1. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949.
Truman had to face the decision of whether or not to create a more devastating weapon that the atomic bomb to surpass the USSR again. The two countries set out on a race to create the Hydrogen bomb, or H-Bomb, first. The US made it first, but their advantage only lasted a year until the USSR exploded their own thermonuclear bomb. The arms race escalated to brinkmanship, which was pushing to the verge of nuclear war,
2. In 1951, the Iranian prime minister placed the oil industry in Iran under the Iranian government’s control.
2. In 1951, the Iranian prime minister placed the oil industry in Iran under the Iranian government’s control.
The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) gave money to opponents of the governing party of Iran in hopes of a pro-American change in government so that Iran would not become weak and fall victim to the spreading communism.
3. The Guatemalan head of government gave American-owned land in Guatemala to peasants.
3. The Guatemalan head of government gave American-owned land in Guatemala to peasants.
The US believed that Guatemala was a communist sympathizing nation, so the CIA trained an army to invade it and overthrow the president, who resigned. The leader of the army became the dictator of Guatemala.
4. In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and occupied the Suez Canal.
4. In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and occupied the Suez Canal.
The UN stepped in to stop the fighting and convinced Britain, France, and Israel to back down out of Egypt, and allowed Egypt to keep control of the canal.
5. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary and fired on protesters in 1956.
5. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary and fired on protesters in 1956.
The US did nothing to aid Hungary in its fight against Soviet Control. The containment policy did not include driving the Soviets out of countries that it already had control of. That would probably be far too risky and lead to war.
6. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
The US panicked, because they had been trying to do the same, and the Soviet's successful satellite was a few times the size of the failed US satellite. The US feared the Soviets not because their satellite, but because they had a rocket that was capable of launching an object all the way into space, which is an idea that could be used in warfare.
6. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
The US panicked, because they had been trying to do the same, and the Soviet's successful satellite was a few times the size of the failed US satellite. The US feared the Soviets not because their satellite, but because they had a rocket that was capable of launching an object all the way into space, which is an idea that could be used in warfare.
7. In 1960, the Soviet Union brought down an American U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers.
Eisenhower met with Khrushchev where he agreed to stop the U-2 flights, since he had already decided to do so, but refused to apologize for the incident.
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