DWIGHT D EISENHOWER 1953 1961 ARMS RACE USSR

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, 1953 -1961

ARMS RACE • USSR detonated an atomic bomb in 1949 • Truman began the development of the H-Bomb but it was finished under Eisenhower • Both Oppenheimer and Einstein opposed this creation • Thought it would lead to an arms race • The US tested a hydrogen bomb in 1952—USSR followed in 1953

• The arms race leads to MAD—Mutually Assured Destruction • If one country detonates one of these new bombs, the other will do the same • Both sides of the world die • MAD leads to the policy of brinkmanship • Created by Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, he believed that unless you push events to think “brink” of war, at this time they would all involve nuclear weapons, the Communists would continue aggression in Asia/Europe • Tactic of fear: no one wanted nuclear war—we’d all die

GENEVA ACCORDS • Eisenhower met with Nikita Khrushchev on March 5, 1953 in Geneva, Switzerland • Khrushchev took over after Stalin’s death • Much more laissez-faire than Stalin—believed in more peaceful relations with the West • Vietnam was the topic of conversation • Temporarily divided at the 17 th Parallel

SUEZ CRISIS • Egyptian president, Gamal Nasser, wanted to build a dam on the Nile River • US and Britain agreed to fund the project until Nasser openly supported Communist China • In response, Nasser nationalizes the canal • Problem because it had historically been controlled by the British and was a major trade route from the Europe to Africa, India, and Asia • Europe’s main trade route for Middle Eastern oil

• England France took action to take back the Canal without consulting Eisenhower—the Suez Crisis • In turn, Eisenhower refused to provide them with American oil and/or support their actions

EISENHOWER DOCTRINE, 1957 • Due to increased Soviet action in the Middle East, Eisenhower declares that force will be used to help any Middle Eastern nation threatened by communism • Ike uses the CIA to install pro-American governments in Iran and Guatemala • Natives obviously didn’t like this policy

U-2 INCIDENT • The USSR created a thermonuclear bomb in 1954 and other ICBM’s (intercontinental ballistic missiles) • Eisenhower uses a new spy plane to see if other weapons have been created • A 1960 mission, flown by CIA pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was shot down deep in Soviet territory—sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage • Eisenhower denied the espionage but

QUESTION OF THE DAY • How did Eisenhower build onto Truman’s containment policy?