Chapter 26 The Cold War Begins Section 4 Eisenhower’s Policies

Election of 1952 Democrat – Adlai Stevenson Republican – Dwight Eisenhower Eisenhower was a national hero after commanding the D-Day invasion.

“New Look” Eisenhower felt the way to win the Cold War was through a strong military and strong economy. Believed the use of atomic weapons was necessary. Believed we needed a “New Look” in our defense policy.

Massive Retaliation He wanted to prevent war from happening. A policy of massive retaliation was used to threaten the use of nuclear weapons on any Communist state that tried to gain territory by force. Result: Military spending down Nuclear arsenal spending up

New Technology B-52 Bomber could fly across continents and drop nuclear bombs anywhere in the world. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (icbm) and submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles were also created.

ICBM

Nuclear Submarine

The Sputnik Crisis October 4, 1957 – Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. Americans felt we were falling behind in missile technology.

The Sputnik Crisis The next year, Congress created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and also passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA).

Brinksmanship Eisenhower’s willingness to threaten nuclear war to maintain peace worried some. Critics argued, brinksmanship, the willingness to ho to war to force the other side to back down, was too dangerous.

The Korean War Ends Eisenhower threatened the use of nuclear weapons. Although there was no victor, it did stop the spread of Communism.

The Taiwan Crisis 1954 – China threatened to take over two islands from the Nationalists. Eisenhower threatened the use of nuclear weapons if China tried to invade Taiwan. China retreated.

The Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis Eisenhower wanted to prevent Arab countries from aligning with the Soviet Union. To gain support, U.S. offered to help finance a dam on the Nile River for Egypt. Congress forced withdrawal of the offer.

The Suez Crisis Egyptians took control of the Canal to pay for a dam. British & French responded by invading the Suez Canal. Soviets threatened rocket attacks. Through strong American pressure British & French called off their invasion.

Fighting Communism Covertly Eisenhower used covert, or hidden, operations conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Containment in Developing Nations CIA operations took place in developing nations, or those nations with mostly agricultural economies. Two examples of covert operations that achieved objectives took place in Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s

Uprising in Hungary Covert ops didn’t always work. After Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader of the Soviet Union in 1956. He delivered a secret speech to Soviet leaders, which was broadcast by the CIA to Eastern Europe.

Uprising in Hungary Eastern Europeans staged riots, and an uprising occurred in Hungary. Soviet tanks entered Budapest, and stopped the rebellion.

Continuing Tensions Eisenhower and Khrushchev agreed to a summit in Paris in order to improve relations. Khrushchev stopped the summit after the Soviets shot down an American spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers.

End of Chapter 26 Next: TEST