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The Cold War The Cold War Begins • 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 • • • • • • • 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 • • • • 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) • • • • • 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) • • • • • • • 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) • • • • 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) • • • 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) • • • • 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) • • • 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) • • • • 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) • • • • • 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 • 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