Gorbachev

Gorbachev:

Mikhail Gorbachev was the successor of Russian Soviet leader Brezhnev, and was the eighth and last leader of this massive communist nation. While many leaders of this nation were known for their strict control of the media and their distrust and dislike of the US, Gorbachev brought a new era in the Soviet Union.

The first prominent change that Gorbachev implemented was his two policies of perestroika, or reconstruction, and “glasnost”, free speech. These two policies were major impacts on the soviet mentality and economy. Compared to the world war two era soviet Russia, as well as the soviet empire under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, these policies were a complete shock to the starving soviets. Prior to Gorbachev’s rule, soviet workers were run by strict quotas, and much of the populus, especially in the cities, were living at below subsistence levels. Moreover, de-Stalinization was derailed and control of the media was increased under Brezhnev. Even after the Helsinki accords were signed in 1977, there was still repression of any media criticising the government.

Under Gorbachev, the media started to flourish. More and more Western culture was permitted to be shown on the television, and computers were made available to the general public. Rather than Western hate, there was the new idea of acceptance of this culture, and while Russia could not be called capitalist or democratic, it was starting to understand the American system and more intellectuals and youth were being influenced by Western movements. One of the more prevalent among the youth was the incorporation of rock and roll into the music scene.

In terms of reconstruction, one of the most prevalent ways he implemented a major change was the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Before this, he was able to help the economy and bring about less unemployment and place more money into government service industries. However, through the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev was able to establish the Independent Democratic Party of Russia. He was also the one to push for the SALT talks with the United States, and without his pushing for peace amongst the two nations, no one can know how far tensions would have risen and nuclear power would have increased in both nations.

Overall, Gorbachev was a very accomplished ruler. He was able to heavily influence the end of the Cold War, and the reconstruction of Russia. His efforts were awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, and his accomplishments in regard to peace between the United States and Russia are still felt today.

SALT 1

After the Cuban missile crisis, many concerned Americans and soviets hoped for some de-escalation of the tense atmosphere. In fact, many historians nowadays would state that after such a heart stopping moment, those in control of the government and war machine would have opted for some amount of what we would come to call the detente.

However, it wasn’t until 1967 that Johnson called upon the Soviets to discuss some limitation to the arms being developed in both countries. Even then, this was only in response to the ABM system being built around Soviet Russia. The main point of the cold war, and the most assured way to keep both sides from detonating nuclear missiles on enemy soil was the concept of MAD, or mutual assured destruction. With the development of ABM’s, otherwise known as anti-ballistic missiles, there was a defensive system being set up around Russia. This would cause a kink in the idea of MAD, because if they had a defense system then America no longer had a way of retaliating against them in the event of nuclear war. Moreover, there was rumor of the Soviets building a missile with a range long enough to have first strike capabilities on the United States.

As such, the first strategic arms limitation talk, known as SALT 1 discusses the disassembly and limitation of the ABM’s set up around each country. While many might state that this is exactly the opposite of what the United States might want because we would not be able to have any reliable defensive structure around our nation, they would not fully understand the concept of MAD. If there was defense, then mutual destruction was no longer assured. The constant tension between the two countries and the fear was what kept each sure that the other would not detonate on enemy soil. As such, this talk, while not truly creating any lasting solution by any means, was able to continue on the relative safety of each country.

The Arab Oil Crisis and Its Effects

In 1973, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forced an embargo upon countries supporting Israel in the Arab-Israeli War. For America, this meant a ban on petroleum imports from Arab nations, as well as decreased oil production from the Arab countries. This was particularly devastating because America had grown dependent on foreign oil, and Nixon’s efforts to end the embargo reflected a shift in power from America to the countries it depended on as oil-producers. 

As the embargo was enacted, the price of oil skyrocketed due to the decreased supply and ever-present demand. Prices were soon quadruple what they used to be after just three months of the embargo, and with the devaluation of the dollar, things looked bleak for the American economy. Lines formed at gas stations all over the country and political leaders called for measures to conserve energy and gas, such as closing gas stations all over the country and asking that people did not put up Christmas lights in their houses. The automotive industry also suffered greatly and lost business to Japan, which was producing smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. Even after the embargo was lifted in 1974, oil prices retained their previous high levels. The effects of the energy crisis remained throughout the 70s in the form of price controls, gasoline rationing, and even a national speed limit until 1975. 

The environmental movement gained strength during this period, and for the first time it became an influential force in Washington guiding policymaking. This led to legislation such as the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act, which was meant to “ensure equitable distribution of available products, to establish equitable prices, and to preserve the independent segments of the oil industry,” passed in response to the panic at the time. Congress also passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and created the Department of Energy in 1977, two steps that would allow more focus on the growing issue of America’s energy sources. Efforts to increase the use of more environmentally friendly sources of power and reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels characterized the movement, as well as efforts to stimulate domestic oil production through Project Independence. A product of the Nixon administration, the project not only emphasized the importance of domestic energy production, but also promoted a union among America’s allies that would attempt to keep oil prices stable for the consumers. Within a decade, however, the progress was lost as oil prices took a sharp decrease in the 1980s and Americans increasingly purchased affordable foreign oil. Even today, American dependence on foreign oil remains high, and there is no shortage of economic troubles related to oil producers’ manipulation of the market.

sources:
http://cr.middlebury.edu/es/altenergylife/70's.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/energy-crisis
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo
http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/chronology/petroleumchronology2000.htm#T_3_

Star Wars: Space Militarization

While many Americans gazed in amazement as Yuri Gagarin's Vostok spacecraft, visible from Earth, completed a successful orbit in space, the scientific success introduced the Cold War into the new frontier of space. Naturally, since missile technology was heavily invested in so that each side could keep up with the other, new rocket designs were always appearing that brought mankind closer and closer with space.

The Soviet Union was the first of the rivals to successfully place an artificial satellite, Sputnik, in space, and Gagarin was the first human to orbit the Earth as well. The potential threat of the domination of space could come in the form of missiles in space that could strike and fall without warning. As a result, space became, like Cuba, yet another battleground for the Soviets and the Americans.

In May 1961, the same year that Gagarin and US astronaut Alan Shepherd successfully went into space, President Kennedy launched an unprecedented promise by telling the world that America would place a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Funding to space programs quintupled, but there were still notable setbacks, like Project Vanguard, the US's first rocket that exploded on launch, and the deaths of 3 astronauts during Apollo 1 due to an electrical fire during testing. Kennedy's ultimate aim, however, can be constructed to be an increase in US influence internationally through a demonstration of US technological superiority. Even after Kennedy's assassination, manned space travel remained an important part of US government doctrine in order to boost the morale of Americans.

Kennedy's vision was realized when Apollo 11, carrying 3 astronauts, successfully landed on the moon, effectively winning the space race. However, the Cold War still continued in space in varying ways. On one hand, cooperative Soviet-American flights were proposed. Even today, NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space program, cooperate in sending astronauts and cosmonauts to the ISS, the international space station. Yet, even up until the Reagan presidency, the rivalry in space could still be seen with the Strategic Defense Initiative, aptly named Star Wars, that aimed to put an anti-ballistic system in space. Such imaginative programs failed in part because of the SALT talks and the limitations placed on ABMs there.

Although the Cold War era and the exciting leap to space are behind us, space remains an important area of international law. The US has Cold War era anti-satellite weapons currently in space, while China infamously demonstrated its own capability for destroying satellites by blowing up an old satellite with a missile in 2007, and the US followed in 2008. Although multiple treaties, including the UN's 2006 Space Preservation Treaty, have been generally accepted, they have not prevented such demonstrations. Similar actions as a part of war could disable GPS or communication systems if they were ever used.

"The Space Race," HISTORY, http://www.history.com/topics/space-race
3-1-2006, "The Cold War and the early space race, an article from History in Focus," History in Focus, http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/cold/articles/godwin.html
 3-5-2009, "The Space Race and the Cold War," Science and Its Times, http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&u=s0351&u=s0351&jsid=1f3b2282b1e355000b5c9b6f11c25fe0&p=UHIC%3AWHIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCV2643450871&zid=d76b6ef1282af17e6e7a964d0f40bdc9
Koman, Rita G.. “Man on the Moon: The U.S. Space Program as a Cold War Maneuver”. OAH Magazine of History 8.2 (1994): 42–50. Web...

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/SDI-StarWars.asp

Women's Rights Movement

In the 1950's, the lives of women were very clear-cut: marry in their 20's, have multiple children, and spend the rest of their lives as a housewife. Only 38% of women worked, and their jobs were limited to professions such as teachers, nurses, or secretaries. Women only accounted for 6% of doctors, 3% of lawyers, and less than 1% of engineers. They were also routinely paid less than men and had less chances to advance, because employers believed that they would get pregnant soon and quit their jobs (which remarkably still happens today, almost 70 years later). 

In 1962, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique. In the book, Friedan challenged the idea of the stereotypical 1950's housewife. As a result of her publication, Friedan helped spark a second wave of feminism in American history. The first wave of feminism had occurred during the 19th and 20th century, ending in the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. The second wave of feminism called for equality not only in the law, but in society and women's lives.

The wave of feminism occurred parallel to multiple anti-war and civil rights movements that were happening at the same time. Because of this, many people marginalized it and viewed it as less pressing than the civil rights movement. In response to this, women formed groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW). While the first wave of feminism was driven by mostly white, middle class women, this second wave included minority women, claiming "Women's struggle is a class struggle".
The nonviolent protests were also influenced by the civil rights movement. Some women made a "Freedom Trash Can" and threw objects like heels, bras, underwear, Playboy magazine in it to represent women trapped in their homes. In 1968, women protested the Miss America Beauty Pageant because it measured a woman's worth in terms of her physical attractiveness and charm.
As a result of these protests, women gained significant changes, especially those in the workplace. In 1961, Kennedy created the President's Commission on the Status of Women, which was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. The Equal Pay Act acknowledged equal pay for men and women who worked in the same jobs(although the act didn't seem to be very effective).
Although women today still have to deal with unequal pay, abortion rights, and self-empowerment, the women's rights movement of the 1960's brought these issues to light, and introduced the idea that women were just as capable as men.

Sources:
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/_notes/GrrlSmarts/sawhney.html
https://tavaana.org/en/content/1960s-70s-american-feminist-movement-breaking-down-barriers-women
http://www.pacificu.edu/about-us/news-events/four-waves-feminism
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/femininemystiq.htm

Vietnam Peace Conference-Paris

In 1954 the war in Vietnam officially began, the conflict dating back to the mid-1940’s, it was the North Vietnamese and its southern allies, the Vietcong, fighting for communism vs the South Vietnamese fighting for democracy. The US main foreign policy during the Cold War was containment, therefore they got involved in the Vietnam war fighting for the South Vietnamese attempting to contain communism. 

But by January 1969 US citizens were getting tired of the “meaning less war in Vietnam” and didn’t want to send their young men and soldiers over any longer. “One factor that influenced the failure of the United States in Vietnam was lack of public support” (ushistory.org) They were told by the media that the US were winning but after the failed but very strong Vietcong attacked the US citizens realized they were not dominating as much as their government had told them. Because of this January 16, 1969 a Vietnam peace conference opened in Paris, the attending delegations represented the United States, the South Vietnamese government, the North Vietnamese government, and the rebel movement in South Vietnam, the Vietcong or Front De Liberation National (FNL). During these peace talks the conversation was slow and there were many terms that could not be agreed upon, but there was one major argument that could be agreed upon by the two major powers, the North Vietnamese and the United States. “The Americans wanted to withdraw their forces, and the North Vietnamese wanted to see them go” (The High Tide of Détente). But of course on this subject as well, the two powers disagreed. The Americans “wanted to withdraw on conditions which would safeguard their protégés in South Vietnam, and salvage at least some part of their prestige…They also wanted the North Vietnamese to return American prisoners of war before the United States forces withdrew from Vietnam” (The High Tide of Détente). “The North Vietnamese demanded the unconditional withdrawal of American forces. In short, the Americans sought a compromise, but the North Vietnamese intended to win” (The High Tide of Détente). 

The Americans were weak in their bargaining position, they had no power because they were in fact losing the war and because the demand the North Vietnamese wanted was the same the allies demanded at the end of WWII so it was no completely unreasonable and new to the Americans as many other peace treaties had been in the past. “The United States was left with only two choices: unconditional withdrawal; or the ‘Vietnamization’ of the war by shifting the burden of the fighting onto the South Vietnamese while Americans gradually left the country” (The High Tide of Détente). The first option was completely unreasonable to the Americans, therefore there was no way they could choose it, but the latter they knew was not a great option either. They knew the South Vietnamese were weaker and would ultimately lose to the North Vietnamese but the United States still chose the latter option, but only had limited success. 

But finally, after years of waiting and a deadlock broken when Nixon was re-elected, on January 27, 1973 “an agreement to end the Vietnam War was signed in Paris by the four parties to the discussions: the United States and South Vietnamese Government, and North Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam” (The High Tide of Détente). The final agreement took four years to come about and it was technically a win for the North Vietnamese because the United States and democracy left South Vietnam allowing communism to spread. 

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war

http://www.ushistory.org/us/55.asp

The High Tide of Détente

Richard Nixon

Best known for the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon is one of the most infamous presidents in American history. 

In 1913 in Yorba Linda, California, Nixon was born to working class parents who often struggled to make ends meet for their five children. As a result of his circumstances, he developed a sense of ambition that would follow him through his political career. At Whittier College, he found his passion in debating and soon became student body president. In 1940, after earning his law degree, he settled in California as an attorney and started a family. America’s entrance into WWII was fast approaching, and when it happened, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy. 

Returning from the war, Nixon was elected to represent California in the House of Representatives in 1946. It was there that he became a leader of the anti-communism movement and jump started his political career. Notably, he served as a leader of the investigation of Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a Russian spy. By 1950, Nixon had gained a seat in the Senate, and as McCarthyism reached its height, he continued his attacks on communism. His reputation increased his popularity with conservatives, and at the age of 39, he ran as Eisenhower’s vice president in the 1952 election. During their campaign, Nixon was accused of the first scandal of his career. Denying allegations that he received gifts from lobbyists, he delivered his “Checkers” speech, in which he claimed that the only gift he ever accepted was a puppy named Checkers from his daughter. The speech proved a success, and Eisenhower won both the election of 1952 and 1956.

By 1960, Nixon had decided to run for president and won the Republican nomination. However, he lost one of the closest elections in history to Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy. Partially to blame for his loss was the growing role of television in voters’ lives, and Kennedy used this new medium to his advantage. Devastated and embarrassed, Nixon retreated to California where he resumed his duties as an attorney and failed his bid for governor of California in 1962. Denying that his political career was over and frustrated with the press, he told reporters that soon, “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”

In 1968, his words came true, and Richard Nixon became the 37th president of the United States. During the campaign, he won support with his claims that he had a plan to get the U.S. out of the Vietnam War. After taking office, he declared his plan of “peace with honor” and the strategy of Vietnamization, which entailed gradually removing U.S. troops from the war and training South Vietnam to take over in our absence. The removal of troops commenced, but by 1972, peace talks had stalled, and the U.S. began bombing North Vietnam. This led to a backlash in congress to end the war and stop U.S. involvement in Vietnam. After being re elected, Nixon finally reached a peace treaty with North Vietnam in 1973, five years after he promised peace. During his presidency, he also worked to reduce the tension between Communist China and the USSR, and his meeting with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev helped limit the production of nuclear weapons in the two countries.

However, very soon after his reelection, there was an investigation into a break-in in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. While Nixon denied any involvement in the incident, tapes released from the White House revealed that he had tried to cover up the break in. In 1974, he resigned rather than be impeached, and was replaced by Vice President Gerald Ford. Nixon returned to his native California with his family and continued his career traveling, writing books on foreign policy, and consulting with various presidents.  While he was pardoned of any criminal activity by Ford, and some view him favorably, many Americans still see him as a criminal. 

Sources:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/richardnixon
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/richard-m-nixon
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3464