Ap Us History 2001 Dbq Essay

The view by some historians is that The Dwight Eisenhower foreign policy was popularly known as the “New Look”. This policy aimed to maintain the American financial economy while Eisenhower was planning the Cold war and continue the containment of communism regime. Also, the “New look” policy relied heavily on nuclear weapons to stop communism. Therefore the policy was been assessed as being suppressing, rigid, and too dependent on brinkmanship (trying to achieve an outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink) and massive retaliation (also known as a massive response, this is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack). Arguably, his foreign policy stressed peace greatly, but it also threatened war (brinkmanship and massive retaliation).

Here are two of the most important orations of the cold war period, by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Dwight D Eisenhower’s describing the policies and efforts to contain the Cold War era. Churchill starts with his famous speech “the Iron Curtain” delivered in Fulton Missouri in 1946 after being invited by President Truman. The “Iron Curtain” speech was the initial platform that announced and defined the declarations of the Cold war to come with the urgency to have a tight relationship between the countries of democracy against communism. Then with President Eisenhower’s speech in 1953 a “Chance for Peace” this was an initiative that outlined the clear recognition of the prospects the world faced and the cost in sincere efforts to end the cold war. The “Iron Curtain” and “Chance for Peace” both reveal the conviction and strong efforts that are desired to restrict the fears encompassed with the Cold war.

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.

Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency as not only the 40th president of the United States, but also as the eighth United States president to preside over the Cold War. That conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union began roughly around 1945, as a direct result of World War II, with fortunes and policies having ebbed and flowed over the thirty-six years prior to Reagan’s taking office. Throughout those nearly four decades, there have been arms races, space races, containment preventing the spread of communism, a congressional “red scare” (also known as “McCarthyism”), and further rising of tensions with the Cuban Missile Crisis which acted as perhaps the Cold War’s absolute zenith. Thus with the missile crisis still in

After the ravages of World War II, the United States experienced a long period of economic boom, thanks to the increased production of weapons during the war and to the low price of oil. However, despite the nationwide economic prosperity, Americans felt increasing fear in the looming shadow of the communist Soviet Union. Sputnik’s successful launch increased tensions that had been building since the aftermath of World War II; as a result, President Eisenhower and his administration instituted numerous measures to calm down the hysteria that pervaded the US, but these attempts had no real effect on reducing tensions felt by both sides.

After World War II it was obvious that the Americans were filled with many fears resulting from all the threats from the Soviets also known as the Cold War. These fears include the probability that the Cold War would escalate into a nuclear war that could in part result to the second fear which is the overpowerment of communism. It was clear to many Americans that Eisenhower was doing all that he could do to prevent a nuclear war and the spread of communism but his efforts ended up being a little below successful.

The Cold War started in 1945 and ended in 1961, during that time major changes were made to U.S. policy abroad, while McCarthyism targeted the Department of State at home. The Containment approach used by President Eisenhower was more effective then President Truman’s approach at containment or at the reconstruction in Europe. Containment was arguably better due to the cost advantages to the United States. Through the use of foreign policy and a system of alliances, America was able to prove it was worthy to place itself as a World super power.

Eisenhower used this strategy to intimidate the Soviet Union. This forced them to negotiate with the United States. In the Eisenhower Doctrine established on January 5, 1947, President Eisenhower stated he wished to strengthen other nations’ militaries. Specifically, countries would have to request troops. Like Truman, Eisenhower facilitated the stability of countries.

In his careful handling of “the Sputnik ‘crisis,’” Eisenhower was able to alleviate any pressure on the Soviet Union, but the same could not be said about the fears of Americans (421-422). When America had to play catch-up in space technology and when Eisenhower minced the details on American nuclear superiority, he barely “half-succeeded” in allaying American fears (422). Unfortunately, this was only one of many issues that Eisenhower faced before the end of his time

Eisenhower’s view that the way to prevent the spread of communism to the Middle East was by promoting stability in the region between both the Western powers and the Arab powers went on to guide his policy towards the Middle East. Eisenhower’s goals for US involvement in the Middle East “reflected the president’s own cold war ideology and included promoting regional stability, guaranteeing the free flow of Middle Eastern oil to Western Europe, supporting Arab nationalism and Israeli independence, improving relationships with the Arab states, hastening the decline of European empires, maintaining the solidarity of the Western alliance, and avoiding an arms race between Israel and its Arab neighbors, with the United States and Russia the principal arms suppliers” (Ambrose 328-329). The President’s commitment to these goals of maintaining relationships and containing communism accounts for many of the trends that would characterize Eisenhower’s conduct in the Middle East. Among these trends were: Eisenhower’s reliance on frequent-but-informal consultations with a small number of appointees; his tendency to try and delay the inevitable for as long as possible as to allow for planning; his hesitation towards nearly any action, whether it be to take action or to cease taking action; his encouragement for vagueness and secrecy pertaining to the Crisis; and finally, his ability to firmly and effectively communicate his full executive power. Eisenhower’s

Dwight Eisenhower in largely considered one of the greatest leaders in United States history. His military record in WWI and WWII is impeccable. He was an integral component of one of the most vital transportation projects ever undertaken, the Interstate Highway System. His stout stance on civil rights in America was showcased by his immediate desegregation of the Armed Forces and continued through his fight for the desegregation of schools. Eisenhower’s civil rights beliefs were even personally commended by Martin Luther King in a hand written letter. Furthermore, Eisenhower’s fiscal efforts saw sizeable growths in the economy throughout his tenure. Along with this, his presidency saw, a national deficit cut in half, mostly though a severe reduction in defense spending. His incredible leadership was constantly on display throughout his time in office. Yet, what is most interesting about Eisenhower is his profound effect on the Cold War. While all of these contributions were of great importance to the country, none held the gravitas and immediately devastating potential that Eisenhower’s dealings with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War did. When fully investigated, it can even be surmised that nearly all of Dwight Eisenhower’s contributions to the country during his Presidency were completed in an effort to combat the enemy in some manner. Eisenhower seemed to be constantly looking for a way to gain an advantage against the USSR, no

Eisenhower’s Supreme Commander role and contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had been beneficial. For example, it had strengthen ties and alliances through actions such as protecting a nation against the spread of communism and the Soviet Union. These alliances would help us in later events, such as when the United States is at war and need more soldiers and other forms of support. Moreover, with his prior experiences, Eisenhower was able to do well in his position. However, his role had negative impact because he increased tensions between America and the Soviet Union. The actions taken by America could have been a reason for the Soviet Union to attack them.

After reading Chapter 26 there were some strong Cold War Strategies. Eisenhower disagreed with Communism at home and around the world. Eisenhower and his advisees talked about rolling back Soviet power in Europe and freeing captive people from communism. The secretary had made a threat with nuclear weapons in response to any aggression from the Soviet Union. In order for Eisenhower to support this threat he had to adopt a strategy that was called the “New Look” that did not emphasize armies, but increased the nuclear arsenal with long range bombers, missiles, and nuclear-powered submarines.

Although Eisenhower began his presidency with a clear view of what he wanted to accomplish in foreign policy. However, he soon discovered the realities of international power and domestic politics would prevent him from making significant changes in either. Ike came into office with what was called a “new look” strategy. Desiring to take advantage of the cost effective nuclear superiority of the United States, America began a massive nuclear buildup between 1952 and 1959. Ultimately Ike reconciled that it would be best to use a more restrained approach to foreign diplomacy. Generally, Ike believed a more restrained approach to the presidency was a good idea domestically especially. Eisenhower recognize the need to support financial

Moreover, the presidency of Kennedy also helped in the development of the thaw. Kennedy’s ‘Flexible Response’ offered a more diverse approach to communism and the USSR, moving away from the basis on nuclear weapons to a wider range of options. This move from an emphasis on nuclear weapons may have contributed to the thaw because it provided a less hard-line approach than that of Truman and Eisenhower.