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Superpower During The Cold War

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During the Cold War, the tension between the United States and Soviet Union heightened as both nations fought for the title of ultimate superpower. Attempting to exhibit superiority, the two countries challenged each other through satellite and spacecraft technological advancements. Satellites, at the time, were not a recent innovation; the United States government already used communication satellites for intelligence gathering and military operations (Rob Frieden 697). Yet, the USSR's launching of Sputnik and the Yuri Gagarin flight in 1957 and 1961 respectively, the Kennedy administration sought to develop an international satellite communication system that would "directly benefit people throughout the world and enhance national prestige"
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Khrushchev’s time in power is especially known for being the period where the maximum level of tension was exerted between the two superpowers. Indeed, the two times world war III was the closest were the standoff at checkpoint Charlie in 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis in 1952, which were conducted during his service as head of the USSR. During the Checkpoint Charlie standoff, several American and Soviet tanks stood 75m away on each side of the border, aiming at each other, for 16 hours, until they, one by one, left the zone. Such tension was repeated during the Cuban Missile crisis, which was due to the implantation of Soviet medium-length ballistic nuclear-warhead missiles in Cuba, within Striking range of the US. They led to the instauration of the Moscow – Washington hotline, often called “red telephone”, which was intended to be used as fast and reliable means for the two powers to share crucial information or to negotiate in the case of an emergency, to manage to avoid the accidental start of a nuclear war.

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There was a real concern that the United States was falling behind in the nuclear arena and this led to gaps in what the Soviets had or did not have. These threats were known as the “Bomber Gap” or “Missile Gap.” To counter the uncertainty, Presidents Truman and Eisenhower both supported the creation of the U-2 and Corona/Discoverer satellite programs. On 24 November 1954, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead to build 20 U-2 aircraft.

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In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite. Sputnik 1. This event precipitated a national security crisis, as the United States felt its national security was compromised. The fear of the Soviets getting ahead technologically and militarily was not something the United States could not accept. This essay will analyze and evaluate President Kennedy's motives and use of rhetoric in his speech.

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From a meeting of President Eisenhower’s National Security Council, a conclusion was reached, “…we could not permit ourselves to be panicked by the Soviet Achievement [Sputnik]” (Document 3). The launch of the Sputnik only encouraged Americans to accomplish more scientific breakthroughs—before the Soviets. Before the release of the Sputnik, President Truman had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Shortly after, the Soviets had detonated their first atomic bomb in the late 1940s. Since the U.S. and the Soviets had both achieved a level of destruction through the atomic bomb they became engaged in an “arms race.”

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This came as a shock to the American people and led to a perceived inferiority in the missile gap between the United States and the Soviet Union. “Our adversary had developed rockets with greater thrust and throw weight, for the military this meant ballistic missiles that could throw a heavier warhead a greater distance than anything in our arsenal.” (Kranz 15-16) Due to the Soviet Union’s rocket capability, they were able to launch sputnik into orbit causing a quick reaction from the Americans. The National Space Act of 1958, and the creation of NASA was an immediate result of desire to combat sputnik and the missile

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The 1950's was a time of great change in the United States with many types of events and changes happening from then to now. Also having many different inventions created or "upgraded" from the original like the automobile progressing still. They had more highways built for transportation during war in case of bombs going off, so now we use those today for driving, moving, and transportation. With many military events happening you had the Cold War going on with others as well. One of others going on was the Korean War starting in the 50's.

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According to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, the space race began In 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite which the United States saw as a challenge to see who could make the most technological advancements within the following decade (Space Program).Shortly after the race began, the Soviet Union sent Yuri Gagarin into space, and he became the first man to Orbit the earth, the United States saw this as a sign that they were falling behind their competition (Space Program).The space race aimed to determine a superior nation between the United States and the Soviet Union, in the beginning the Soviet Union was clearly in the lead so the people of the United States were even more united with the common goal of being a superior nation. According to the National Cold War Exhibition at the Royal

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he first chapter of The Cold War: A New History begins by comparing the United States to the U.S.S.R. and talking about the similarities between the two. It also talks about Communism and how Marx deemed it necessary in order to build up the economy. Lenin tried to implement Communism in Russia. They were not quite ready for that kind of system, so Stalin tried to modernize the economy. The U.S.S.R. had more casualties in World War II, but things were not necessarily looking great in America either.

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Officially, Sputnik was launched for the year the International Council of Scientific Unions said would be ideal of launching of satellites to study Earth and the solar system. However, many Americans feared violent uses of the Soviets’ new rocket and satellite technology, which was ahead of the U.S. space effort. Sputnik was about 10 times the size of the planned U.S. satellite, which was not scheduled to be launched until the next year. The

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The Cold War fears of the American people shortly after the second world war was that the economic concept of Communism was going to spread across the recovering European states. I understand that you said the answer is not communism, but you need to think of it in the terms that America did back then: Truman and Eisenhower both employed the foreign policy strategy known as "containment". This meant that the U.S. would try to prevent Communism from spreading through Western Europe. The U.S. did this because the belief was that war is a result of poverty. Poverty in a country allows radicals to take power, which was the case with Stalin in the Soviet Union.

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Unlike many wars fought in our history of the human race. The Cold War was different, tensions were at an all time high. The threat of nuclear force was great. This was a war fought without many direct skirmishes, it was more of a political battle varying over different ideologies and philosophy. The Americans who believed in a constitutional republic, opposed to the Soviet Union, who were a communist state.

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The two superpowers involved in this war was the US and the Soviet Union. There were several causes for the outbreak of the Korean War. One of the reason why the US went to war in Korea was to weaken communism. By supporting South Korea, the US was able to do this. The US joined the war also because they were in constant competition with the Soviet Union for world domination.

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Russia successfully launched the first artificial satellite in 1957, and this is what started the space age and the United States of America and the U.S.S.R space race. On September 12, 1962, John F. Kennedy stated “We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a state noted for strength, and we stand in a need of all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance,” as he delivered the Rice stadium moon speech. Kennedy delivered this speech in hopes of persuading Americans to support NASA’s intention to send a space ship to the moon. He attempted to persuade this using syntax and ethos. “I appreciate your president having made me an honorary visiting

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We (soviets did first) built a satellite just to show we could. It literally had no function except to show how well our rockets worked. After this achievement we set our eyes on the moon, this monumental achievement was one of the most amazing things that came out of the cold war. Even when compared to the vastness of the universe.

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The pressure for the United States to be better than the Soviet Union caused the education in the United States to be more focused towards math and science. Maddin says, “Sputnik woke the nation up, serving as a “focusing event” that put a spotlight on a national problem. In this case, he said, the problem was education.” The sputnik launched in 1957 and was the first artificial earth satellite. Marsha Thompson even says, “I believe because of sputnik we came as a country to realize that science, scientist, and engineers would make all the difference in our futures.

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