How Did US Foreign Policy Increase Tension In The 50s + Background Info 1940s - 1950s Flashcards
When was Truman in power in the USA?
1945-1953
When was Eisenhower in power in the USA?
1953 - 1961
When was Kennedy in power in the USA?
1961-1963
When was Stalin in power in the USSR?
1922-1953
When was Khrushchev in power?
1953 - 1964
Why did the USA take the action of containment?
Communism had already spread to much of Eastern Europe and by 1949 it’s had started to spread to Asia (china and North Korea)
What is containment?
Actively stopping spread of communism
Why would the policy of containment increase tension between USA and USSR?
Because Truman was public ally declaring his intent to actively stop the spread of communism and to limit the influence of Stalin and the USSR
What are the 4 actions the USA were taking?
1) containment
2) alliances
3) developing technology
4) missile gap
What treaty had the west formed in 1949?
NATO
What did NATO promise to do?
To promise to protect each other against aggressive actions from other countries (namely communist)
Who had formed the treaty’s SEATO and CENTO in the 1950s?
SEATO - South East Asia
CENTO - Middle East
Who did the Alliance groups SEATO and CENTO support?
They supported the west
In response to NATO, SEATO and CENTO, what treaty did the communists form and when?
In 1955 the Warsaw Pact (treaty between the USSR and communist countries in Eastern Europe)
What would happen if there was a war with all the alliances (NATO,SEATO,CENTO and Warsaw Pact)?
The war would be a lot bigger
Why would NATO, SEATO and CENTO (alliances west) increase tension?
Because the USSR would feel threatened that’s why they made the Warsaw Pact
In the 1950s why were both sides (West and East/USSR and USA) developing weapons?
To show their superpower
What did developing new weapons and technology turn into?
An arms race
What was the arms race and why was both sides doing it?
The arms race was where each side had enough weapons to destroy the world 5 times over - they were taking this action to deter others from attacking them and their allies
Why would developing new technology and the arms race increase tension?
It would increase tension because the USSR and the USA were constantly trying to out do each other
What was MAD?
Mutual assured destruction - it was a strategy/policy that developed which meant if one side attacks the other then the retaliation would be so great it would lead to the destruction of both superpowers
What is stalemate?
By the late 1950s the USSR had built nuclear weapons to match the USA. This meant a new stage of the Cold War emerged which was stale mate
What was the missile gap?
This was a myth that the USSR had more weapons than the USA.
When does Eisenhower know that the missile gap is a myth and what does he want to do?
Eisenhower knows it’s a myth in the 60s so wants to keep tracking the USSR into thinking they are ahead.
In 1961 Kennedy became president. What did he realise about the missile gap?
That it was all a myth that had been fabricated by Eisenhower.
