The USA and the Cold War 1952-60 Flashcards
What was Eisenhower’s foreign policy called?
New Look
Why was it important that Eisenhower presented his policies as “new”?
To separate him from Truman’s presidency which ended with a 22% approval rating due to failures in foreign policy
Why did Eisenhower’s background affect his foreign policy?
- He was a WW2 military hero, especially in Europe
- He was the first republican in the White House since 1932
- Criticised Democrat foreign policy in his election campaign, suggested change was going to be made
Who was John Foster Dulles?
The Secretary of State under Eisenhower
What views did Foster Dulles have?
he was a staunch anit communist and wanted to be hard on communism
What were the key principles of Eisenhower’s new Look policy?
- Use of negotiations
- Massive Retaliation (nuclear weapon)
- Rollback
- Use of CIA
- Setting up anti-communist alliances
What were Eisenhower’s thoughts on the nuclear weapon?
Placed it as a weapon of first resort and not last resort. He also placed emphasis on nuclear weapons so he could cut costs with conventional forces
Who was John Foster Dulles’s brother?
Allen Dulles, the head of the CIA
How did Dulles influence Eisnehower’s presidency?
He saw the fight against communism as good vs. evil and preferred rollback than containment. Spoke a lot about massive retaliation
How did Dulles and Eisenhower get on?
They frequently disagreed but Dulles still had a lot of influence over foreign policy
Riots in which country inspired the people of Hungary to stand up against the USSR?
Poland
Who was the leader of Hungary under which reforms were made in 1956?
Imre Nagy
Which announcement caused the Soviet soldiers to invade Hungary?
They announced they would leave the Warsaw pact
When was the Hungarian Uprising?
Reforms were made from late Oct-Nov 1956
The Soviets invaded on 4th Nov 1956
How many tanks did Khrushchev send into Hungary?
200,000
Up to how many Hungarians were killed in the Uprising?
40,000
What did Eisenhower do in response to Hungary?
He condemned the Soviet invasion but nothing more
Why didn’t the USA do more to help Hungary?
- They couldn’t start WW3
- They were more concerned about events unfolding in the Suez Crisis
Do the events in Hungary fit with the “New Look” policy?
No, they had all the talk of rollback and separating from truman’s policies only to act in an almost identical way.
What was the Atoms for Peace proposal?
An idea to share uranium with a United Nations agency so it could be used to generate energy?
When was “Atom’s for peace” proposed?
December 1952
What was the response to the Atoms For Peace proposal?
It was warmly recieved but no one wanted to share uranium with the affiliation. Eventually The International Energy Agency was created in 1957 for peaceful uses of uranium
Where and When did the first meeting since 1945 take place between Khrushchev and Eisenhower?
Geneva, 1955
Explain Eisenhower’s “Open Skies” proposal?
It was an idea that they would accept both superpowers to spy on one another to make sure they weren’t up to no good. Eisenhower knew Khrushchev would reject it (and he did) but wanted to seem like the peacemaker
What happened in 1959 which suggested a “thaw” in the cold war?
Khrushchev visited America
Where did the two leaders plan to meet in May 1960?
Paris
When did flights of U2 spy planes begin?
1956
What action did Eisenhower want to take regarding the spy planes before the peace summit?
He suspended them, but his advisors pushed hi for a few more flights