(10) Cold War Rivalries Flashcards
What was the Gaither Report?
✩ In 1958 Eisenhower commissioned a study of the military strength of the USSR in comparison to the USA.
✩ He focused on nuclear weapons and the ‘missile gap’. The report suggested that the USSR had superior missile technology. But, this was found to be unlikely after the U-2 spy planes gathered intelligence from the USSR’s military bases.
✩ Photographic evidence showed that the Soviets could match the USA’s missile technology however, their capability to develop the technology further would evolve at a slower pace than the American missile technology.
Why was the Gaither Report significant?
✩ The Gaither report reveals one of the ways that a collective fear of the worst-case scenario (mutually assured destruction) contributed to what Eisenhower called “the Military-Industrial Complex.” he defined as the “conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry.
✩ It showed this tendency to plan for and prepare for the worst has not gone away
Why was the development of a military-industrial complex important?
✩ The military-industrial complex also allowed America to fight a new kind of war by funneling weapons to foreign soldiers to fight what are known as proxy wars as seen in Vietnam.
What did the Gaither report lead to?
✩ Eisenhower used the report, despite it having some misleading information, to gain support from allied countries for the USA’s protection against the USSR.
✩ Eisenhower appealed to Britain, Turkey and other NATO allies for assistance by asking them to house American intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their countries in the event of an attack by the USSR.
✩ The USSR felt they were being encircled (surrounded by NATO bases). They would be very vulnerable in a nuclear war.
What was the Space and Arms race?
✩ One feature of the Cold War was the intense competition between the USA and the USSR across many areas.
✩ This is illustrated clearly in the way the two superpowers competed for superiority in terms of military might and space exploration.
What had the Soviet Union first launched, when and how did it intensify Cold War tensions?
✩ On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1
✩ The fact that the Soviets were successful fed fears that the U.S. military had generally fallen behind in developing new technology.
✩ This caused great panic in America because they believed that the USSR was a step closer to being able to launch nuclear weapons from space.
What had the USA attempted to launch in response, when and how did it intensify Cold War tensions?
✩ The USA failed to launch the Vanguard Rocket in December 1957, earning it the name ‘Flopnik’ as it palled in comparison to the revolutionary Sputnik-1.
✩ This is significant as the failure of Vanguard TV3 demonstrated the technological and strategic superiority of the Soviet Union in space exploration at that time.
What other crucial events happened during the Space race, and why was this significant?
✩ In September 1958, the USA authorised $1 billion investment in this field.
✩ Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958.
✩ This signalled America’s determination to challenge Soviet dominance in space and assert its technological prowess, increasing tensions.
What happened at Camp David Summit September 1959, when and how did it cause tensions?
✩ The fact that Eisenhower had invited Khrushchev to the official US presidential residence at Camp David, and that Khrushchev had agreed to set foot on US soil, demonstrated the respect the two leaders had for each other.
✩ Although no agreement on the long-term fate of Berlin was reached, the ultimatum on Berlin was withdrawn by Khrushchev, and it was agreed that further negotiations would take place in Paris the following year.
What was the U2 Spy Plane, when did it happen and how did it cause tensions?
✩ Unfortunately, the hopeful optimism generated by the Camp David Summit meeting did not last long. In May 1960, the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane over Russia and captured the pilot.
✩ The Eisenhower administration compounded the situation by initially disclaiming any knowledge of espionage flights over the Soviet Union
✩ However, Gary Powers, the pilot of the plane who had confessed all, proved it was not a weather plane.
What was the Berlin Wall, when was it constructed?
✩ In August 1961, Khrushchev closed the border between East and West Berlin and constructed the Berlin Wall, stopping the exodus.
How did this lead to the Berlin Crisis?
✩ The Berlin Wall was a symbol of Cold War divisions and quickly escalated to a military confrontation.
✩ On October 27, 1961, combat-ready American and Soviet tanks faced off in Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie, arguably one of the most fierce moments in Cold War history that could have led to the outbreak of a ‘hot war’.
What was the Ich Bin Berlin speech and when did it occur?
✩ The Americans used the wall as a propaganda tool Kennedy delivered his ‘Ich bin Ein Berliner’ speech in 1963 as a result underlining his commitment to defending freedom.
✩ President Kennedy praised the resilience of the German people, highlighting the victory of democracy over communism.
Tell me about the events that ensued during the Space race under Kennedy?
✩ In 1961, President Kennedy took over from Eisenhower and massively increased the funding for NASA.
✩ Federal money was put into education (science, maths and technology primarily) in order to try and catch up with the advancements that the Soviets had made.
✩ By 1962, the USA had carried out 63 successful space missions compared to the USSR’s 15 successful missions.
✩ By 1969 the Americans had successfully landed a man on the moon- Neil Armstrong.
How did the existence of West Berlin undermine communism?
✩ Since 1955 many people from East Germany (GDR) migrated to West Germany due to better living conditions.
✩ The scarcity of consumer goods in the East and the higher standard of living in the West made the USSR worry that the communist system could be undermined.
✩ Khrushchev was also concerned by events in Poland and Hungary; both uprisings showed that the communists potentially didn’t have firm control over their satellite states.
