American Foreign Policy Part 2 Flashcards
Eisenhower
Eisenhower became president in 1952
Stalin dies in 1953 and is replaced by Khrushchev
Hungarian uprising in 1956 but the US decides not to intervene
Hungary is in the USSRs “sphere of influence”
Eisenhower pursues diplomacy and refuses to increase millitary spending
What caused the divisions over Berlin?
As West Germany prospered east Germany remained poor
Thousands of East Germans went to Berlin to escape to the west
Khrushev pressurised the west to give up Berlin but Eisenhower refuses
Kennedy replaced Eisenhower in 1960
At the Vienna summit June 1961 Khrushchev tries to bully Kennedy
In an effort to stop East Germans escaping the East Germans government with krushschevs backing built a wall on the border between East and West Berlin
Kennedy went to Berlin soon after. He spoke to the people of the city , but did nothing about the wall which remained as a disable symbol of the division of Europe throughout the cold war
Cuba?
In 1959 Castro’s forces overthrew dictator Batista and took over American companies
Castro turns to the USA for help but then turns to USSR when rejected by USA
The USA imposed a trade embargo on Cuba which caused them to turn to USSR
Kennedy assists anti Castro Cubans
When Kennedy became president he approved the CIA plan to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. The invasion force landed at the bay of pigs but was easily defeated
Castro declares Cuba socialist
What was the Cuban missile crisis?
After the bay of pigs invasion Castro agrees to krushchevs plan to build missile launching sites in Cuba. Missiles could reach American cities, until then we’re safe from Soviet attack.
American spy planes photographed the sites and notice and notice an increase in Russian ships in Cuba.
After some hesitation Kennedy imposes a navel blockade on Cuba to stop Soviet ships arriving with missiles. Us forces placed on alert
Kennedy holds press conference to tell the world about missiles in cuba- says US will search all ships and turn any back with weapons
Calls on Khrushchev to stop “provocaticpve threat to world peace”
World holds its breath - panic buying in US
War threatened but kruschchev backed down. In return for removing missiles from Cuba, Kennedy secretly removed missiles in Turkey
What was the Prague spring 1968?
Reforms were introduced in Czechoslovakia by Dubcek
Fearing change the USSR sends in tanks to remove Dubcek
USA does nothing- Russian sphere of influence
There was a coup in Chile in 1973 to overthrow the socialist government of Allende
What was detente?
The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 showed the superpowers that they could destroy each other and the world . This led to a period of detente.
Nixon and Brezhnev want to relax tensions
The arms race was placing a massive drain resources
Nixon secretary of state Henry Kissinger argued that the Soviets were not a threat and US could weaken them by taking advantage of their quarrel with China
Nixon accepted China’s membership of the United nations and made a state visit to China
Detente led to number of agreements reducing threat of nuclear war:
The test ban treaty (1963) ended above ground testing
The nuclear non proliferation treaty (1968) limited the spread of nuclear weapons
Strategic arms limitations talks(SALT) began in 1969 leading to agreement to restrict the number of missile each side had
Second round of talks (SALT) led to Helsinki final act in 1975. 35 countries accepted Europe’s borders after ww2
1975, the two superpowers co operated a joint space programme, the Apollo-soyuz project
1979, SALT 2 agreement further limited nucukar weapons
What led to the decline of Detente?
Critizisjm of detante because of growing support for communism in Africa
Detente ended in 1979 when:
President Carter’s concern about human rights in the Soviet union angered the Russians
Republicans attacked SALT 2 as weakening America. To appease them Carter approved NEW missile system and increased military spending
The Russians invade Afghanistan in 1979
Carter then imposed then imposed trading sanctions on the USSR, Stopped the implementation of SALT 2 and announced a US boycott of the Moscow Olympic games in 1980
Ronald Reagan and the end of detante
Anti communist crusader elected in 1980
Reagan a former film star saw the cold war as a conflict between good and evil and was not interested in diplomacy, USSR was the “evil empire”
He abandoned SALT 2 and constantly criticised the Soviet record on human rights
He helped Islamic militants who were fighting Soviets in Afghanistan and supported various right wing dictator in South America
There was a renewal of the cold war - He increased military spending by 50% and in 1983 announced the Strategic defence Iniative (star wars) to build a counter missile system
Increased support for Reagan after solidarity In Poland suppressed
Soviets saw this as a return to the arms race, but realised they could not match US spending. They thought Reagan was a warmonger and they seriously feared a US attack
Fall of the USSR
In 1985 a younger man Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet union. He wanted economic and social reform but to do so he needed to improve relations with the US
Meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev led to the intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty in Reykjavik. Both sides eliminated many missiles
Reagan wanted to be remembered for ending the cold war
Demands for reforms in eastern Europe grows
Gorbachev reforms in the USSR encouraged people in the communist countries of eastern Europe to demand democracy
In 1989 Gorbachev made it clear that the Soviets would not send in tanks to support the communist governments there
Starting in Hungary one communist government after another collapsed
In November 1989 the East Germans opened the Berlin wall, symbolically ending the cold war
In 1991 the Soviet union itself collapsed
