Cold War in the Atomic Age

1. Cold War in the Atomic Age Nuclear test destroys a Pacific atoll Section 14.3

2. 1949 Capture from clip on creation of hydrogen bomb

3. Describe the public reaction in America to news of Soviet nuclear power: • Intense fear • Fallout Shelters constructed • Underground bunkers constructed out of concrete & steel • Supplied with: • canned food, bottled water, medical supplies, Radio, Geiger Counter, chemical toilet • The word “atomic” becomes part of American lexicon: • Atomic Sales (50% off), Atomic Cocktails (make your head explode) Above: sign pointing way to official fallout shelter (most schools built pre-1965 had them); below, home fallout shelter (see next slide)

4. Fallout Shelter Presentation Photo of a stocked home fallout shelter

5. What was the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA)? • Truman’s response to the heightened public anxiety • Designed to increase Americans’ optimism of their chances for surviving a nuclear attack • Called for: • air-raid drills • evacuation plans • fallout shelter programs • “Duck and Cover” taught to children as a way to keep safe in the event of an attack Above: children ‘duck and cover’ under their desks in school; below: cartoon aims to teach young children about ‘ducking and covering’

6. Duck and Cover Blank capture from a clip on ‘duck and cover’

7. What was MIKE? • 1st Hydrogen bomb • Used fusion instead of fission • 5xs hotter than center of Sun • Created 1 mile crater Right: ‘puny’ cloud from an early atomic test; below: crater from a hydrogen bomb (> 50 times the explosive force)

8. The H-Bomb Capture from clip on the h-bomb, showing timer on launch device

9. Describe President Eisenhower • Background • Supreme Allied Commander in Europe • 1st NATO Commander • Grandfather figure • Knowledgeable in foreign affairs • Republican • trustworthy President Eisenhower in the Oval Office

10. How did Eisenhower change the Containment policy? • Called New Look policy • Downsized military • Saved $4 billion annually • Massive Retaliation • Threatened Soviets with massive nuclear strike in NATO was attacked • Built military bases around the world • Used U2 spy planes Above: Ike with John Foster Dulles; below: a B-52 bomber

11. The U2 Capture from clip on the U2 affair

12. U2 Presentation Photo of a U2 spy plane

13. The U2 Incident Second U2 clip Second U2 clip

14. What are the dangers with the “New Look” policy? • Leaves only 2 options • Nuclear war • Do nothing • Created Arms race • Soviets tested 1st H-Bomb 7/1953 • Critics called policy brinksmanship • MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) From early 1960s: Kennedy and Khrushchev sprint neck-and-neck with a bunch of missiles in their hands

15. What is fallout? • Radioactive ash that falls to the earth after nuclear explosion • Can travel hundreds of miles before landing • Poisons water, ground, etc. • Causes leukemia, cancer • nuclear testing has killed more than 15,000 Americans • will cause at least 80,000 cancers Above: artist’s rendition of nuclear explosion; below, another photo of the yellow and black fallout shelter sign

16. Testing Capture from another clip on nuclear testing

17. Sputnik Presentation Close-up of Sputnik, which shook Americans and convinced many of a ‘missile gap’

18. What was Sputnik? • 1st man-made satellite launched by Soviets • USSR capable of hitting US anywhere with nuclear weapons • ICBM • US Reaction • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formed • B-52 fleet enlarged • Submarines equipped with nuclear weapons • Educational system funding for science programs greatly increased Another close-up of Sputnik

19. Sputnik Missile on the launch pad: In the late 1950s, the US had all kinds of trouble perfecting missile technology

20. Sputnik’s Impact Capture from clip on the impact of Sputnik