United States And The Soviet Union

On October 4th, 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first ever satellite, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik sent the United States into a frenzy, beginning the Space Race, and the innovation of technology as a whole. The Space Race most importantly had a major impact on the evolution of the United States’s defense technologies through the launch of Sputnik. The Space Race sparked the United States battle for technological superiority against the USSR, and lead to improvizations in their satellite and satellite defense technologies.

In addition to initiating a space race between the two current superpowers, the Sputnik spacecraft launch also had alarming military implications. The Sputnik satellites used intercontinental ballistic missiles that were initially used for their thrust capabilities but could theatrically be capable of flying from the Soviet Union to United States military targets in less than an hour—cutting the flight time to a fraction of a conventional bomber aircraft. In response to the launch of Sputnik, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The act created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . To prevent the rise of Soviet dominance in military matters, Eisenhower also established the Advanced Research Projects Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense. This was symbolic of a serious revelation of the standing of the scientific and technological capabilities of America in comparison to other countries, and also led to President Eisenhower issuing a proclamation to increase funding for education in America in science and engineering to combat this widening deficit. The quick Soviet lead in the newly emerging space race caused much panic, which shaped American foreign policy for the following decade(Document E). An example is avoiding “an all-out war with China” for fear of having to combat communism on two fronts.(Document

John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, reported in June 1954 that the possible spread of communism into South America could be absolutely detrimental and devastating to the United States (Doc B). Though Dulles is rallying the American people to the cause of containment, he is also making them realize that the expansion of communism is right at their footsteps, intensifying fears in the long run. And while increased defense spending and better protection may cause Americans to feel safer, the new modernized era of intercontinental ballistic missiles would change the face of foreign policy, homeland security, and national safety forever. A 1958 Washington Post cartoon ridiculing the grand commitment to missile programs during the Cold War brings to light the public and governmental “hysteria” pertaining the looming missile race (Doc F). The cartoon emphasizes on the lack of government focus on other things like welfare programs, civilian services, and space development, which can be linked to the launching of the Sputnik satellite in 1957. When Eisenhower left office and John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, Kennedy gave a tantamount inaugural address in which he underscored the new missile race and missile program focus that the United States had taken on in the previous

After the ravages of World War II, the United States experienced a long period of economic boom, thanks to industrial weapons work and to the low price of oil. At the same time, under this nationwide economic prosperity, Americans felt increasing fear in the looming shadow of the communist Soviet Union. The US seemed to be in a spiral. Sputnik’s successful launch increased tensions that had been building since the aftermath of World War II; while President Eisenhower and his administration instituted numerous measures to calm down the hysteria that pervaded the US, these attempts had no real effect on de-escalating tensions felt between both sides.

During the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American people were frightened of the thought of the Cold War due to the fear of Communism. With the rising threat from the Red Scare many Americans condemned Communist, identifying spies in unjust ways. The government took to finding the spies a step too far, violating civil liberties. The American people, fearing the spread of communism, wished to eliminate the threat by decreasing the establishment of communist uprisings. With the formation of the iron curtain, the Soviet Union created a rift, expanding their communist beliefs.

Well before Russia thought about launching Sputnik into space, there had been quite a bit of tension between America and the Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies in World War II, but they had a very tense relationship with one another. Americans were leery with the communist government that the Soviets had and their leader, Joseph Stalin. The Soviets despised the fact that America refused to acknowledge the USSR as an actual international society. With this being said, by the time World War II was ended and over with, each country’s hatred grew creating an overpowering sense of spite and belligerence. Therefore, these tensions led to the start of the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. The Cold War was an atomic age, meaning that the two countries developed and tested atomic weapons like the ones used during World War II, which forged stakes that were severely high. The Cold War led to advancements in not only atomic weapons or just weapons in general, but advancements in technology, which we see with the launch of Sputnik.

The fears of the American people regarding the Cold War in the aftermath of the second World War were numerous and strong, growing in power as Americans began to fear not only the looming threat posed by the Soviet Union but also potential communist activity within the United States itself. The administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully recognized and addressed a number of these fears, passing legislation which improved domestic and international defence capabilities and creating an atmosphere of relative comfort and prosperity within the nation itself. However, despite the efforts of the Eisenhower administration, a strong sense of fear pervaded much of the United States as the Cold War escalated into a greater, more critical

During 1957, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The U.S were concerned that the Soviets would attach a missile to the satellite and consequently gain the ability to fire down at the U.S with little to no notice. As fear rose in the U.S, the government seized the perfect opportunity to gain public support for NASA and the space program. The government used this as the ideal time to magnify the nation's fears of communism into the form of propaganda. As the U.S produced high quantities of propaganda, the Soviets responded with their own, highlighting their personal attitudes and ideologies.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and the space race was on. The Soviet’s triumph jarred the American people and sparked a vigorous response in the federal government to make sure the United States did not fall behind its communist rival.

The United States and Communist Russia endured a complicated relationship in the first half of the 20th century. In the early 1940’s the U.S. had encouraged an alliance with the Soviets against their common enemy, Nazi Germany. This short-lived accord began to deteriorate as WW II ended. By 1947 U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union had shifted from one of cooperation to a policy of containment. In 1949, when the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb, it was a widely-held belief in the U.S. that the Russians were an untrustworthy enemy with plans to invade the United States. America’s mood turned on American Communists, labeling them traitors and Russian spies. Underlying a domestic sense of well-being in the United States in the 1950’s

In terms of the possibility of a nuclear war occurring during the Cold War, Eisenhower successfully kept the civilians calm and level headed. This is mainly because the United States are knowledgeable of atomic bombs and that they share equal military technology as the Soviet. In addition, it seemed that the United States always pulled through when it came to missile programs than any other issue, as seen in the picture in document F. Whereas, the lack of civilian services caused a failure to keep the fear of communism seeping through

In September of 1957, the Soviet Union began testing intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBM’s, due to the Cold War and to show their technological advances leasing to the Space Race. The United States knew that the Soviets had the capability of building these missiles, but didn’t think they actually could (Barbree). Then on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite known by the name of Sputnik, and sent the United States into a frenzy. Sputnik impacted the United States socially, politically, and economically.

On October 4th, 1957 the simple action of launching a beachball-sized hunk of metal into our orbit, reshaped the lives of people in the United States and across the world for the next years to come. This small ball of metal was Sputnik, a Soviet satellite with a radio transmitter inside letting out a small “beeping” sound. This object, as unsophisticated as it was, had the power to set the entire country into panic. To US officials this action not only made it clear that the Soviet superpower of Russia was more technologically advanced, but for all we knew they could be putting nuclear warfare into space. To the US this thought was unbearable, and because of this it would go on to set off a race of the century, the Space Race. A race to put technology into space, a race that would change American life at home and in foreign policy. From changes within the school system, to the Red Scare, life would be changed drastically in the years to come, not only in the U.S, but in Russia as well.

I did not know that my grandmother was concealing her experience as a Korean War refugee behind her disarming smiles and caring personality. To me, who spent more than ten years of my childhood with my grandmother rather than my parents, she seemed like a person who has been wearing her big smile since her birth. Consequently, I have never guessed that my grandmother would have such tragic childhood as a war refugee. My grandmother also barely talked about the Korean War, when I was living with her, so I had to make sure multiple times that she was born before the Korean War before the interview and found out that she was only 9-year-old when the Korean war had occurred.

Countries were suddenly unnerved by what USSR could do. It had the power to launch objects into space to reach places over other countries. And for once, there was a country more formidable than the United States. The United States, out of fear, started to prepare for what might come next, and as a result of the chaos that followed the launch, programs were instated for US to catch-up to the USSR. The launch of Sputnik, spurred the economy of the United States.