ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY

EQ: “How did advancements in technology cause controversy between

America and the Soviet Union?”

Television • During the Cold War, Americans

were fearful of nuclear attacks, and it was the television that fueled this fear and helped to extinguish it as well.

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=20D3EFC8-81DD-41B9-A452-51B3F42C04EA&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

• By 1950, more than 3 million Americans had television sets in their homes; by 1960, it grew to more than 50 million.

• People could now get updated images and information about the world delivered directly to their living rooms.

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The Space Race! (p. 415)

• The United States and the Soviet Union were not only fighting the Cold War on land, but they also took it into space!

• On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first ever manmade satellite into space, Sputnik.

• A satellite orbits the earth and thereby gives us information about the earth.

• The United States hated being behind the Soviets, so a few months later we launched our own satellite, Explorer I, into space on January 31, 1958.

• In 1958, Congress also set-up NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to further develop our space program.

• This launched a period called the “space race”.

Sputnik— “Traveler”

Explorer I

The Space Race continues… (p.415)

• On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union decided to launch another satellite, Sputnik II, into space… except this time with a passenger.

• A dog named Laika (“Barker”) was sent into space to orbit the earth for a week.

• The scientists wanted to see how an animal’s body would handle space travel to see if it would be safe for humans.

• Sadly, the Soviets had no way of getting the satellite back to earth safely, so Laika died once she ran out of oxygen.

Laika

Strelka and Belka (p.415)

• In 1961, the Soviet Union sent up Sputnik V, with two dogs named Strelka (“Little Arrow”) and Belka (“Squirrel”).

• These dogs did return safely! They orbited the earth for one day and then returned home.

Other animals that helped… (p.415)

• Other animals that have helped to “pave the way” of space travel are monkeys, chimpanzees, rats, mice, fish, ants, spiders, bullfrogs, honeybees, and jellyfish.

• One chimpanzee named Ham trained for more than a year to pull levers while in the ship.

The Space Race Continues… (p.415)

• America and the Soviet Union were constantly trying to be the first nation to accomplish different aspects of space travel.

• The Soviet Union sent the first person into space on April 12, 1961. His name was Yuri Gagarin.

• America sent its first man in space a month later on May 5, 1961. Alan Shepard, Jr., became famous for being the first American in space.

• In 1962, John Glenn, Jr., became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.

Alan Shepard John Glenn

America’s Apollo Program (p.415)

• The space race continued on, and the Soviets and Americans were sending more and more satellites into space.

• America’s Apollo program was a series of space explorations that made history.

• In 1968, America sent Apollo 8 and its astronauts to orbit around the moon.

• One year later, America was ready to send Apollo 11 to space.

• Apollo 11 was meant to make history. Its goal was to have mankind land on the moon!

To the Moon!!! (p. 418-421)

• On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, by a rocket named Saturn 5 into space.

• Aboard the ship were three astronauts named, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

• To get out of the Earth’s atmosphere, the ship was going 23,300 miles per hour at full speed.

Apollo 11 lands safely!

• Apollo 11 landed safely, and Neil Armstrong said his most famous quote, “That’s one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind.”

• Let’s watch! http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=D6EDC764-23D1-4FA7-8822-DD38EE65A490&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Yay for Television!

• Everyone got to watch the amazing live footage of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon thanks to the new invention of television!

• Technology advancement became very strong during this time, and it was only going to keep advancing.

JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis

EQ: Why was the Cuban Missile Crisis a “hotspot” during the Cold

War?

John F. Kennedy (p. 414)

• In 1961, John F. Kennedy (JFK) at 43 years old became the youngest person to ever be elected as the President of the United States.

• At his inauguration he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

• He wanted Americans to take the responsibility of making the country great—he did not want them to depend on the government to do everything for them.

President John F. Kennedy

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The Fight on Communism (p. 392) • When Kennedy became president, he jumped

right in to the Cold War and the fight against communism.

• Cuba, an island country just about 100 miles south of Florida, became communist in 1959 when Fidel Castro had taken control over the country.

The Cuban Missile Crisis (p. 392-393)

• In the early 60s, JFK learned that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba.

• The missiles were aimed at America, and if they were fired at American cities many innocent lives would be lost.

• This sparked a great fear in the United States.

• They were afraid that the United States and the Soviet Union would start a new nuclear war (WWIII), because everyone knew that the U.S. would instantly retaliate by firing missiles back at the Soviet Union.

• President Kennedy was not going to leave America exposed to this new threat.

• He had the US missiles in Turkey and Italy point at the Soviet Union.

Kennedy’s Response

• President Kennedy responded to this threat by setting up a blockade around Cuba.

• The blockade prevented any Soviet ship from coming within 800 miles of Cuba, and if one did come that close, it would be attacked.

• The Soviet Union’s president, Khrushchev, sent a submarine to Cuba, and it was stationed right outside the blockade.

A Stalemate

• President Kennedy told the ship to turn around, and President Khrushchev told JFK to lift the blockade—but JFK would not lift the blockade until the missile site in Cuba was dismantled.

• They were at a standstill for thirteen days.

• All this time, citizens that lived in cities in America and Soviet Union lived in fear of war.

An End to the Fear (p. 392-393)

• Finally, without any attack occurring on either side, the Soviet Union gave in and had the missile site in Cuba dismantled and all the troops return home.

• Americans (and the world) could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

• John F. Kennedy decided that a nuclear war should never be the answer to problems on earth, because it would only lead to immeasurable destruction on both sides.

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EQ: Why was the Cuban Missile Crisis a “hotspot” during the Cold War?

The Assassination of JFK and the War in Vietnam

The Cold War starts to Heat Up

• In 1954, a new hotspot developed just after the signing of a truce between North and South Korea in 1953.

• This new hotspot was in Vietnam.

• What was happening in Vietnam was similar to what had happened in Korea.

• The nation was divided on the 17th parallel.

• North Vietnam was communist.

• South Vietnam was a republic.

• In the late 1950s, North Vietnam communists, called the Vietcong, tried to take over South Vietnam.

The Truman Doctrine was still holding true!

• Between 1956 and 1962, the United States, under the leaderships of Dwight D. Eisenhower and JFK, still held true to President Truman’s doctrine to help any country struggling against a communist takeover.

• The U.S.A. sent money, supplies, and soldiers to South Vietnam to help with their fight against the Vietcong.

“A Loss that Cannot be Weighed” (p. 416)

• Then, on November 22, 1963, something happened that shocked all of America.

• President Kennedy and his wife were waving to a crowd of people in Dallas, Texas, from their open limousine.

• He was on his way to make a speech, but he was never able to make it.

• Gunshots were fired at him, and he died that same day from gunshot wounds to the head.

• The Vice President, Lyndon Johnson, said the President’s death was “a loss that cannot be weighed.”

WHY?

• No one knows why President Kennedy was assassinated for sure.

President Lyndon B. Johnson (p.416)

• That same afternoon while the nation was sitting in a state of shock and mourning the loss of their President, Vice President Johnson was sworn into office.

• America had no time to waste; we were still at war in Vietnam, fighting for civil rights at home, racing to space with the Soviet Union, and trying to keep the world from going into nuclear war.

President Lyndon B. Johnson

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An Undefeatable Vietnam (p. 423-424)

• When Johnson became President, the Vietcong were winning the war in South Vietnam.

• In August 1964, the Vietcong attacked a US Navy ship.

• Johnson decided to send more troops to prevent another attack.

• They could not defeat the Vietcong, though, and by 1968, more than 500,000 American troops were serving time in South Vietnam.

Americans are divided as well… (p.424) • Because so many America lives were being

sacrificed in Vietnam, many Americans became divided on the issue of war.

• Public opinion (what people thought) was divided. Some believed we needed to keep fighting communism in S. Vietnam, others felt that the Vietnamese had to settle the war themselves.

• In protest, some Americans even burned their draft cards and refused to go fight a Vietnamese civil war.

• (Many even moved to Canada and Sweden to avoid the draft altogether.)

Protests and Marches (p.424)

• Protests and marches against the war (and for the war) started all over the nation.

• Even in the government, leaders were divided on the issue, and they were referred to as either “hawks” or “doves.”

• A hawk was a person that supported the war. • A dove was a person that wanted to end the war. • Television and media also started playing a big

role in America’s perception of the war as well. • America was split in two over the issue.

Another New President (p.425)

• The division and problems that the War in Vietnam was causing in America was enough to convince President Johnson to not run for a second term of presidency.

• Therefore, in 1968, President Richard Nixon was elected as the new United States President.

The 37th President

Nixon’s Plans to End the War (p.425)

• President Nixon tried to end the war quickly by bombing North Vietnam more heavily than before, and he sent soldiers to the neighboring country of Cambodia.

• But it did not work; and the war grew longer and the protests grew more intense.

• The people did re-elect Nixon in 1972, and in 1973 he decided to start pulling the American soldiers in Vietnam back home as many Americans wanted.

An End to the War (p.425) • P.O.W.s (Prisoners of War) were exchanged

between both sides. • Most of the P.O.W.s were honored by many as

heroes, but sadly many veterans had an unwelcome homecoming—many angry Americans looked down on them for participating in the war.

• America signed a cease-fire in 1973. • Without the American troops there to help, the

South Vietnamese soldiers could not hold the Vietcong back.

• South Vietnam surrendered on April 30, 1975.

We Lost a War? (p. 425)

• This was the longest war in America’s history, and the nation had lost in the battle to stop communism from spreading to S. Vietnam.

• 58,000 American men and women gave their lives to trying to keep the people of South Vietnam free.

• Today, North and South Vietnam are still united as one communist country—Vietnam.

The Watergate Scandal (p. 441) • Scandal: an action that brings disgrace

• Richard Nixon was not the president when the Vietnam War ended.

• That is because he resigned on August 9, 1974.

• During his election, some people working for Nixon (a Republican) broke the law by breaking into an office of the Democratic Party at the Watergate Hotel.

• Apparently, Nixon knew about this and tried to cover it up—this became known as the Watergate Scandal.

• Congress decided that there was enough evidence to impeach (to accuse of crimes) Nixon, so he resigned rather than being forced out of office.

• Nixon was the first President to resign from office.

Nixon’s departure from Office