Berlin wall 1961:
● Khrushchev was determined to force the west out of Berlin
● West were in the soviet sphere of influence
● June 1961 Vienna- Khrushchev met JFK with an ultimatum
● Something had to be done by December or Khrushchev would hand over
Berlin access routes to East
● Greatly increased CW tension
● August 61 construction began
● Believed he could bully JFK after Bay of Pigs
● Increased tension after the wall- trying to stop people moving east to
west
● From 27th to the 28th there were US and Soviet tanks, armed, faced
each other in a standoff
● US pulled back
● It brought stability to Germany and Berlin
● Increased CW tensions as both US and USSR continued nuclear testing
● Soviet propaganda- claimed it was a success for Russia and US had failed
● Encouraged him to put missiles in Cuba crisis
Cuban missile crisis 1962:
● Fidel Castro in charge since 1959- communist
● US refused to buy sugar from Cuba
● Khrushchev offered to buy Cuban sugar
● April 1961- bay of pigs invasion- failure
● Khrushchev wanted to extend his sphere of influence
● US had missiles in Italy and Turkey
● September 1962-Khrushchev put missiles in Cuba
● October 1962- American U2 plane shot down
● 20th October- naval blockade "quarantine" around Cuba
● Soviet ships approached blockade
● US wanted missiles removed and USSR wanted missiles gone from Italy
and Turkey
● US felt like they had won- hotline between DC and Moskow
● August 1963- Partial test ban treaty, stop testing nuclear weapons
, USA and China:
● Poor relations after Chinese civil war 1945-49, US had been funding
Republic of China (Taiwan)
● Worsened because of Korean War 1950-53
● August 1971- US lifted 21 old trade embargo with China
● Nixon wanted to use China to counter Soviet power and force US into
détente
● Closer relations with China would end Vietnam war
● US and China would both benefit from trade
● Ping Pong diplomacy- April 1971
● US player and Chinese players got along
● Led to meeting between Mao (communist) and Nixon
● Led to the restoration of Sino-US relations- led to the restoration of
China's legitimate rights in UN vote in 1971
Détente- thaw in the cold war:
● The threat of nuclear war was too concerning- hotline helped
● Reduction in tension and discourage aggression
● Foreign policy secretary Kissinger- feared growing strength of USSR
● The US economy and society could not carry on trying to match the USSR
● US involvement in Vietnam was not going well
● Idea of offering concessions was called 'linkage'- reconciliation with one
country would lead to another
● Brezhnev did not want US and Chinese relations to improve- wanted to
gain access to US technology- saw opportunity for foreign trade
● Ping pong diplomacy was a good example of détente
● SALT 1- détente
SALT 1:
● Strategic arms limitation treaty 1972
● Imposed limits on the nuclear capability of the USSR and US
● Talks in Helsinki and Vienna
● First agreement between the powers which successfully limited
number of nuclear weapons
● Good example of détente
● Khrushchev was determined to force the west out of Berlin
● West were in the soviet sphere of influence
● June 1961 Vienna- Khrushchev met JFK with an ultimatum
● Something had to be done by December or Khrushchev would hand over
Berlin access routes to East
● Greatly increased CW tension
● August 61 construction began
● Believed he could bully JFK after Bay of Pigs
● Increased tension after the wall- trying to stop people moving east to
west
● From 27th to the 28th there were US and Soviet tanks, armed, faced
each other in a standoff
● US pulled back
● It brought stability to Germany and Berlin
● Increased CW tensions as both US and USSR continued nuclear testing
● Soviet propaganda- claimed it was a success for Russia and US had failed
● Encouraged him to put missiles in Cuba crisis
Cuban missile crisis 1962:
● Fidel Castro in charge since 1959- communist
● US refused to buy sugar from Cuba
● Khrushchev offered to buy Cuban sugar
● April 1961- bay of pigs invasion- failure
● Khrushchev wanted to extend his sphere of influence
● US had missiles in Italy and Turkey
● September 1962-Khrushchev put missiles in Cuba
● October 1962- American U2 plane shot down
● 20th October- naval blockade "quarantine" around Cuba
● Soviet ships approached blockade
● US wanted missiles removed and USSR wanted missiles gone from Italy
and Turkey
● US felt like they had won- hotline between DC and Moskow
● August 1963- Partial test ban treaty, stop testing nuclear weapons
, USA and China:
● Poor relations after Chinese civil war 1945-49, US had been funding
Republic of China (Taiwan)
● Worsened because of Korean War 1950-53
● August 1971- US lifted 21 old trade embargo with China
● Nixon wanted to use China to counter Soviet power and force US into
détente
● Closer relations with China would end Vietnam war
● US and China would both benefit from trade
● Ping Pong diplomacy- April 1971
● US player and Chinese players got along
● Led to meeting between Mao (communist) and Nixon
● Led to the restoration of Sino-US relations- led to the restoration of
China's legitimate rights in UN vote in 1971
Détente- thaw in the cold war:
● The threat of nuclear war was too concerning- hotline helped
● Reduction in tension and discourage aggression
● Foreign policy secretary Kissinger- feared growing strength of USSR
● The US economy and society could not carry on trying to match the USSR
● US involvement in Vietnam was not going well
● Idea of offering concessions was called 'linkage'- reconciliation with one
country would lead to another
● Brezhnev did not want US and Chinese relations to improve- wanted to
gain access to US technology- saw opportunity for foreign trade
● Ping pong diplomacy was a good example of détente
● SALT 1- détente
SALT 1:
● Strategic arms limitation treaty 1972
● Imposed limits on the nuclear capability of the USSR and US
● Talks in Helsinki and Vienna
● First agreement between the powers which successfully limited
number of nuclear weapons
● Good example of détente
