The Making of a Superpower USA 1865-1875 Chapter 8 - The USA and the cold War, 1960-75 & The conflict in Vietnam

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  • Created by: Naiole
  • Created on: 21-01-21 23:49

THE USA AND THE COLD WAR 1960-75

THE BERLIN WALL CRISIS, 1961

•Khrushchev remained determined to force the West out of Berlin. In June 1961, he met Kennedy at Vienna and gave the US President an ultimatum: something had to be done about Berlin by December 1961 or Khrushchev would hand over the Berlin access routes to East Germany. This ultimatum greatly increased Cold War tension.

•Then, in August 1961, Khrushchev ordered the construction of a wall to separate East Berlin from West Berlin. He believed he could bully the new, inexperienced president of the USA, Kennedy, especially after the Bay of Pigs fiasco (see page 250). 

•There was tension after the construction of the Wall. From 5 p.m. on 27 October to 11 a.m. on 28 October, US and Soviet tanks, fully armed, faced each other in a tense stand-off. Then, after eighteen hours, the US tanks pulled back. Kennedy had been forced to back down but was furious with the USSR. 

The Berlin Wall crisis was significant for: 

1.In some ways it could be said to have brought some stability to Germany and Berlin, in that it finally sealed off the two Berlins. 

2.It increased Cold War tension as both the USA and the USSR resumed nuclear testing.

3.Soviet propaganda claimed that the Wall was a success for Russia as the USA had been unable to prevent its construction. On the other hand, Western writers claimed that the Wall was a triumph because it showed that East Germany had to wall its people in. 

4.Some historians believe Khrushchev saw it as a success and it encouraged him to place missiles in Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

Causes

1.Cuba had been a thorn in the side of the USA since 1959, when a revolution had

brought Fidel Castro to power. Castro had ejected all US businesses and investment so in retaliation, the USA refused to buy Cuba’s sugar. 

The Soviet Union offered to buy Cuban sugar. Khrushchev, was keen to extend Soviet influence in the Caribbean and wanted to outmanoeuvre John F. Kennedy.

2.In April 1961, Kennedy sanctioned an invasion of Cuba by exiles who had left Cuba in 1959, which was to land in the Bay of Pigs, create a national uprising and overthrow Castro. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a disaster due to poor planning and lack of support in Cuba, where Castro was popular. 

It was a humiliation for the USA, further strengthened Castro’s position in Cuba and drew Cuba even closer to the Soviet Union. At the end of 1961, Castro announced his conversion to Communism.

3.Khrushchev now saw opportunity to further extend Soviet influence in Cuba. Was concerned by US missile bases in Italy and Turkey and wanted to establish Soviet bases in Cuba to redress the balance. 

In September 1962, Soviet technicians began to install ballistic missiles. 

On 14 October, an American U2 spy plane took photographs of Cuba which revealed that Soviet intermediate range…

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