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Part 2
The Americans were shocked and very worried about China becoming Communist because it meant that America's policy of containment had failed. The public thought we should’ve done more and accused that the American gov’t had Communist agents. This event contributed to the fear of communism burning out of control. -
Chinese Revolution
It was between the Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong and Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek. The U.S. sent Nationalists about 3 billion in aid and favored them. The Communists were able to get more support from the peasants. Between 1944 and 1947 US tried but failed to negotiate peace between the two groups. In May 1949, the Communists took over China and Chiang and his nationalists fled to Taiwan -
Korean War
Communist North Korean troops invaded Democratic South Korea.Truman ordered naval and air support for South Korea. 16 nations sent 520000 troops to assist South Korea, mostly American. Soviet Union suggested a cease-fire on June 23rd, 1951. July 1953 two sides signed an armistice ending the war. The war technically was a stalemate. Increased fear of Communist aggression and prompted a hunt for spies on whom to blame for the Communist gains. -
Part 2
In 1968 Czechoslovakia replaced their communist leader with Alexander Dubcek who pushed for socialist reforms. On August 20th, 1968, troops from Russia and the Eastern Bloc ccupied Czechoslovakia. On April 17th 1969 Dubcek was replaced This caused the economy to be stagnated in Czechoslovakia. The U.S. condemened these invasions and while the U.S. didn't directly respond with action, it increased tensions betweent the two countries and delayed the progress they had been making towards peace. -
Uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
In October 1956 students and workers tried to force the more repressive leaders out of office. After Soviet army was forced to leave, Hungarians wanted other freedoms such as right to leave the Warsaw Pact. In November 1956, Soviet tanks killed about 30000 Hungarian protesters. The U.S. sent no military aid but sent 20 million for food and medicine and allowed more refugees to enter the U.S. -
Sputnik launched/ Space Race
On October 4th 1957 Soviets used an ICBM (Intercontinental ballistic missile) to push first unmanned artificial satellite in space. This success made many Americans feel inferior to Soviets and vulnerable to nuclear attack. Sputnik caused the U.S. to make changes to their educational system and U.S. scientists worked frantically to catch up to the Soviets. The first attempt at an American Satellite was a failure. On Jan. 31st, 1958, the U.S. successfully launched its first satellite. -
U-2 Spy Plane Shot Down
Soviets had known about the spy flights since 1958. On May 1st, 1960, a U-2 plane was shot down over Russia, pilot being Francis Gary Powers. The U.S. issued a false story about it having disappeared on a weather mission. Soviets released a cover up story making their missile defenses seem more advanced than they were. Khrushchev said Powers had been captured alive and confessed to his activities. -
Part 2
Impact:
This majorly increased tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets and diminished the possibilities for peace at the upcoming Summit Conference. Khrushchev used the beginning of the summit conference to denounce the U.S. and then left. The U-2 had put an end to Eisenhower’s effectiveness as a peacemaker. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
On August 13, 1961, the East German troops began building a wall dividing East and West Berlin. East Berlin was controlled by Communist Russia and West by Democratic Allies. The wall tore families apart became an ugly symbol of Communist oppression. The barrier temperarily ended the Berlin crisis but further aggravated Cold war tensions. -
Cuban Missile Crises
The Soviets sent weapons to Cuba in summer of 1962, including nuclear missiles. Kennedy first responded with a warning. On October 14th we found out Soviets were building missile bases on Cuba and some contained missiles ready to launch. Khrushchev offered to remove missiles in return for American pledge not to invade Cuba, and Kennedy agreed. -
Part 2
This “backing down” damaged Khrushchev’s prestige in the USSR and world, and Kennedy was criticized as well. The impact of this was that many Cuban exiles blamed Democrats for “losing Cuba”, causing them to switch parties. Also in November 1962 Castro banned all flights to and from Miami, reopened them in 1965, and then sharply cut down on exit permits in 1973. This was the height of U.S.-Soviet tensions during the Cold War. -
Russia Invades Afghanistan
Russia invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979. Carter used Kremlin hot-line and said it was a gross invasion of internal affairs of Afghanistan. As a result of the invasion, Carter refused to fight for the SALT II agreement (agreement providing limits on the number of strategic weapons and nuclear-missile launchers each side could have) and the treaty died.
