CHAPTER 28

AFFLUENCE AND ITS DISCONTENTS, 1954-1963

STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS

28.a.1

The World System

28.a.2

The New Look

28.a.3

US Foreign Policy, 1953-1963: Episodes of Containment

28.e.4

Civil Rights Strategy of SCLC

28.f.3

Gaither Report

28.f.4

Sputnik

28.f.6

Eisenhower's warning

28.g.1

Kennedy's New Frontier

28.h.1

Kennedy's Tax Policy

28.g.4

Stages of Economic Growth

28.g.7

Why did the Khrushchev attempt to base missiles in Cuba?

WWW Links related to Chapter 28

[a.1]

THE WORLD SYSTEM

A theoretical model

World Systems theory is a model that attempts to explain the system in which the nation's of the world operate. The snapshot shown above depicts the US at the high-tide of its hegemony (1945-1970). Only Great Britain between 1815-1870 ever achieved the such a pinnacle of world dominance like the United States achieved in the first 25 years after WWII.

Core, 2nd world, and 3rd world

How the hegemon maintains its power.

Notice that the world is divided into 3 zones. Notice also that each zone specializes in different types of activity. The theory state that the hegemon (US for the free world, USSR for the communist block) maintain the stability of the system through military force. But herein lies the problem: the more a nation spends on military armaments, the faster it undermines the system it is trying to uphold. After the passage of time, hegemony slips away. For the US, this happened during the Vietnam War, as we shall discover.

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[a.2]

THE NEW LOOK

The policy of the single-option response.

The New Look policy of the Eisenhower administration signaled the US intention to respond with massive nuclear retaliation against Soviet cities as the official US response to communist aggression. John Foster Dulles and Arthur Radford were the principle architects of the new strategic policy. The theory was simple: if communists tried take over a free nation, the US would attack with atomic weapons. The advantages of the New Look are listed below:

Advantages

  1. Lower Defense Bill. The Korean War had hoisted the US defense budget to over $50 billion a year. The New Look, with its reliance on the USAF's strategic air command and nuclear weaponry, would enable the Eisenhower administration to lower defense expenditures because atomic bombs were cheaper to maintain than a large standing army. During the 1950's, defense costs consumed about 47% of the federal budget (10% of GNP).
  2. Strengthened collective security agreements. The New Look was also committed to alliances. In 1952, the US rearmed the West German Army. The US also contracted regional security pacts in the the southwest Pacific and the Middle East.

Disadvantages

Certain realities flawed the strategy of the New Look:

  1. The New Look lacked flexibility. The USSR and the rest of the world new the US would never use atomic weapons in response to slight pro vocations. In 1955, the US did not use nuclear weapons against China when the PRC bombarded some islands off the coast of Taiwan. In the 1956 Suez Crisis, Eisenhower advised Britain and France to back down. Also in 1956, the US did nothing when Soviet tanks crushed the Hungarian uprising. In 1958 US Eisenhower deployed marines to Lebanon instead of launching bombers against the USSR. The "all-or-nothing" option always resulted in the latter.
  2. The New Look was too provocative. Scientists and analysts like Herman Kahn, Bernard Brodie, Henry Kissinger, and Paul Nitze warned that the New Look unnecessarily risked nuclear war. A sure-fire second strike capability aimed at Soviet ICBM forces would be more effective deterrent against war, they argued, instead of a first strike aimed at Soviet cities. Some of the nation's military chiefs also questioned the wisdom of the New Look.

JFK's Flexible Response replaced the New Look in 1960.

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[a.3]

US FOREIGN POLICY, 1953-1963: EPISODES OF CONTAINMENT

US interventions abroad

YR

EVENT

ISSUE

OUTCOME

1953

Prime Minister of Iran Mossadigh overthrown by CIA

Mossadegh threatened to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. This would rob profits from Great Britain and possibly restrict the flow of oil to Japan & Europe. The Tudeh Party in Iran was also leaning toward communism. In US eyes, removing Mossadegh and replacing him with the Shah would safeguard the free world oil supply and stop communist penetration into the Middle East.

Mossadegh is overthrown. Soviet influence was contained but US had to face another problem: the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. In 1979, after years of US indifference to Iran's problems, the Ayatolla Khomeini overthrew the Shah & irate Iranians seized US embassy hostages.

1954

CIA intervention in Guatemala

Eisenhower secretly authorized the CIA to overthrow Jacob Arbenz, the duly elected president of Guatemala, because he threatened to take land from the United Fruit Company (US) and redistribute it to peasants. The US also wanted Guatemala as a market.

Arbenz was overthrown and replaced by a right-wing dictator. The ease of the operation made US cocky, leading to the Bay of Pigs fiasco (1961). US domination of Guatemala has stunted the growth of that Central American republic. Eisenhower saved Guatemala from a Leftist government only to give the people the right-wing brand of dictatorship.

1955

West Germany becomes part of NATO

US felt that German rearmament and NATO membership was vital to the security of Europe & US. The USSR wanted to unify Germany & withdraw from Central and Eastern Europe provided the US would evacuate the west.

US, France, and Britain choose to rearm Germany and include it in NATO. Germany become permanently divided. The move contained the USSR but also ensures that the Soviets would retain their hold on Eastern Europe.

1956

Hungarian Uprising

Spurred on by broadcasts from Radio Free America that the US would support freedom speaking peoples, the Hungarians, led by Imre Nagy, rebelled against Soviet rule.

Soviet tanks crushed the uprising in Budapest. US had made pledges it could not keep. The limits of the New Look policy were evident: Eisenhower did not unleash nuclear weapons--or any other military force--against the USSR. Eastern Europe would remain under Soviet control.

1956

Suez Crisis

Egyptian president Gamal Nasser was leaning toward the USSR. The US retaliated by withdrawing an offer to build a hydroelectric dam on the Nile River. Nasser retaliated by nationalizing the Suez Canal. Britain & France respond by bombing the canal zone and landing paratroopers.

Eisenhower tells the British & French to stand down. The episode was embarrassing for the US. While the US was censuring Russia for crushing a pro-democracy revolt, our own allies were engaging in "gun boat" imperialism. Nasser remained in power.

1954
&

1958

Matsu-
Quemoy
Crisis (not in text)

Mao Zedong's Red Chinese army bombards islands off the coast of Chiang Kai-Check's Tawain in retaliation for Nationalist (Taiwanese) attacks on PRC (Red) Chinese shipping). J.F Dulles & the US did not recognize communist (PRC) China, but neither did they want to be tied to Chiang's war wagon.

The US sent the 7th Fleet to the Taiwan straits. During the tension filled crisis, the US & China came dangerously close to war over 2 islands of zero strategic value. For a look at map showing Matsu and Quemoy click here. The crisis ended when Chiang abandoned 2 northern islands and agreed not to attack PRC shipping. In exchange the US agreed to increase its military aid to Taiwan. Mao's China was contained, but historians question whether Mao really wanted the islands or if he was just trying to show the US how risky it was to back Chiang Kai-Check. The US did not recognize mainland (PRC) China until 1979.

1958

attempted Indonesian intervention

Ackmed Sukarno, the Prime Minister of Indonesia, was receiving aid from the USSR. Human Rights was not one of Sukarno's strong suits. Eisenhower secretly authorized the CIA to support Sumatran rebels in an attempt to discredit or overthrow Sukarno.

Plans were going well until a US bomber was shot down, exposing the rebellion as a US plot to overthrow Sukarno. US withdraws. Sukarno plays 2 tunes, extracting aid from the US and USSR. Containment had failed.

1958

Aid to Jordan and Lebanon Intervention

"Nasserism", or rising Arab nationalism, threatened the stability of the Middle East. If it went unchecked, the oil producing Arab nations might cut ties with the West and seek accommodation with the USSR. In 1957 and 1958, King Hussein of Jordan and Lebanon appealed for help. Eisenhower responded with the "Eisenhower Doctrine"--a pledge to aid anyone seeking help against communist aggression, especially the Middle East. Historians note that Arab nationalism resulted from centuries of imperialism, not agitation from Russian agents.

To support the Lebanese president, Eisenhower sent the 6th Fleet & landed the Marines; Jordan received $10 million in aid. The US was behaving like a traditional Great Power. Self-determination was being suppressed to ensure the free flow of oil.

1961

Meeting the Challenge of the Pathet Lao in Loas (not in text)

An American backed faction was fighting against the Pathet Lao party, a communist organization.

The two sides agreed to a truce and a coalition government was formed. JFK, having compromised in Laos, wanted to avoid compromise in Vietnam so it wouldn't look like he was "soft on communism." Containment was reaching the limits of effectiveness.

1961

Bay of Pigs, Cuba

In 1959, Fidel Castro, inspired by the class conflict analysis of communist theory, overthrew Batista, the right wing ruler of Cuba. Castro was trying to reduce his country's dependence on the US. Kennedy authorized the CIA to raise a force of Cuban expatriates to unseat Castro.

The invasion failed dismally. The Cuban brigade was stranded when US warships refused to give them support and Kennedy failed to provide air cover. Castro and Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier, gloated over the victory. Next year they tried to base missiles in Cuba.

1962

Cuban Missile Crisis

In October, US reconnaissance flights revealed that the Russians were installing missile launchers in Cuba. Historians still wonder why Khrushchev made such a provocative move.

After tense debate with options ranging from air strikes to naval blockade, JFK opted to for blockade . The crisis ended when Khrushchev ordered the Russian fleet to turn back. In exchange Kennedy promised from the US never to invade Cuba again. Soviet military power had been contained, but the world risked nuclear war. Castro remains in power in Cuba to this day despite 35 years of US trade sanctions.

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[e.4]

CIVIL RIGHTS STRATEGY OF SCLC

Southern Civil Rights leadership.

SCLC stands for the SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE. Martin Luther King, Jr. presided over this organization until his death in 1968. SCLC was comprised of leading Black ministers in the South.

non-violence.

The SCLC adopted the techniques of non-violence to promote Black civil rights. Click MLK for my speech on Martin Luther King given January 1997. In it I elaborate on the origins of King's non-violent strategy.

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[f.3]

GAITHER REPORT, 1957

A recommendation to strengthen US forces.

After the shock of Sputnik, the Gaither Committee reported US defenses were vulnerable. The Gaither committee charged that a "missile gap" had opened between the US and USSR, arguing that the advantage lay with the Soviets. The report concluded that nuclear missiles must be developed to back up the bombers of Strategic Air Command. The report stimulated development in US defenses in 3 areas:

  1. ICBM development. Atlas, Titan, Jupiter, and Thor missiles were developed. Long range ICBM's can span oceans and continents.
  2. Civil Air Defense. The US established the Ballistic Missile Early-Warning System (BMEWS) in 1957. This system would warn of incoming bomber and missile attack. It was hoped that the army's Nike-Zeus missile system could knock-out incoming attacks.
  3. Advanced Projects Research Agency. Secretary of Defense Thomas Gates centralized space and missile technology research under the Department of Defense. The Agency started research on such futuristic programs as space-based missile defense systems, the forerunner of "Star Wars."

[f.4]

SPUTNIK

That strange metallic sphere.

Believe it or not, this odd shaped metallic ball with protruding antennae and weighing 184 lbs scared America. With this unmanned satellite, the USSR had beaten the US into space. The significance of Sputnik was that it showed rocket motors could be made powerful enough to carry large payloads into outer space. And if man could reach outer space, he could mount nuclear weapons on his rockets and make traditional navies, air forces, and armies obsolete. The US responded 4 ways:

  1. SPUTNIK gave the Gaither Report special urgency.
  2. The National Defense Education Act was passed to encourage scientific research.
  3. NASA formed, a civilian agency.
  4. In 1961 JFK promised to put a man on the moon.

Presidential leadership fails.

Robert Divine, a historian at UT-AUSTIN, argues Eisenhower earns low marks for his leadership at this time. True, he did not panic like everyone else did, understanding that Sputnik had not erased the huge American lead in nuclear technology or missile technology (the US launched its own satellite, Vanguard, 4 months later). But Eisenhower failed to settle the fears of the American people. Failure on this point paved the way for a nuclear build-up that was unnecessary.

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[f.6]

EISENHOWER'S WARNING

When he left office, Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex, suggesting it was a threat to democracy. Eisenhower died in 1969.

[g.1]

KENNEDY'S NEW FRONTER

  1. Pledged to support anti-discrimmination efforts
  2. Vague pledges to rebuild rural communities and urban centers
  3. Economic stimulation through tax cuts and deficit spending
  4. "Flexible" Response foreign policy. Variated forces, from nuclear weapons to Green Berets would allow the US to more effectively respond to Soviet and Chinese provocations

[g.4]

STAGES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH: A NON-COMMUNIST MANIFESTO (1960) by Walt Rostow.

An alternative to communism.

American policy Makers searched for alternatives to Marxist liberation theory to provide a pattern for Third World Development. One such man was Walt Rostow. Rostow began his career as an advisor to John F. Kennedy. His book, Stages of Economic Growth, provided the intellectual framework that undergirded the US intervention in Vietnam.

Assumptions

Rostow thesis was provocative:

  1. Modernization causes Dislocation. As the 3d World emerged as free nations, they will modernize their traditional economies. This modernization process will cause social dislocation. For example, peasants will move from the rice fields to the cities in quest for high paying jobs.
  2. Dislocation breeds uncertainty. Dislocation will disrupt traditional life. Communists will try to capitalize on this uncertainty to overthrow wobbly governments.
  3. US must protect newly emerging economies in the 3rd World with military force.
  4. Military over Civilian. The military was the key to modernizztion. Rostow argued that "democracy" would have to wait. The US should back the police and military forces of emerging nations since they had the power to enforce governments friendly to capitalism.
  5. Fragile developing nations must be treated as protectorates of the US. This would allow the US to reorganize their economies and prepare them for export-import activity with the Free World system. When nations reach the "take-off" point they might be able to survive on their own without a US military presence.

Rostow in LBJ administration.

In 1966, President Johnson appointed Rostow as special advisor to the President for National Security Affairs. Rostow consistently advocated the bombing of North Vietnam and the introduction of more ground forces. After leaving government service, Rostow taught economics at UT Austin.

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[g.5]

WHY DID KHRUSCHEV ATTEMPT TO BASE MISSILES IN CUBA?

Russia's intention

The USSR tried to base missiles in Cuba to redress the strategic nuclear imbalance. The US had more ICBM's; the USSR hoped to close the gap by basing shorter range missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from Florida. The Cuban based missiles would off-set American nuclear superiority in longer range weapons.

Was Khruschev nuts?

Historian Raymond Garthoff in Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis notes that Khrschev seriously miscalculated the Kennedy's response. At the same time, Garthoff contends both sides played the dangerous game of "brinkmanship" and displayed too little willingness to compromise until nuclear holocaust stared both leaders in the face. Only then did the two sides relent. Khruschev withdrew his missile basing plans; Kennedy agreed to never invade Cuba again. The US also quietly withdrew outdated missiles from Turkey.

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[h.1]

KENNEDY'S TAX POLICIES

Kennedy pursued lower corporate and income taxes. With surplus money to invest, the theory went, industries would grow, benefiting all Americans. The Tax Reduction Act (1964) reduced income and corporate taxes by as much as 21 and 4% respectively over a 2-year period.

WWW LINK RELATED TO CHAPTER 28

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