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The Cold War
The Cold War Begins
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Cooperation between the United States (U.S.) and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (Soviet Union) unraveled as World War II concluded. The great powers
before the war faded, and the U.S. and the Soviet Union emerged as
"superpowers" competing for world influence. During the decades that followed,
an "iron curtain" descended across Europe, dividing the communist nations of
Eastern Europe and the democratic governments of the West. Germany and the
city of Berlin were divided into communist East Germany and East Berlin and
democratic West Germany and West Berlin. In China, communists overthrew the
U.S.-supported government. Communist nations sought to influence newly
independent nations in Africa and Southeast Asia. The U.S. recognized Israel as a
sovereign state while the Soviet Union supported Arab countries who opposed
Israel. The Cuban government was overthrown in a communist revolution. The U.S.
and the Soviet Union formed political and military alliances with other countries to
help strengthen their positions. The world was divided, and the threat of total
nuclear destruction was real. The U.S. and the Soviet Union never fought directly,
thus this period was called the Cold War.
The Role of the President
• At the end of World War II, American presidents faced an
unprecedented responsibility. By 1949 both the U.S. and the Soviet
Union had developed atomic weapons capable of destroying entire
cities. After the hydrogen bomb was developed in 1952, nuclear
war posed a threat to the survival of every human being on the
planet. Presidents used military supremacy and diplomacy to
protect the nation’s interests and security. Secrecy became a vital
tool of presidential foreign policy. The arms race and growth of the
military-industrial complex fueled the U.S. economy. Americans
lived in intense fear of nuclear attack, communist aggression and
espionage. Growing fear of communism on the home front
threatened Americans’ civil liberties. Presidents had to secure
protection for the U.S. while contending with public opinion and
pressure from members of Congress.
• The Cold War was a nearly 40 year standoff
between the Soviet Union and the United
States. Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. had
nearly 10 U.S. presidents who all dealt with
the relationship with the Soviet Union in
unique ways.
President Truman (1945-1953)
Foreign Policy
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World War II formally ended on September 2, 1945. Nazi Germany had surrendered to the allies on May 8, 1945, and, in
August, the U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening the end
of the war with Japan.
Relations soured between the U.S. and the Soviet Union with disputes over the future of Eastern Europe and the struggle to
influence new governments around the world. As the Cold War heated up, President Truman announced the Truman
Doctrine in a speech to Congress in 1947, proclaiming: “... it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples
who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Under this policy in 1947, the U.S.
supplied aid to help Greece and Turkey confront communist threats. Also in 1947, the U.S. established the Marshall Plan to
provide economic assistance for Europe.
In 1948, when the Soviets tried to block supplies from reaching West Berlin, Truman responded with an eleven-month-long
airlift to bring supplies to the city and break the blockade. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in
1949, combining the defenses of the U.S. and Western Europe to safeguard democratic European governments.
During this time, communist influence grew in Asia. In September 1949, the civil war in China concluded with the
communists victorious. In June of 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. Continuing his commitment to help
countries in conflict with communist forces and in coordination with the United Nations, Truman sent U.S. troops to support
South Korea. In September 1950, President Truman sent military equipment and advisers to support France’s efforts to reestablish colonial control over Vietnam, which was being threatened by communist forces.
The U.S. military establishment expanded during Truman’s administration. The National Security Act of 1947 reorganized the
foreign policy and military establishments of the U.S. Government and established the National Security Council and the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The 1947 law also merged the War Department and the Navy Department into a single
organization called the National Military Establishment, which became the Department of Defense in 1949.
The threat of nuclear war intensified when the Soviets tested an atomic bomb in 1949, merely four years after the U.S. In
1950, the National Security Council issued Policy Paper Number 68, which called for a massive military buildup in response
to the Soviet threat.
By developing the Truman Doctrine, signing the National Security Act of 1947 and approving National Security Council Policy
Paper 68, Truman helped to create the foreign policy framework through which the U.S. would operate for decades.
Review: Read over Truman’s
Presidency and answer prompt below.
• Describe Truman’s presidency by choosing 3
events that happened or things he did while
president.
President Truman (1945-1953)
Domestic Policies
• GI Bill – generous loans to
Veterans returning from
WWII to help them
establish businesses, buy
homes, and attend colleges
President Truman – Domestic policies
continued
Causes: too many strikes
Results: Taft Hartley Act
• Many people went on strike
for higher wages, labor unions
organized to combat what
they believed were unfair
working conditions,
government intervened as
some strikes went on for
weeks and months at places
vital to Americans (ex. Railroad
industry, mining, etc. ) People
needed railroads to travel and
coal for heat
• Outlawed closed shop
(practice of forcing business
owners to only hire people in a
union)
• Outlawed union shops (shops
in which new workers were
required to join a union)
** ultimately limited power of
labor unions which had been
fighting for rights for a long time
**Truman actually vetoed this
act, but passed because of
popularity in Congress
Truman’s second election in 1948 was in
large part because of his appeal to African
Americans, laborers and farmers- and his
campaign against a “Do-Nothing Congress”
Fair DealPrograms proposed by Truman to give Americans a “fair deal” using
government intervention – similar to New Deal
Approved by Congress
-raised minimum wage
-expansion of Social
Security(increased benefits
and expanded to more people)
-National Housing Act –
800,000 low income housing
-
Not approved by Congress
-national health insurance
-provide subsidies ($) for
farmers
-federal aid to schools
-enact more civil rights for
African Americans
The Second Red Scare-McCarthyism
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During the Cold War Americans feared nuclear attack and the spread of communism. Schools taught
children to “duck and cover” in the event of a nuclear attack and some Americans built fallout shelters. As
in the first Red Scare of 1919-1920, the U.S. government conducted investigations of suspected
communists or communist sympathizers. Increasingly, these efforts threatened Americans’ civil liberties.
In 1947 President Truman issued Executive Order 9835. The order created the Employees Loyalty Board to
identify disloyal government employees. In Congress, the House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC) investigated private citizens suspected of communist sympathies. In particular, HUAC sought to
identify communist entertainers working in the motion picture industry, and to pressure leading film
studios to list entertainers suspected of communism. Some of those whose names appeared on the
“blacklist” never worked in Hollywood again.
Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union used spies to gather information. In 1950, the U.S. Justice Department
indicted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on charges of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. Their trial
and conviction led to the first execution of U.S. civilians for espionage. Incidents such as this fueled the
climate of fear and suspicion.
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy declared that he possessed a list of 205 Soviet spies working in the U.S.
State Department. As chair of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, McCarthy launched
investigations into subversive activities. McCarthy’s aggressive pursuit of communist sympathizers made
him popular with some, but his recklessness and angry outbursts made others wary. In 1953, tensions
grew between McCarthy and the Army. In 1954, the Senate held hearings to investigate allegations made
by McCarthy and the Army against each other. The hearings were televised and the public witnessed
McCarthy’s belligerent tactics first-hand, leading to a sharp decline in his popularity. Ultimately, the Senate
voted to censure Joseph McCarthy for obstructing the processes of the Senate and impairing its dignity.
President Eisenhower remarked to his Cabinet that McCarthyism had become “McCarthywasm.”
Starter 3/7 Review
• 1. How did the GI Bill help Veterans when they got back
from WWII?
• 2. Did the Taft Hartley Act help or hurt labor unions? If
so, how?
• 3. Who did Truman appeal to help win his second
election in 1948?
• 4. What do you think the goal of Truman’s Fair Deal
was?
President Dwight D. Eisenhower (19531961)
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To counterbalance the Soviet threat, Eisenhower supported a doctrine of massive retaliation calling for the development and
maintenance of a superior nuclear arsenal. Another motivation was financial, as Defense Secretary Charles Wilson
described, atomic weapons provided “more bang for the buck” than conventional arms.
Within six months of taking office, President Eisenhower ended U.S. involvement in the Korean War. In 1954, the U.S. joined
Australia, Great Britain, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines in forming the Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization (SEATO). It was to serve the same purpose in Southeast Asia as NATO did in Europe. When France withdrew
from Vietnam that same year, Vietnam was divided into North and South, and Eisenhower continued to send U.S. military
advisers to help build a non-communist government in South Vietnam.
The Soviet Union solidified its hold on Eastern Europe by quickly stopping attempts for independence in East Germany,
Poland, and Hungary. In 1955, the Soviet Union and Eastern European nations formed the Warsaw Pact to counter NATO. On
October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik I, leading to an international space race.
In January 1959, Cuban revolutionaries took over the Cuban government and, in February, Fidel Castro became the Prime
Minister of Cuba. Castro began implementing communist-style reforms and the following year opened talks with the Soviet
Union. Eisenhower was determined to “roll back” communism, using the CIA to carry out secret operations to overthrow
anti-American governments before Soviet satellite states could be established. In March 1960, Eisenhower authorized a
covert plan to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The ultimate goal was to overthrow Castro and establish
a non-communist government friendly to the United States. The CIA began training Cuban exiles, but it would remain for
President Kennedy to authorize the invasion.
Eisenhower sought better relations with the Soviets through summit conferences. In July 1955, he met with Soviet leaders in
Geneva. In September 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the U.S., but the May 1960 Paris summit was derailed
when a U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union and the pilot was captured.
Answers
• 1. The GI Bill gave money to Veterans to help them
establish businesses, buy homes, and attend college
• 2. The Taft Hartley Act hurt labor unions by giving more
power to employers in terms of who they can hire and took
away rights of labor unions to make membership a
requirement if they worked in a certain place
• 3. Truman appealed to African Americans, farmers, and
laborers
• 4. The goal of Truman’s Fair Deal was to help struggling
Americans such as the lower/middle classes get more
benefits, money, and housing that they may not be able to
afford – to make life more “fair” for the average American
Starter: INDEPENDENTLY-Finish Sputnik Activity
from Friday (Eisenhower )
• History Channel Bio
• Reaction to Sputnik Activity
• Source 1 : Reaction to Soviet Satellite ‘ Preliminary
Research-declassified document packet
• Source 2 : Sputnik and Space Race slide
• Source 3 : textbook pg. 798
• Answers must have
Answer
Quote to support answer
Name source you got answer from
Sputnik and the Space Race
• If an American happened to be gazing at the stars on Friday,
October 4, 1957 he may have noticed an object crossing the
evening sky. Radio listeners, too, may have heard a series of "beep,
beep, beep" sounds coming from their radios. A momentous event
had occurred in the region of the Soviet Union known as Kazakhstan
-- the Soviets had launched an artificial satellite into orbit around the
earth. The satellite named Sputnik, Russian for "traveling
companion," transmitted the beeping sounds as it followed its orbit
around the globe. Rather than celebrating this momentous scientific
feat, Americans reacted with a great deal of fear. The event came at
a period near the end of the McCarthy communist "witch hunts," a
time when schoolchildren were involved in "Duck and Cover" air raid
drills, and citizens were encouraged to build their own civil defense
shelters. It was widely believed that if the Soviets could launch a
satellite into space, they probably could launch nuclear missiles
capable of reaching U.S. shores.
President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
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President Kennedy pledged in his inaugural address that the American people would "pay any price, bear any burden, meet
any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."
Before his inauguration, Kennedy was briefed on the CIA plan to train Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro and the
communist government in Cuba. On April 17, 1961, 1,400 Cuban exiles launched a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the
south coast of Cuba.
In the summer of 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with the Cuban government to supply
nuclear missiles capable of protecting the island against another U.S.-sponsored invasion. Upon discovery of these missiles
in October 1962, the U.S. initiated a blockade of Cuba. For thirteen days the world waited on the brink of nuclear war until
the U.S. and the Soviet Union struck an agreement. The Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its missiles from Cuba and the U.S.
pledged not to invade Cuba. In a secret agreement, the U.S. also agreed to remove its missiles from Turkey. It was after this
crisis that a “hot line” was established to facilitate direct communication between Soviet and American leaders. In 1961, the
Soviets threatened access to West Berlin as they had done during the Truman administration. This time the U.S. activated
the National Guard and reservists to strengthen U.S. military forces. The dispute cooled after the East Germans built the
Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin.
In Vietnam, Kennedy gradually increased the number of U.S. military advisers to over 16,000. At the same time, he pressed
the South Vietnamese government, led by President Ngo Dinh Diem, to institute long-overdue reforms. But on November 1,
1963, with the tacit approval of the Kennedy Administration, the South Vietnamese government was overthrown. President
Diem was assassinated after refusing an American offer of safety if he agreed to resign.
The space race continued when the Soviets launched the first man in space in April 1961. In the aftermath of yet another
Soviet success in the space race, Kennedy publicly pledged to put an American on the moon within the decade.
Kennedy also sought peaceful means to thaw the Cold War. In the 1963 commencement address at American University, he
called for a strategy of peace saying, "If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for
diversity." Beginning in 1955 the U.S., the Soviet Union and other countries held formal talks to negotiate a ban on testing
nuclear weapons. Finally, on August 5, 1963, one day before the 18th anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, representatives of the U.S., Great Britain and the Soviet Union signed the nuclear test ban treaty which the
Senate ratified and Kennedy signed on October 7, 1963.
President Kennedy would not see the results of his efforts in the Cold War. On November 22, 1963, he was assassinated by
Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
Unit 10: JFK, LBJ, and the
Vietnam Quagmire
USII.19, USII.20, USII.21, & USII.28
The Election of 1960
Lesson #1
USII.21
American Vision Chapter 28, Section 1
Election of 1960
• Focus: appearance of candidates, JFKyouthful, optimistic, Nixon-”formal, stiff in
manner”
• Nixon (D) vs. JFK (R) = era of TV politics had
begun, and so did the age of spending $ on
televised campaign advertising
• Main issues: economy and Cold War
• JFK will become the first Catholic president
1960: Kennedy vs. Nixon
1960 JFK vs. Nixon
Nixons Points
JFKs Points
accuses JFK of
argues he never said
admitting/accepting most of what Nixon
Soviet Union is better accuses him of
than U.S.
Republican Debate of 2016
Rubio
Trump
JFK Inauguration - January
20, 1961
Ask you watchcomment on JFK’s
speech- how does it
make you feel?
What kind of
president does he
seem like he is
going to be? Do you
believe him?
“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can
do for your country”
Read JFK’s biography and
answer questions that go with
them
Class Objectives
• Students will be able to:
– Summarize JFK’s New Frontier domestic policies.
– Explain the struggles JFK faced in getting his
policies passed.
New Frontier
• JFK’s legislative agenda to move the country
forward was called the New Frontier
• The main goals of the New Frontier were:
– Increased aid to education
– Provide health insurance to the elderly
– Create a Department of Urban Affairs
– Help migrant workers (workers who move from
place to place to find seasonal work)
Kennedy Struggles with Congress
• JFK was unable to get many of his policies
passed in Congress despite his party being the
majority
– He didn’t help many Democrats get elected so they
didn’t feel that they owed him anything
– Republicans and Southern Democrats felt the New
Frontier increased the cost and power of the federal
government too much
• Congress did not pass JFK’s proposals for elderly
health care and federal aid for education
Strengthening the Economy
• The economic growth of the 1950’s slowed at
the end of the decade
– Unemployment was around 7% (1960 – 1961)
• Used liberal and conservative ideas
– Liberal: deficit spending
– Conservative: supply-side economics (tax cuts)
• Congress approved increased spending in the
military and space exploration
JFK Tax Cuts Speech Excerpt
video
JFK & the New Frontier
Lesson #2
USII.28
American Vision Chapter 28, Section 1
How Would JFK Tackle the Cold War?
Almost as soon as he moved into
the White House in 1961,
President John F. Kennedy
instructed his advisers to begin
drafting a new strategy to
safeguard the U.S. role in the
world. The new administration
strongly believed that the United
States should have a wide
variety of military and nonmilitary
responses to communist
provocations. Kennedy
presented to Congress an
outline of a strategy of “flexible
response” in March 1961, and it
was adopted as an official
national security policy of the
United States-unlike Eisenhower,
Kennedy’s tactics had to do with
more conventional/traditional
type of warfare and avoid the
idea of nuclear holocaust
Peace Corps.
Sent young Americans to
help underdeveloped
countries fight poverty
“Vying for dominance of
the heavens to enhance
their competitive
positions on Earth”
Kennedy was determined
that the first men on the
moon would be
Americans
$22 billion to fund Project
Apollo which aimed to
lans Americans on the
moon by the end of the
decade
Space Race
International Efforts
Bay of Pigs - trained and
authorized Cuban exiles
(people kicked out of
country usually by force)
to invade Cuba and take
out Fidel Castro and his
government – ultimate
failure!
Berlin Wall- Kennedy and Khrushcev
met and Kennedy reaffirmed
American involvement in West Berlin
(meaning, the U.S. isn’t leaving), as a
result Khrushcev had the Berlin Wall
built to keep East Berliners from
escaping to the west (because many
did because communism was so bad)
Cuban Missile Crisis - when U.S.
discovered Soviet missiles located in
Cuba, U.S. ordered naval blockade of
Cuban ports. After a week long
standoff, Khrushchev and Kennedy
reached resolution - Cuban missiles
removed and U.S. naval blockade
removed. Also, U.S. had to remove
missiles placed in Turkey
Bay of Pigs Blunder- April
1961
Vienna Summit - June
1961
How would the young JFK handle negotiations
with the tough Nikita Khrushchev?
On August 13, 1961, the Communist government
of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or
East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and
concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or
“antifascist bulwark,” between East and West
Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin
Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from
entering East Germany and undermining the
socialist state, but it primarily served the
objective of stemming mass defections from
East to West. The Berlin Wall stood until
November 9, 1989, when the head of the East
German Communist Party announced that citizens
of the GDR could cross the border whenever
they pleased. That night, ecstatic crowds
swarmed the wall. Some crossed freely into
West Berlin, while others brought hammers and
picks and began to chip away at the wall
itself. To this day, the Berlin Wall remains
one of the most powerful and enduring symbols
of the Cold War.
THE BERLIN WALL
A Giant Wall, Really?
The Wall...
JFK on Berlin Wall
Starter 4/5
• Read the first paragraph on the first
page of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Reading Packet and summarize
what the Cuban Missile Crisis was
in your notes section.
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Brink of Nuclear War
13 DAYS IN OCTOBER
How do you tell
such a story?
Groups?
October 18, 1962
11/22/63
The Death of the President
• On November 22, 1963, Kennedy and his wife were in
Dallas, Texas traveling with Lyndon Johnson in JFK’s
attempt to gain reelection.
• Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK and then two days later,
Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.
• The Warren Commission, led by Chief Justice Earl
Warren, investigated the assassination and released its
report in 1964 that Oswald was the lone assassin.
• Although many conspiracies have been suggested, no
physical evidence has been produced over the last 50
years to disprove the Warren Report.
Kennedy Assassination
Lee Harvey Oswald
Jack Ruby shoots Oswald
Jack Ruby
Conspiracy?
(insert magic bullet and back and to the left clips)
Seinfeld Version
On November 29, 1963, Lyndon Johnson launched a federal
investigation into the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy. Chaired by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl
Warren, the seven-man “Warren Commission” would later
publish an 888-page report alleging that Lee Harvey
Oswald had acted alone in the shooting. The Commission’s
findings have become the touchstone for most research
into the Kennedy Assassination—among other things, they
helped popularized the notorious “single bullet theory”—
but in ensuing years their conclusions have also been
questioned, criticized and even denounced as a government
cover-up.
President Lyndon B. Johnson (19631969)
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During President Johnson's administration communist China became the fifth country to successfully test nuclear
weapons, the U.S. sent troops to the Dominican Republic to restore order after a series of military coups, the 1967
Arab-Israeli war between Israel and its Arab neighbors led to the first use of the “hot line” between the U.S.
president and the Soviet Union, and communist North Korea captured the U.S. naval intelligence ship USS Pueblo,
holding the crew for almost a year under inhumane conditions. When France withdrew its military forces from
NATO, the unified stance of the U.S. and Western Europe appeared imperiled.
It was the Vietnam War that dominated the U.S. fight against communism. President Johnson continued the U.S.
strategy begun by President Truman to provide support and military advisers to help South Vietnam. However, in
August 1964, the Vietnamese conflict escalated when U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin were fired upon. Congress
passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take “all necessary measures” to repel any
armed attack against U.S. forces. Johnson began a bombing campaign against North Vietnam and in July 1965
began sending major U.S. combat forces to support South Vietnam. By the end of Johnson’s administration, troop
levels had risen to over 500,000. In Vietnam, as in the Korean War, the U.S. and Soviet Union never fought directly
with one another. However, President Johnson waged the war in Vietnam believing that the loss of South Vietnam
to communist forces would lead to the rest of Southeast Asia falling to communism. Despite Congressional
support in 1964, by the end of Johnson’s administration, American public opinion and the media generally
opposed the conflict.
President Johnson continued diplomatic talks with the Soviet Union. In 1967, soon after the Six Day War, Johnson
and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin met in Glassboro, New Jersey. Although no agreements were reached, this
meeting helped reassure both parties that the other remained interested in cooperation. In that same year, the
U.S. and the Soviet Union ratified the Outer Space Treaty banning territorial claims in space and the placement of
nuclear weapons on any "celestial body."
Throughout the Johnson Administration, negotiations to limit the spread of nuclear weapons continued. In 1968,
the U.S. and Soviet Union were among the signatories on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
an agreement to avert "the devastation that would be visited upon all mankind by a nuclear war."
LBJ and the Great Society
The Great Society
• Johnson’s goal as president was
to “end poverty in our time”
• He passed a series of acts to
reach the poor and help
Americans fight “war on poverty”
•
His focus was the elderly and
children - specifically the less
fortunate to be able to receive
the same education as someone
in the middle/upper classes
•
He also helped immigrants by passing
legislation that reduced discrimination
based on where immigrants are coming
from and made it easier for immigrant
families to be reunited
•
He also got the Civil Rights Act of 1964
passed that was started by JFK before
his assassination. This act outlawed
discrimination based on race, color,
religion, gender, or national origin. It
ended unequal application of voter
registration, and racial segregation in
schools, the workplace, and facilities in
the general public (restaurants, parks,
etc.)
Task: Use pg. 858 of textbook to fill in
this chart:
Major Great Society Programs
Health and Welfare
Education
The “War on Poverty”
Consumer and Environmental
Protection
Conservative vs. Liberal
• Fill out “Is it a Liberal or Conservative Belief?”
(Before viewing)
Watch Crash Course on Liberal vs. Conservative
Fill out After viewing side
What did you learn?
Why are we learning this?
• Very liberal 1950s and 1960s = economy
failing, liberal riots getting out of control
• Nixon – elected in 1968 promised to support
the “silent majority” that was sick of the
liberal protest movements that was staining
society. Believed there were better ways to fix
society than riots, chaos, and violence
President Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
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President Nixon took office at a time of domestic turmoil over the war in Vietnam. However, Nixon was
determined to remain until guarantees of South Vietnam’s security and the return of U.S. prisoners of war were
secured. A key part of President Nixon’s strategy for achieving what he called “peace with honor” was
“Vietnamization,” a policy of slowly reducing the number of American troops while training the South Vietnamese
to protect themselves. President Nixon continued to withdraw troops and negotiate for peace even as he ordered
controversial U.S. military actions in neighboring Laos and Cambodia in order to cut off North Vietnamese supply
routes. In January 1973, the U.S. reached an agreement with North Vietnam to bring home all U.S. combat forces
and prisoners of war.
The war in Vietnam not only tested the U.S. strategy of containing communism, it forced American policymakers
to think more creatively about how to protect U.S. interests abroad. Using what would become known as “Triangle
Diplomacy,” Nixon encouraged both the Soviet Union and China, competing communist nations, to vie for
American attention. This approach led to a period of reduced tensions with the Soviets, called détente. During this
time the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) in May of 1972, followed by
talks in 1973 and 1974. Nixon also developed a strategic relationship with China, symbolized by President Nixon’s
historic visit in February 1972. It was the first visit by a U.S. president to communist China.
In the developing world, Nixon continued previous presidents’ policies to support democratic countries and to roll
back communism. In Chile, the administration supported efforts to topple communist-leaning President Salvador
Allende, who died during a 1973 military coup. In the Middle East, the U.S. balanced desire for peace in the region
and access to oil with the need to assist Israel, a key ally and democratic bulwark against Soviet influence. Striking
this balance proved especially challenging in October, when a coalition of Soviet-allied Arab states attacked Israel,
starting the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. After providing military assistance to Israel, the Nixon administration
conducted diplomatic talks with all of the parties to reduce tension in the Middle East.
Appeal to the “silent majority”
• Read Nixon’s Silent Majority Speech
• What is he promising to do?
• Who are the silent majority?
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)
President Nixon and the
Environment
• President Nixon and Congress
created the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) because
they wanted one group in charge.
Before the EPA, responsibility for
protecting the environment was
spread over many different
agencies, which often did not
cooperate. President Nixon
believed that if one agency took
the lead in going green, the
federal government would do a
better job of cleaning up our
water and our air
Watergate Scandal
• During Nixon’s re-election
campaign, men tied to his
campaign were arrested for
breaking and entering into the
Democratic National
Committee in the Watergate
building in D.C. They were
caught attempting to wire
phones and steal secret
documents. This got traced
back to Nixon who supposedly
knew about it and he resigned
from office as a result.
• Result: created more
cynicism and distrust
towards government
Do you remember what else we
learned about this year that began
the distrust in government??
President Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
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The Vietnam War ended in April of 1975 when Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to
communist North Vietnam. However, tensions in Southeast Asia continued. A month after the U.S.
withdrew from Vietnam, Cambodian communist troops seized the U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez.
President Gerald Ford ordered a raid to recapture the ship and its crew members. It was the last
time that U.S. forces would engage in combat in Southeast Asia.
On December 22, 1974, the New York Times published an article exposing the CIA’s illegal domestic
activities, including spying on Americans. As a result, the media and the public became increasingly
concerned about the covert activities and surveillance practices of U.S. intelligence agencies. Ford
appointed a presidential commission to investigate CIA activities within the U.S., and both houses
of Congress created the Church and Pike Committees to investigate all intelligence activities.
Ford continued Nixon’s strategy of détente. The U.S. and the Soviet Union conducted a joint space
mission and linked the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts. In November 1974, Ford traveled to the Soviet
Union to continue negotiations on the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II). Ford also traveled to
China to continue the process of opening Chinese-American relations.
On August 1, 1975, thirty five states, including the U.S. and the Soviet Union, signed the Helsinki
Accords. The agreement finally settled European boundaries after World War II and affirmed “the
universal significance of respect for and effective exercise of equal rights and self-determination of
peoples.”
President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
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In 1979, President Jimmy Carter completed negotiations for nuclear arms reduction by signing the
second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) with the Soviet Union. However, ratification of the
treaty stalled after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Wary of Soviet
interests in neighboring Iran and the Persian Gulf, President Carter began covert support of the
Afghans resisting the Soviet troops, ordered a number of trade sanctions against the Soviet Union,
and organized a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. In his 1980 State of the Union
Address, President Carter outlined what became known as the Carter Doctrine: “An attempt by any
outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital
interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means
necessary, including military force."
Despite deteriorating relations with the Soviet Union and the growth of communist influence in the
Middle East, Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Carter improved the U.S. image around the
world. He negotiated a treaty with Panama to return the Canal Zone and the canal to Panamanian
control and brokered a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that ended 30 years of conflict.
The U.S. and communist China established full diplomatic relations in 1979, and, after the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan, Carter began military cooperation with the Chinese. China had become
more wary of the neighboring Soviet Union than of the distant U.S.
President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
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President Ronald Reagan, 1981 - 1989
Referring to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire,” President Reagan ended the period of détente. He
proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative, “Star Wars,” a system that would make the U.S.
invulnerable to nuclear missile attacks. Reagan reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to contain
communism, and instituted a policy to roll back Soviet influence. While speaking at the Berlin Wall
in June of 1987, Reagan challenged the Soviet Premier, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Reagan provided both covert and overt aid to anti-communist movements around the world. In
Europe, the Polish trade union became the anti-communist political party, “Solidarity,” and received
funding and support from the U.S. In Latin America, the administration provided aid to Contra
rebels fighting the communist Nicaraguan government and to the anti-communist El Salvadoran
government to help fight opposing guerrilla groups. In the Caribbean, President Reagan sent the
marines to Grenada to take back the island from hard-line communists with ties to Cuba.
Relations with the Soviet Union, however, turned once again to cooperation when Mikhail
Gorbachev became Soviet Premier in 1985. Gorbachev decided to improve the Soviet economy by
withdrawing Soviet forces from Afghanistan, requiring Eastern European nations to support
themselves, and improving relations with the U.S. Reagan and Gorbachev met four times in four
years, eventually signing the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987, which called for a
reduction in nuclear arsenals in both countries.
President George H.W. Bush (19891993)
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President George H. W. Bush, 1989 - 1993
President George H. W. Bush continued U.S. cooperation with the Soviet Union as Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev continued restructuring the Soviet political and economic system. To that end,
President Bush met with Gorbachev at Malta in December 1989 and the two men agreed to work
closely to resolve the outstanding differences between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Their warm personal relationship played an important role in the largely peaceful transition of
Eastern Europe away from communist rule.
On November 9, 1989, East Germany began to allow East Berliners to cross into West Berlin.
Berliners on both sides tore away the wall. A pivotal moment, this was the beginning of the end of
the Cold War.
While President Bush and the American public celebrated the fall of communism in Eastern Europe,
official U.S. reaction remained muted for fear of damaging the U.S.-Soviet relationship, or
provoking a Soviet response. To secure a smooth transition to democracy, President Bush
supported the reunification of Germany in 1990 and its acceptance into NATO. He urged Congress
to provide economic assistance to Poland, Hungary, and other Eastern European countries.
When the Russian states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia declared their independence from the
Soviet Union, it became clear that the Soviet government was falling. In 1991, a failed military coup
seeking to roll back Gorbachev’s democratic reforms destabilized the Soviet political structure,
ultimately resulting in the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of democratic
activist Boris Yeltsin as the Russian president. Yeltsin moved quickly to transform the former Soviet
economy from socialist to capitalist. Although no final treaty marked the occasion, the Cold War
was over.
In Retrospect
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For more than forty years and through a series of crises,
America's Cold War presidents protected the U.S. from
Soviet threat without starting a third World War. While the
U.S. and the Soviet Union came to the brink of war several
times, diplomacy prevented a nuclear holocaust. For the
U.S., the Cold War came at a price: many lives were lost in
Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere around the globe,
Americans' civil liberties were threatened from within, and
the economic cost of war, the nuclear arms race and the
space race was staggering. Through a combination of
military and diplomatic policies, of cooperation and
antagonism, the presidents used every tool at their disposal
to ensure that the U.S. persevered.
Resources
• http://www.presidentialtimeline.org/#/exhibit
/71/01
• https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/researc
h/online_documents/sputnik.html
• https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/researc
h/online_documents/sputnik/Reaction.pdf