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Cold War Brinkmanship: Arms Race and Policies of the 1950s

The 1950s marked a pivotal era in the Cold War characterized by brinkmanship, where the United States and the Soviet Union sought to edge each other toward conflict for strategic advantage. Following the Soviet development of an atomic weapon in 1949, the arms race escalated rapidly. The U.S. introduced the more powerful Hydrogen Bomb in 1952, leading to further tension as the Soviets responded with their H-bomb in 1953. The establishment of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles signified a commitment to massive retaliation, shaping a decade of geopolitical strategy defined by nuclear capabilities and espionage.

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Cold War Brinkmanship: Arms Race and Policies of the 1950s

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  1. 1950s:BRINKMANSHIP What are the Cold War policies of the 1950s?

  2. The Arms Race • 50’s Cold War policy is brinkmanship. Each country tries to push each other to the “brink” of war in order to get an advantage • 1949: Soviets develop & test their own atomic weapon • Starts a nuclear “arms race” between the US & Soviet Union • 1952: US develops the more powerful Hydrogen Bomb (H-Bomb) • Instead of splitting an atom, the H-bomb fuses two atoms together • The Soviets counter with their own H-bomb in 1953 • 1953: Pres. Eisenhower appoints anti-communist John Foster Dulles as Secretary of State http://video.google.com/video play?docid=-3597507450536748258 http://vce.com/AtomicGallery/AtomicGallery.html

  3. Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) • Dulles develops the MAD policy: if Soviets attack US interests, US will use massive nuclear retaliation against them • The US begins increasing number of nuclear weapons & the planes to deliver these weapons • US CIA & Soviet KGB begin spying programs • 1953: Stalin dies, is replaced by Nikita Khrushchev • Khrushchev begins building up the Soviet arsenal • Mid-1950: Soviet Union develops Vostok Rocket • This ICBM could deliver a nuke • Soviets clearly ahead in “arms race”

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