Post-Mccarthy Tensions During The Cold War

The Space Race exacerbated the tense relationship between the USA and USSR from 1957 to 1969 because the advancements made in Space technology were used as a means to indicate political and ideological superiority. (Garcia & Lusigan, 2005). The yet-to-be-discovered Space became the perfect arena in which each ideological system, namely Capitalism

In 1969, the Apollo 11 launch happened and became something rightfully important to the United States. It was the talk of every news stations and newspapers. These two men, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had risked their lives to do something the whole world had not done before. They became the first men to walk the moon and this became something historical. After walking the moon, they placed the American flag on it too, and to this day it is still there.

When Apollo 11 landed on the moon, America surprised the world greatly. While the Soviet Union had sent a man into space before, no man had actually walked on the moon. In the race for space, America and the USSR vied to prove their selves superior by exploring space. Apollo 11’s successful landing placed America

During the Cold War, the United States was deeply enthralled in fears of a Communist takeover. The Cold War, a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States, lasted from 1945 to 1990. As the Cold War progressed spies and individuals of the communist party were uncovered and put on trial. Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator, took advantage of the United States fear of communists by making up false evidence and accusations against innocent people. Americans feared that there were roots of Communism throughout communities in the United States, and more specifically, in the government. In February of 1950, McCarthy made a radical statement announcing he possessed a list of 205 government officials that were involved in the communist party. This sparked the beginning of the McCarthy era. Because this list was made up, McCarthy had to keep his lie going to maintain spotlight attention from the media and its millions of viewers. His false accusations led to tension and outbreak among numerous communities in the United States. McCarthy generated the Red Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist, these two events ruined thousands of innocent peoples lives. Joseph McCarthy was driven by the need for power and, briefly, accomplished his goal through the use of fear and accusatory tactics.

The Cold War was an all-encompassing face of the 20th century, world politics, and a major idea during this time was domination of the skies. The United States competed against The Soviet Union in a war unlike any other, they didn’t fight with guns, bombs, or war machines but with science and the battlefield was space. The prioritization of the space race on the national agenda was characterized by an urgency, which underscored the commitment to the U.S. to defeat the Soviet Union by all means necessary. This came at the cost of billions of dollars, resources, lives, and political forces.

The Space Race is a pivotal part of the Cold War’s history. During the ending of World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated a military, political, and technological supremacy battle. There was no physical fighting, instead both superpowers competed through space exploration. Between 1957-1969 the United States and the Soviet Union battled to overcome and take control over space which led to tensions alleviating in the 1970’s causing the pressure and necessity to decrease resulting in both superpowers collaborating in many tasks. Many of the technology that dealt with space exploration began with military affiliations. The

Fear was a large part of this as a fear of world domination by communists or nuclear holocaust, especially because the Soviet Union exploded its first A-Bomb in 1949 and China became communist.

On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins began their journey towards the moon’s surface in the Apollo 11 operation. By July 19, the men entered the lunar orbit. July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin descended towards the moon on the lunar module, the Eagle, while Collins remained in the command module (“The Space Race”). On this day, Armstrong “became the first man to walk on the moon’s surface; he famously called the moment ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’” (“The Space Race”). After docking and rejoining Collins, Apollo 11 successfully returned home. Russia was unable to match this feat, as they failed four lunar landing attempts between the years 1969 and 1972 (“The Space Race”). The U.S. had officially won the space race.

Neil Armstrong wasn't the only human on that mission, the mission had three men Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were on the actual spacecraft that landed on the moon and Michael Collins was on the orbiter, it orbited the moon for 1 day until Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin joined Collins. After Apollo 11 the Soviets tried to come back so they launched 4 mission to land on the moon between 1969 to 1972. Unfortunately, for the Soviets all four of their missions failed dramatically even a launch-pad exploded in 1969. The American astronauts were seen as ultimate American heroes by many U.S citizens because of their victory in the Space Race against the Soviet Union.

It was on July 20, 1969 that Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon, and said his most famous words, "That 's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." 45 years later NASA calls the Apollo 11 missions one of the crowning achievements of the 20th century. Started after President Kennedy’s speech to send a man to the moon, NASA had to play catch up in order to beat the Soviet Union and become the first country to land a man on the moon.

The Cold War was a new conflict that began to rise after the horrific and globally destructive World War II in the mid-20th century between two powerful countries, the democratic United States of America and the communist government of the Soviet Union. Both countries highlighted its superiority through a thriving threat of nuclear weapons and wide-ranging espionage and counter-espionage between the two countries. In the 1950’s, space became the platform for the competition of supremacy to validate each country’s dominance in innovative technology, military firepower, and political-economic system. Space was seen by David Beers, in the book Blue Sky Dream: A memoir of America’s Fall from Grace, as the next frontier which was a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration. The rise of the aerospace industry became the icon of national reputation and a dream for the blue sky tribe, who benefitted from the space race, which then later on led to disappointment and betrayal in the 1990s.

This was it, America's chance to win the space race. The Apollo Lunar Program was then formed. On December 21, 1968 Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders began the first manned journey from the earth to the moon on the Apollo 8. They orbited the moon and returned safely. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, and said the iconic words "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" and placed the American flag on the moon. The Soviet union canceled their lunar program, and the space race was over.

In 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and

Kennedy announced that before the end of the 1960s. America would land a man on the Moon a few weeks after Shepard’s flight into space. Then, on December 24, 1968, the US’s Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon, and on July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and Air Force Colonel Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the Moon when their Lunar Excursion Module undocked from the Apollo 11 spacecraft and landed on the Moon (Robinson). The monumental achievement was broadcasted on televisions across the world where about 1/5 of the earth watched Neil Armstrong take the first step and hear his famous line: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” on the Moon (Aldrin). This was the moment when America won the space race. The space race created fear in America, with the launch of Sputnik I Americans believed that the Russians would be able to launch nuclear missiles and spy on them from space (“Space Race”). However, when America’s Apollo 11 was the first to land on the moon, it symbolized that a capitalist society could triumph over communist rule (History.com

July 16th, 1969. It’s a peaceful morning at Cape Canaveral with pleasant temperatures and little wind. All is calm. Suddenly, a tremendous roar shatters the morning as the crew of Apollo 11 blast off toward the moon, riding the biggest rocket ever created. Burning 20 tons of explosive fuel a second, it propels Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins into history. The spacecraft lands four days later on the moon. Millions watched as men took the first steps on a strange place 238,900 miles away, or 9 and ½ times around the earth. After placing America’s flag among the lunar rocks, the Apollo 11 crew lit their engines and headed for the small blue sphere we call home, splashing down safely in the ocean and completing Kennedy’s