APUSH - Foreign Policy by Cold War Presidents

Harry Truman

• Containment

• Truman Doctrine → Promised to aid foreign nations resisting Communism

• Marshall Plan → Aided in rebuilding of European nations after WWII

• Forming of NATO

• Beginning of Cold War

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• New Look Policy → Emphasized nuclear tech, airpower, and intelligence capabilities to deter the Soviets

• “Massive retaliation”

• “Domino Theory” → If one nation falls to Communism, other would follow

• Eisenhower Doctrine → Primised military and economic aid to Middle-Eastern nations that resisted Communism

• Strengthened NATO

John F. Kennedy

• Flexible response → Moved away from Eisenhower’s reliance on massive nuclear retaliation

• Cuban Missile Crisis

• Bay of Pigs Invasion

• Prevention of Communism through peace and economic improvement

• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Lyndon B. Johnson

• Vietnam escalation

• Continuation of Kennedy’s foreign policy → Alliance for Progress

• Pursued a policy of concilation with the Soviet Union

Richard Nixon

• Shift from Cold War confrontation to détente

• Opening to China (1972) → Visited Beijing

• Implemented plan to reduce U.S. troops in Vietnam

• Strengthened ties with Isreal while reducing Soviet influence

Gerald Ford

• Continued policy of reducing Cold War tensions

• The Helsinki Accords → Aimed at reducing Soviet tensions and improving human rights

• Presided over the final withdrawl of U.S. troops and the fall of South Vietnam

• Met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to set limits on nuclear weapons

Jimmy Carter

• Prioritized human rights

• Panama Canal Treaties

• Established formal diplomatic ties with CHina

• SALT II Treaty

• Soviet invasion of Afghanistan → 1980 Olympic Boycott

• Carter Doctrine → Vowed to protect Persian Gulf from Soviet influence