Keenan, NSC-68 Argued that the SU was trying to do two things: defeat capitalism, & expand the Soviet sphere of influence. US would stand firm, restrict and halt Soviet and Communist expansion. How? Help countries who were threatened by Communism with financial and economic assistance, propaganda, politically and militarily. Adopted by President Truman in 1946. Opposite of Appeasement….. Confront dictators

1949, THE YEAR OF SHOCK Mao Tse Tung Mao Tse Tung, defeats Chang Kai Shek in the Chinese Civil War….. China became a communistic country. Chang Kai Shak is exiled to Taiwan. Mao Tse Tung becomes the Communistic leader of China. US believed there was a communistic plot to rule the world Chang Kai Shek NATO

KOREAN WAR 1950 to 1953, North Korea invades South Korea. North Korea was a communist nation and South Korea was a democracy. First war of “containment” policy to stop communism “Police Action” not a declared war President Truman leads United Nations. General Douglas MacArthur commands US and UN troops. Called “forgotten war”.

Berlin Blockade & Airlift June 24, 1948 – May 12, 1949 immediate cause of the blockade was the introduction of a new currency to the Western zones the real issue was the reunification of Germany especially vulnerable-deep within the Soviet zone

Background to the War The French lost control to Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu President Eisenhower declined to intervene on behalf of France. Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnamese independence since World War I. The U.S. gave France aid to win its support in American anticommunist efforts in Western Europe.

Formation of NATO Europeans became increasingly wary of Soviet intentions after the Berlin Blockade April 4th, 1949 the NATO treaty was signed. The United States, Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal and the Netherlands signed. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952 and West Germany in 1955.

Nukes and the Space Race

Soviets detonate their first atomic bomb….. 1950 1949 Soviets detonate their first atomic bomb….. 1950 Soviets detonate their first Hydrogen bomb NATO

Sputnik I (1957) The Russians have beaten America in space—they have the technological edge!

Stayed in orbit 92 days, until Jan. 4, 1958 1957 Russians launch SPUTNIK I Facts on Sputnik Aluminum sphere, 23 inches in diameter weighing 184 pounds with four steel antennae emitting radio signals. Launched Oct. 4, 1957 Stayed in orbit 92 days, until Jan. 4, 1958

Effects on the United States 1957 Russians launch SPUTNIK I Effects on the United States Americans fear a Soviet attack with missile technology Americans resolved to regain technological superiority over the Soviet Union In July 1958, President Eisenhower created NASA or National Space and Aeronautics Agency 1958 --> National Defense Education Act

Effects of Sputnik on United States Atomic Anxieties: “Duck-and-Cover Generation” Atomic Testing: Between July 16, 1945 and Sept. 23, 1992, the United States conducted 1,054 official nuclear tests, most of them at the Nevada Test Site. Americans began building underground bomb shelters and cities had underground fallout shelters.

Missile Gap the presumed strategic disparity between the Soviet Union and the United States believed to have been created by the USSR's technological achievements in the late 1950s. The missile gap became an important political issue, with critics charging that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had allowed the Soviets to gain a dangerous military advantage over the United States by refusing to spend enough money on missile programs. The missile gap was a myth. Eisenhower had explained that there was no gap, but many doubted the president's claims. Concerns over the missile gap did not recede until after October 1961, when members of the Kennedy administration declared that the United States possessed overwhelming military strength.

Economic Concerns Agricultural overproduction, low prices Older industrial areas decline 1957-1958--recession slows decade’s economic growth

Eisenhowers Responses

Communist Fears @ Home Ike was privately critical but did little to destroy McCarthy Republicans used McCarthy in 1952 election McCarthy brought himself down Continued loyalty program

Communist Fears Abroad

“Brinksmanship” [John Foster Dulles] Eisenhower & Dulles Mutual security agreements. Massive retaliation. M. A. D. “Domino Theory” CIA & covert operations Eisenhower Doctrine

Second Berlin Crisis (1958) U-2 Incident (1960) Stalin’s Death (1953) Khrushchev (1956): “peaceful coexistence” Hungarian Revolt (1956) Suez Canal Crisis (1956 to 57) Sputnik (1957) Second Berlin Crisis (1958) Khrushchev: “We will bury capitalism” U-2 Incident (1960) Support for Castro in Cuba (1959)

The Suez Crisis: 1956-1957

Cold War continues with propaganda radio broadcasts

COLD WAR CONTINUES Cold War continues with the Soviets also using propaganda radio broadcasts

COLD WAR CONTINUES Mad Magazine makes fun of the Cold War with their Spy vs. Spy column. CIA vs. KGB

The Hungarian Uprising: 1956 Imre Nagy, Hungarian Prime Minister Promised free elections. This could lead to the end of communist rule in Hungary.

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

U-2 SPY PLANE U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower admitted on May 7 that the unarmed reconnaissance aircraft was indeed on a spy mission. In response, Khrushchev cancelled a long-awaited summit meeting in Paris, Powers was sentenced to ten years in a Soviet prison for his confessed espionage. year-and-a-half later, on February 10, 1962, the Soviets released him in exchange for Rudolph Abel, Led to the Berlin Wall being built and the Cold War “heating up again”

Ikes Responses Ike moderate support for space race Huge impact of Sputnik forced hand Federal program to build bomb shelters/ Duck and Cover program for schools US supplying missiles to Britain and NATO allies NASA (1958) and Explorer I MAD . Mutually Assured Destruction

Responses to the Economy

Domestic Policy Balanced, moderate “Bland leading the bland” Overall, a time of prosperity New Deal a part of modern life Expands farm aid, Social Security, housing, health services Highway Act of 1956 42,000 miles of interstate highways linking major cities Improve national defense Good for jobs, trucking Bad for the poor, public transportation

Assignment Time Baby!!! Read through Eisenhower’s Farwell Address and then Complete the Following: Was this an apology? Was this a thank you? Was this the truth or a lie? What is the military industrial complex? Complete a one-paragraph analysis that includes you answers to the above. Eisenhower's Farwell Address