Birth of the Cold War Era

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Birth of the Cold War Era

• 2 Eisenhower, McCarthyism, and The Cold War

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• Essential Question
• How the Cold War increase fears in the United
  States?
• Warm-Up Question
• Consider the numerous events in the Cold War
  create a scoreboard to show how many points
  the USA USSR have by 1950. Who is winning?

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The Cold War by the 1950s

• In the 1950s, Cold War tensions led to anxiety
  fear in America
• The USSR dominated Eastern Europe China fell to
  communism
• The Korean War almost led to a full-scale war
  with China
• The U.S.-Soviet atomic arms race led to fears of
  a nuclear attack
• The discovery of Soviet spies in the U.S. led to
  a new Red Scare

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The Red Scare
From 1947-1951, 3.2 million govt employees were
investigated 212 were dismissed as security
risks (2,900 resigned rather than face
investigation)

• During the Red Scare, the govt became concerned
  about the growth of communism in America
• The Loyalty Review Board was created to
  investigate dismiss disloyal govt employees
• The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
  investigated suspected communists in the
  entertainment other industries

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In 1947, numerous Hollywood writers executives
were investigated by HUAC 500 were blacklisted
from the film industry some were sent to
prison for refusing to testify (the Hollywood
Ten)
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The Red Scare

• Red Scare fears in America were heightened by the
  discovery of spies working for the USSR
• State Dept employee Alger Hiss who was eventually
  convicted of spying for the USSR
• Ethel Julius Rosenberg were convicted
  executed for passing atomic bomb secrets to the
  USSR

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Alger Hiss
Julius Ethel Rosenberg
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McCarthyism Activity

• Examine the document titled McCarthys Telegram
  to Truman answer the questions provided
• After a brief class discussion, read Trumans
  Response answer the questions provided

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McCarthyism

• In 1950, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy
  emerged as the leader of anti-Communism in the
  U.S.
• He attacked Truman the Democrats for allowing
  communists to infiltrate the govt
• He used public trials to make unsupported
  accusations against suspected communists in the
  State Dept the U.S. military

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McCarthyism in Action

• McCarthys attacks lasted 4 years
• But McCarthyism did not result in a single
  confirmed Communist or spy in the U.S. govt
• McCarthy was briefly popular but by 1954, the
  Senate American public grew tired of his
  bullying techniques McCarthyism faded

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• Essential Question
• How did the Cold War evolve by the 1950s how
  did President Eisenhower respond to these foreign
  policy challenges?
• Warm-Up Question
• What was the Red Scare?
• What was HUAC?
• How did Joe McCarthy increase the tensions of the
  Red Scare?

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Eisenhower the Cold War

• In 1952, World War II hero Dwight Eisenhower was
  elected president
• At home, he tried to promote the good times
  of the 1950seconomic boom
• In foreign policy, he took a strong stand
  against Communism

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Brinksmanship

• Eisenhower began a New Look to fight the Cold
  War
• He invested heavily in new long-range nuclear
  missiles (ICBMs)
• In foreign policy, he used veiled threats of
  nuclear war to achieve his goals (called
  brinksmanship)
• In case of a Soviet attack, the U.S. would use
  massive retaliation thus making the use of
  nuclear weapons unlikely on either side

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The stockpiling of ICBMs
Nuclear submarines
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What are the stakes of war? Massive
Retaliation?Mutual Assured Destruction?
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Americans were anxious by the threat of nuclear
war built fallout shelters for protection
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Eisenhower the Cold War

• In response to the threat of a Soviet nuclear
  attack, Eisenhower pushed Congress to create the
  Interstate Highway System in 1956
• 41,000 miles of divided highway to connect major
  U.S. cities
• In addition to helping promote trade travel,
  these highways were vital to evacuate cities
  during a nuclear attack

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Interstate Highway System
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Covert CIA Operations

• In addition to relying on nuclear weapons,
  Eisenhower increased the role of the CIA in
  foreign policy
• The CIA spied on foreign nations carried out
  covert operations to weaken communist governments
• The CIA led successful coups in Iran Guatemala
  and tried to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba

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The Eisenhower Doctrine
In 1957, the president issued the Eisenhower
Doctrine, pledging the USA to protect the Middle
East from Communism

• After Stalins death in 1953, new Soviet leader
  Nikita Khrushchev began to challenge U.S.
  influence
• In 1955, the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact alliance
• In 1956, the Soviet military violently suppressed
  an anti-communist revolt in Hungary
• In 1956, the USSR began to make moves towards the
  Middle East

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Sputnik the Space Race

• In 1957, the USSR launched the 1st space
  satellite, Sputnik I
• People feared that the U.S. had lost its
  competitive edge
• The National Aeronautics Space Administration
  (NASA) was formed in 1958 to catch up to the
  Soviets
• National Defense Education Act was created to
  promote math, science, technology education

Advanced placement (AP) classes were created as a
result of the NDEA
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The space race intensified the Cold War
between USA USSR
The Original Seven NASA Mercury Astronauts
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Eisenhower the Cold War

• Eisenhower failed to thaw the Cold War by the end
  of the 1950s
• In 1960, an American U-2 plane was shot down over
  the USSR proving we were spying on Russia
• He was unable to negotiate with the USSR weapons
  reduction
• Before leaving office, he warned against
  overspending on defense (Military Industrial
  Complex)

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Francis Gary Powers the U-2 Incident
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Conclusions

• By 1960, the Cold War remained the major focus of
  U.S. foreign policy
• Truman contained communism in Europe while
  Eisenhower used the CIA brinksmanship to limit
  Soviet global influence
• But, Americans remained anxious due to
  McCarthyism, threats of nuclear war, increasing
  govt spending on defense

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Closure Activity

• Compare contrast the Cold War policies
  actions of Presidents Truman Eisenhower
• List the events and/or policies that each
  president faced
• When you compile your list, which president was
  the better Cold Warrior? Explain