Trading CArds- The Vietnam War
THE RED SCARE AND MCCARTHYISM
Americans began to panic and fear any activities of communists or communism in the United States.
- As the Cold War intensified between the Soviet Union and the United States, in the late 1940's and early 1950's, hysteria over the threat posed by Communists became apparent.
- Communists in the U.S. were referred to as "Reds" for allegiance to the red Soviet flag
- Federal employees were analyze to make sure they were sufficiently loyal to the U.S government, and subversive elements in government as well as the Hollywood industry were investigated
- The most enduring symbol of the red scare was Joseph P. McCarthy of Wisconsin, who spent almost five years trying to expose communists and other "loyalty risks in the U.S. government.
- In this suspicious atmosphere, many Americans were convinced the government was packed with traitors and spies
Americans began to panic and fear any activities of communists or communism in the United States.
BRINKSMANSHIP
Both countries were trying to prove themselves to be better than the other.
- Brinksmanship is the practice of dangerous events to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome, which is what happened in the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union
- The threat of nuclear force was used as an escalating measure, this was a very dangerous thing for the countries to be doing because they never really knew how much power the other one actually had
Both countries were trying to prove themselves to be better than the other.
THE DOMINO THEORY
- The domino theory governed most of U.S. foreign policy beginning in the early 1950's and believed that a communist victory in one nation would quickly lead to a chain reaction of communist takeovers in neighboring states.
- In Southeast Asia the theory was used to justify its support of a non-communist regime in South Vietnam against the communist government of North Vietnam and its involvement in the Vietnam war
U-2 PLANE INCIDENT
- While conducting espionage over the Soviet Union, a U.S. Plane is shot down and the incident derailed an important meeting between President Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was scheduled for later that month
- The plane had state of the art photography equipment and was a sophisticated technological marvel
- On May 1, 1960, a U-2 flight piloted by Francis Gary Powers disappeared while on a flight over Russia
- Khrushchev pulled off one of the most dramatic moments of the Cold War by producing not only the mostly-intact wreckage of the U-2, but also the captured pilot-very much alive. Eisenhower had to publicly admit that it was a U.S. spy plane.
THE BERLIN WALL
HOW DID THIS INCREASE TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES OF THE COLD WAR?
By 1961, Cold War tensions over Berlin were running high again. For East Germans dissatisfied with life under the communist system, West Berlin was a gateway to the democratic West.
- After WWII, Germany was divided between the east and the West
- The capital of Berlin was also divided into East and West Berlin, German authorities sealed off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, and then built the Berlin wall to permanently cut off access to the West
- For the next 28 years it stood, dividing Europe physically with an "Iron Curtain"
HOW DID THIS INCREASE TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES OF THE COLD WAR?
By 1961, Cold War tensions over Berlin were running high again. For East Germans dissatisfied with life under the communist system, West Berlin was a gateway to the democratic West.
THE BAY OF PIGS INVASION
- A CIA trained group of Cuban refugees landed in Cuba and attempted to topple the communist government of Fidel Castro, resulting in an utter failure
- Castro’s attacks on U.S. companies and interests in Cuba, his inflammatory anti-American means, and Cuba’s movement toward a closer relationship with the Soviet Union led U.S. officials to conclude that the Cuban leader was a threat to U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.
- Even though the attack had a little chance of success, Kennedy went for it
- Over 100 of the attackers were killed, and more than 1,100 were captured.
CUBAN MISSLE CRISIS
- In a televised speech, President Kennedy announced that U.S. spy planes had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
- These missile sites, that were under construction but nearing completion, housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C. Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval quarantine of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more weapons to the island and explained that the United States wouldn't tolerate the existence of the missile sites currently in place
- Soviets transmitted a proposal for ending the crisis: The missile bases would be removed in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.