Cold War Politics: 1953-1964
Agenda
1. Bell Ringer: Quick Review of the Korean War (5)
2. Notes: The Cold War: 1953-1965 (20)
3. Cuban Missile Crisis Speech, 1962 (10)
4. Political Cartoons of the Cold War (10)
5. Analysis of McCarthyism (10)
6. Atomic Clock Timeline (10)
7. Kennedy Footage, The Cold War and
assassination (20)
McCarthy and the Red Scare
• Joseph McCarthy begins a
crusade against
Communism in the early
1950s that turns into a
“Red Scare”
• Everyone is accused, and
some are blacklisted as a
result.
• Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg executed as
spies for the Soviets. 1953
Kitchen Table Debates
• This was a comparison of
the two superpowers with
Nixon and Khrushchev
sharing views of new
technology.
• The materialism of the
United States was
compared to the austerity
of the Soviet Union.
• Did not talk about military
strategy or technology.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
• 1961, this was an attempt
to eliminate Fidel Castro’s
Communist government.
• We supplied arms to
revolutionary soldiers, and
the CIA provided
intelligence.
• It was touted as a
guaranteed success, but
ends up a huge blunder. The
revolutionaries lose, and
the United States is
embarrassed by this loss.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1962, it is found that the Soviets
are transporting nuclear weapons
into Cuba.
• They claim it is for defense;
however, these missiles can reach
major US cities.
• Kennedy stages a blockade of
Cuba to stop the flow of nuclear
weapons. Khrushchev attempts
to claim nuclear war is inevitable.
• 13 days and several speeches and
conversations later, Khrushchev
turns the ships around.
Mutually Assured Destruction
• Prior to 1962, it was a constant
nuclear arms race.
• After the Cuban Missile Crisis,
people know how close the
Earth came to annihilation,
leaders begin to discuss
limiting the use of nuclear
weapons.
• After Kennedy is assassinated,
an increased presence in
Vietnam leads to a new look
into Containment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yBUSvC3z
f4
Doomsday Clock
Date
1947
Time
(7)
1949
(3)
1953
(2)
1960
(7)
1963
(12)
Event
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1eA5bU
zVjA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs_Raim
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