The Eisenhower Administration And Sputnik

The filmmakers’ main ideas are that the government misled and lied to the people of the U.S. so that they would believe that the atomic bomb would have no effect on their health and security, that we should question if the government should have lied to the American people, and to make us question whether or not the citizens of the U.S. would continue to be as naive as the people of the 1950’s.

Due to the threat of nuclear bombs, schools had to create drills that made people feel they have some kind of safety. The safety drills really didn’t do anything considering the fact that a nuclear bomb can turn buildings into ash in under a second. Most of the time the children would just hide under their desks

It promotes posturing; encourages speculation; and creates hysteria. This theme permeated American politics and popular culture during the McCarthy era of the 1950s. As WWII ended, nations began to polarize. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the leading economic and military states, and began competing for influence throughout the countries they now occupied upon liberation from Germany and Japan. Under the banner of their own brand of idealism, they individually sought geopolitical control and economic benefit. As the stakes increased, competition between the two powers spread to the atomic arena and the exploration of space. The result for the next 45 years is a saga of fear not only of the other side,

From 1890-1990, America as a nation experienced constant, dynamic forces from a multiplicity of men and women. When one recalls these people, impactful Americans such as FDR, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and many others come to mind. However, rarely does one look outside the country for people who created a lasting impact, although certain foreigners molded America during their lives. This particularly applies in the case of Nikita Khrushchev, as despite his status as the leader of another nation, he exerted the greatest influence on America during the time period. Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953-1964 and the Soviet Premier from 1958-1964, rose to power in the chaos after Stalin’s death. During his time as leader, Khrushchev took part in many events that defined the climate of the Cold War. In the Berlin Crisis, where a significant number of people were leaving East Berlin for West Berlin, Khrushchev played a key role by demanding Kennedy attend a meeting to discuss the problem, and subsequently disrespecting the young president. Later on, in the Cuban Missile Crisis, where an American U-2 Spy Plane discovered offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, Khrushchev further complicated the dire situation through his refusal to remove the weaponry. Beyond direct conflicts, Khrushchev sponsored the growth of the U.S.S.R.’s space program, leading to the launch of Sputnik I, and furthering the tense relationship between the Soviet

Even though the United States emerged as a clear victor of World War I, many Americans after the war felt that their involvement in the conflict had been a mistake (Markus Schoof, “The American Experience During World War II,” slide 3). This belief, however, did not deter the country from engaging in many other international affairs in the future, most importantly the WWII and the Cold War. Right from the Manifest Destiny, which led to expand its empire at home and abroad, to the World War I, the country had come a long way from being somewhat a lonely-land to a global superpower of the 20th century. Its influence in the international arena grew unprecedently after its commitment to the World War II, and like they say, the rest is history. If the WWII was a resounding success to the American legacy, what followed, the Cold War, put many implications on the American diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and to the world. Although the rising Fascism in Europe and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor drove the U.S. to enter the WWII, historians over the years have laid equal blames on both nations for starting the Cold War. These two events helped in shaping up many domestic and foreign policies for the U.S.

As a result of the expanding threat of the Soviet Union, or its Communist ideals, America took a stand that lead to the Cold War. Although the war did not involve fighting directly with Russia, it still affected American society and domestic policy. The war affected America so much that it lead to a fear of livelihood; precisely when Joseph McCarthy began his "witch hunt". The Cold War lead to an enlarged fear of nuclear war; as well, it affected many of the domestic policies. The Cold War affected domestic policy in two different ways, both socially and economically. Socially, the intensive indoctrination of the American people led to a regression of social reforms. Economically, enormous growth spurred by industries related to the war was aided by heavy government expansion. However, New Deal economics felt the greatest impact of the Cold War. Economically speaking, the Soviets and the Americans, we as different during the Cold War as they were politically. The Americans advocated free market capitalism while the Soviets promoted communism. Both sides touted benefits of their system and deficiencies of the other while claiming greater freedom for their citizens. For the Americans, this meant championing the innovation and affluence that capitalism brought; while correlating communism with oppression. The civilian population in American was encouraged to build personal bomb shelters in the 1950s. This

After the USSR launched Sputnik 1, man Americans were frightened by what they would do next. “...(the launch of Sputnik) showed clearly that the United States was no longer safe behind it’s ocean barriers.” (Document A) America had long relied on the oceans to keep European and Asian powers at bay, however, when the Soviets entered and took control of space, the US was surrounded and the Soviets could bomb them from any location. The US wanted to regain control of the situation so the Vanguard, a rocket with a more advanced satellite than anything seen before, was set to be launched on live television (Document F) The rocket fired but it fell back down, collapsed, and exploded for the world to watch. Americans were humiliated by this disaster, however they knew they must continue to fight communism, which meant beating them in the Space Race. During this time Americans became extremely anti-soviet and anti-communist, which continued long after this and still exists

After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle involved the two world’s greatest powers the democratic and capitalist United States against the communist Soviet Union. Beginning later in the 1950s, space would eventually become another very dramatic arena for competition between the U.S and U.S.S.R, each side looked to prove the superiority of their own technology, along with its military firepower and of course their political-economic systems. Sputnik, name of the first of several artificial satellites launched by the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1961. Successfully launched and entered Earth 's orbit. Thus, beginning the space age. The successful launch shocked the

Characterized by the ideological divergence of Communism and Capitalism as well as the intense economic rivalry when World War II came to an end, the political tension between the only two world’s superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, was inevitable. While both of these two nations were motivated by the ambition to expand their worldwide influence, Soviet Union carries more responsibility for instigating the Cold War and exacerbating its discord with United States. While critics argued that America initiated the war by carrying out the Marshall plan when there was no solid evidence about the threat of Communism posed on the United States, it is unassailable that Soviet’s aggression and expansionism prior to the Cold War led to America’s mindset about the nature and potential danger of Communism. The Telegram from Moscow clarified the

Although the Soviet Union and the United States fought together during World War II against the Axis Powers, the relationship between the two grew bitter going into the 1950’s Cold War. The Cold War left a dominant impact on the U.S. and American living throughout the 20th century. The fall out between the U.S. and the Soviet Union created various issues that United States dealt with (Suddath). The United States was a capitalistic country, while the Soviet Union, also known as the USSR, was lead by a strong communist influence. The expansion of Soviets into Eastern Europe fueled most of the fear the U.S. had of Russia, that they would attempt to influence many more countries.

He also signed public law 627 which agreed to put a 40,000-mile network of roads which would connect 209 out of 237 cities with a population of at least 50,000 and served as the country’s top defense and industrial places (document 4). Eisenhower agreed to this Interstate highway system to increase defense across the country in case of war. After the Soviet Union released Sputnik, a satellite, the US people feared that it was a weapon of mass destruction. Eisenhower tried to combat this fear by increasing attention to science and engineering in education to get into the space race and fight against the Soviet Union. Eisenhower tried to ease fears in addition to these policies by creating an “open skies” policy. This meant both the US and the Soviet Union could perform air inspection on each other’s military installations. The Soviet Union rejected this plan, and Eisenhower sent U-2 planes to spy on the Soviet Union’s military installations. The Soviet Union then

The Cold War propelled the United States of America into a seat of previously unattained power in the world . American citizens spearheaded the push toward advancement in their search for the epitome of happiness: the “American Dream”. Post-war paranoia was driven by the supposed threat of the spread of communism, which Americans feared could interfere with the freedoms and liberties the founding fathers fought to achieve. This paranoia eventually controlled the thoughts and actions of citizens everywhere. The Second Red Scare spread across America like a virus, leaving a trail of dread and despair in its wake. The fear of the growing communist regime, a lack of trust between citizens and the government, and a zealous streak of American pride drove the U.S. toward internal conflict and potential devastation.

The United States was one of the two contestants in the space race. Who was the other one you might ask? The Soviet Union, now known as Russia. The space race was a competition to be the leading country in space travel. It sprouted when The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space, Sputnik I. This race is what sprouted NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). This program uncovers the mysteries of space and sends people, satellites, and equipment to space. The Cold War was a fight for power between the Soviet Union and the U.S that lasted from 1947 to 1991. The Soviet Union and the U.S were superpowers, or nations with the most power. These two link two each other because being ahead in space travel would show who is more advanced in technology at that point in time.

The first use of nuclear weaponry in warfare occurred on the morning of August 6, 1945 when the United States dropped the atomic bomb known as “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. The result was devastating, demonstrating the true power of nuclear warfare. Since the incident, the world has been left fearing the possible calamity of another nuclear war. Joseph Siracusa’s Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction explains aspects of nuclear weaponry from simply what a nuclear weapon is, to the growing fear from nuclear warfare advancements in an age of terrorism. The book furthered my education on nuclear weapons and the effect they place on society, physically and mentally.

Prior to the late 1970s, psychologists generally ignored the impact that nuclear mutually-assured destruction was having on the minds of U.S. citizens (reviewed by Wagner, 1985). However, the Three Mile Island accident, failure to ratify the SALT II treaty, and Hollywood depictions of what can go wrong, fed the public imagination and psychologists began to pay attention to the long-term effects of living with the threat of immediate nuclear annihilation.