1. Two Nations Live on the Edge:

2. Brinkmanship Rules U.S. Policy:
• The fear of nuclear attack
was a direct result of the
Cold War
• After the Soviet Union
developed its atomic bomb
(1949) the two
superpowers embarked on
an arms race
• Race for the H-Bomb pitted
U.S. scientists against
Soviet scientists (H-Bombs
were 67 times more
powerful than atomic) Mushroom cloud from the Soviet 50-
megaton Tsar Bomba, the largest weapon
ever detonated (1961)
Operation
Castle
thermonuclear
test, Castle
Romeo shot

3. Brinkmanship Rules U.S. Policy:
• The U.S. won the race on November 1, 1952,
the Soviets exploded their first H-bomb less
than a year later
• The policy of brinkmanship was developed by
the administration of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower
• This policy required the willingness of the U.S.
to go to the edge of an all-out-war (use of
nuclear weapons)

4. Duck and Cover
• Under this policy the U.S.
trimmed its army and navy
and expanded its air force
and its nuclear weapons
• Americans were under the
threat of a nuclear attack
(schoolchildren practiced
air-raid drills, some families
built underground fallout
shelters)
• Federal Civil Defense
Administration (FCDA)
Duck & Cover movie
poster

5. The Cold War Spreads Around the
World: CIA
• The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
began carrying out covert operations to
weaken or overthrow governments
unfriendly to the U.S.
• CIA helped to overthrow the Iranian
government led by Prime Minister
Mohammed Mossadegh (he was
unpopular to the West because he
proposed to nationalize Iran’s oil fields)
• In 1953, the CIA gave several million
dollars to pro-American Shah of Iran
• The Shah returned to power and turned
over control of Iranian oil fields to
Western companies

6. The Cold War Spreads Around the
World: CIA
• In 1954, the CIA also took covert
actions in Guatemala
• The CIA believed that the
Guatemalan government was
sympathetic to Communists
because of an exchange of land
(200,000 acres) from American-
owned to Guatemalan peasants
• The CIA trained an army which
invaded Guatemala and removed
the government (a military
leader became Guatemala’s
dictator)
Col. Carlos Castillo Armas
speaks from the National
Palace after the coup.

7. The Warsaw Pact:
• After the death of Joseph
Stalin in 1953 the Cold war
thawed temporarily
1. Soviets recognized West
Germany
2. Soviets concluded peace
treaties with Japan and Austria
• By 1955, West Germany was
rearming and became a
member of NATO
• Soviet Union was growing
fearful; they established the
Warsaw Pact which linked
seven Eastern European
nations to the Soviet Union
The Cold War (1945–90): NATO
vs. the Warsaw Pact, the status of
forces in 1973

8. The Suez War:
• In 1955 the U.S., France, and
Great Britain agreed to help Egypt
finance construction of a dam at
Aswan on the Nile River
• Gamel Abdel-Nasser, Egypt’s head
of government sensed he could
play the U.S. and Russia in a bid to
get more aid
• After Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles found out about
negotiations between Egypt and
the Soviet Union the United States
withdrew their offer of a loan

9. The Suez War:
• Angered, Nasser nationalized the
Suez Canal cutting off trade for Great
Britain, France, and Israel
• The three countries seized the
Mediterranean end of the canal
rather quickly
• The UN stepped in and forced Great
Britain, France, and Israel to
withdraw-Egypt maintained control
of the canal
• After the crisis in the Middle East,
the United States issued what would
become known as the Eisenhower
Doctrine: the U.S. would defend any
Middle eastern countries from the
aggression of a communist nation
Nasser returns to cheering
crowds in Cairo after
announcing the nationalization
of the Suez Canal Company,
August 1956

10. The Eisenhower Doctrine:
• The Soviet Union’s prestige in the Middle East
rose because of its support for Egypt
• To counter this development Eisenhower
issued a warning in January 1957
• This warning said that the United States would
defend the Middle East against an attack by
any communist nation

11. The Hungarian Uprisings:
• The Soviet Union after World
War II dominated Hungary
• Imre Nagy, a popular liberal
Hungarian Communist leader
formed a new government
• He called for free elections,
denounced the Warsaw Pact,
and demanded that all Soviet
troops leave Hungary
Time's "Man of the
Year" for 1956 was the
Hungarian Freedom
Fighter.

12. The Hungarian Uprisings:
• The Soviet response was swift-
tanks rolled into Hungary and
put down the revolt
• An estimated 30,000
Hungarians were killed and
Nagy was executed
• The United States and the
U.N. did nothing (Truman
Doctrine failed and the Soviets
vetoed any U.N. resolutions
that condemned actions by
the Soviets)
Hungarians gather around the
head of the toppled Stalin
Monument in Budapest

13. The Cold War Takes to the Skies:
• After Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita
Khrushchev gained power and believed that
communism could prevail peacefully by
competing with the United States
scientifically and economically
• The space race was a key area of
competition for the Soviets and the
Americans
• The Soviets struck first by launching Sputnik
(a satellite) October 4, 1957; Americans
were shocked
• Less than a year later after a humiliating
launch that blew up, the United States
finally launched their first satellite into orbit

14. U-2 Downed Over Russian Territory
• U-2 spy planes had been flying
over Soviet territory since 1957,
and the Soviets had been aware
of these flights starting in 1958
• A U-2 plane, piloted by Francis
Gary Powers, was shot down in
1960
• The U-2 incident caused tension
between the U.S. and Soviets