■Essential Question:
–How did the arms race & space
race escalate the Cold War
between the United States & the
Soviet Union?
CNN STUDENT NEWS
From 1945 to 1991, the USA & USSR used
a variety of strategies to win the Cold War
In the early years of the Cold War (1945-1949),
the USA used a containment policy to successfully
stop the spread of communism in Europe
Marshall
Plan
NATO
Berlin Airlift
Truman Doctrine
When communism spread to
China in 1949, the USA feared
the “domino theory” &
became more aggressive in its
efforts to stop communism
The USA went to war in
Korea to defend South Korea
from communism
The Soviet Union supplied
weapons to the communists
in North Korea during the war
The type of indirect fight
between the USA & USSR
is called a “proxy war”
From 1949 to 1970, the Cold War escalated as a result
of a nuclear arms race, space race, & espionage
The U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons ended in 1949
when the USSR successfully tested an atomic bomb
The Soviet development of the atomic bomb led
to a nuclear arms race between the USA & USSR
In 1952, the USA tested the
The Soviet Union
first hydrogen bomb which
responded by
is 1,000 times more powerful
detonating its own
than the atomic bomb
hydrogen bomb in 1953
By 1959, both the USA & USSR developed rockets
called intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that
could deliver nuclear warheads to distant targets
U.S.
Polaris
Submarine
Soviet
Transporter
Erector Launcher (TEL)
U.S. Titan ICMB from the 1960s
Soviet ICMBs from 1960-1975
In the 1950s, U.S. President Eisenhower escalated the
Cold War by using brinkmanship: threatening to use
nuclear weapons & willingness to go to the brink of war
If the USSR
attacked a NATO
member,
the U.S. would
use massive
retaliation:
attack every
major Soviet city
& military target
As a result,
the USA & USSR
began stockpiling
nuclear weapons
& building up
their militaries
With the USA & USSR in possession of large nuclear
stockpiles, each side could destroy each other:
this was known as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
Throughout the
Cold War, the
USA & USSR
looked for ways
to gain first
strike capability
In 1957, the USSR
Sputnik shocked Americans
used its first ICBM to
who feared the U.S. had
launch Sputnik, the
fallen behind the USSR in
first satellite into space
science & technology
As a result of Sputnik, the Cold War escalated into a
space race to show American & Soviet dominance
In 1958, the USA created
National Aeronautics & Space
Administration (NASA) to
catch up to the USSR…
…U.S. schools promoted
math, science, & technology
The USSR repeatedly
beat the USA in space
by launching the first
man into orbit &
orbiting the moon
NASA’s original seven NASA
Mercury astronauts
In 1962, President John
Kennedy committed the USA
to beating the Soviet Union in
the race to the moon
In 1969, Apollo 11 landed
U.S. astronauts on the moon
During the Cold War, the USA & USSR created
intelligence agencies, the CIA and KGB, in order
to spy and carry out covert operations
The USA & USSR
used spies to
gather intelligence
U.S. & Soviet spy
planes
gathered
Convicted spies
information
also
Julius
& Ethel Rosenberg
CIAescalated
overthrew
of
The ColdThe
War
asthe
thegovernments
threat of communism
Iran
& the
Guatemala
in Egypt,
spread
into
Middle and
East,intervened
Africa, & Latin
America
Bolivia, Chile, & Cuba to stop communism
■COLD WAR (crash course)
■Essential Question:
–Why did the Cuban Missile Crisis
result in near nuclear war in
1962?
The Berlin Crisis, 1961
■In JFK’s first year in office, Soviet
leader Khrushchev threatened to cut
off access to West Berlin
–JFK vowed to never give up access
to West Berlin
–Rather than blockade the city,
Communist leaders built the Berlin
Wall in 1961 to keep East
Germans out of West Berlin
Walls and other barriers 10–15 feet
high surrounded West Berlin. The
length of the barriers around the
city totaled about 110 miles
The “death
strip”
stretched like a barren
“Ich
bin
ein
Berliner”
moat around West Berlin, with patrols,
—JFK,
1963
floodlights, electric
fences,
and vehicle
traps between the inner and outer walls
The Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961
■In 1959, Fidel Castro gained control of
Cuba, seized property, & took aid from
Khrushchev in the Soviet Union
JFK went on TV & took responsibility for
Cuba:
Bay
of Pigs
theThe
failure
at the
Bay ofInvasion
Pigs
■In 1959, Fidel Castro gained control of
Cuba, seized property, & took aid from
Khrushchev in the Soviet Union
–Under Eisenhower, the CIA trained
Cuban exiles to invade the island &
overthrow of Castro
–In 1961, JFK authorized the plan, but
the Bay of Pigs invasion failed after JFK
called off air strikes on Cuba
The Cuban Missile Crisis
■After the failure at the Bay of Pigs,
Soviet leader Khrushchev promised to
defend Cuba from the USA
■In 1962, U.S. spy planes revealed
nuclear missile camps in Cuba
–If assembled, Soviet ICBMs in Cuba
would give the USSR first strike
capability on U.S. targets
–JFK warned that he would not allow
nuclear missiles in Cuba
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The potential threat: Cuba with Soviet-provided
military equipment & nuclear missiles
Not all missiles in Cuba were operational,
but Khrushchev shipped more missiles to Cuba
Quick Class Discussion:
How should President Kennedy respond?
•Advisors presented JFK with several options
•What are the positives/negatives of each?
•What should JFK do? Rank order these options
Immediate air strike on Full military invasion of
existing missile sites
Cuba; Take out Castro
Diplomacy: trade
ICBMs in Cuba for
ours in Turkey?
Naval blockade to keep out
the in-route Soviet missiles
Kennedy
Soviet ships,
announced
escorted
a quarantine
by nuclear-equipped
(blockade) to
submarines,
keep more missiles
soon approached
out & demanded
the quarantine
that the
Soviets
line & remove
the world
thewaited
missiles
foralready
World War
in Cuba
III
Cuban Missile Crisis
■ The standoff ended when a deal was
reached:
–Soviet ships turned around at the
last minute & Khrushchev removed
its missiles from Cuba
–JFK promised that the U.S. would not
invade Cuba & secretly agreed to
remove ICBMs from Turkey
■ The crisis ended as a victory for JFK,
but it revealed how close the two sides
came to nuclear war