The Cold War: Korean War Outcomes, Eisenhower’s Warnings, and the Space Race

Major Outcomes and Context of the Korean War (1950–1953)

• General Outcome: The primary outcome of the Korean War, fought between $1950$ and $1953$, was that Korea continued to be a divided nation.
• The Role of the United Nations: While the United Nations (UN) fought in Korea to restore the border, the speaker emphasizes that the UN does not "run countries." The UN Security Council made the decision to act, but following the war's conclusion, the territorial division between North and South Korea remained in place.
• Status of North Korea: North Korea is characterized as one of the chief rivals of the United States. The speaker explicitly refutes the idea of North Korea being an ally.
• Success Metric of the War: The war was deemed successful by the U.S. in the regard that it achieved its goal: protecting against and preventing the spread of communism in the region.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Military-Industrial Complex

• Eisenhower’s Background: Dwight D. Eisenhower served as the President during the $1950$s. He had an extensive military career, most notably serving as the commander who executed the D-Day invasion during World War II, earning him the status of a war hero.
• Internal Contradiction: Despite his military background, Eisenhower was deeply concerned and reluctant regarding the massive buildup of the U.S. military strength and its reliance on conventional weapons (tanks, airplanes) and nuclear arms.
• The Farewell Address: Upon leaving office, Eisenhower delivered a notable farewell address. He followed the tradition set by George Washington but with a vastly different message. While Washington warned against permanent foreign alliances, Eisenhower warned of the "military-industrial complex."
• The Military-Industrial Complex Concept:
  • Definition/Mechanism: Eisenhower was concerned about the growing interdependence between U.S. industry and the military.
  • Economic Motive: Since the goal of any business in a capitalist economy is to grow and increase profit year-over-year, businesses that manufacture weapons have an incentive to produce larger and more expensive armaments.
  • The Paradox: Eisenhower questioned where this growth would stop if the military size and corporate profit models were inextricably linked.
• Political Implications:
  • Members of Congress are expected to bring economic benefits to their home districts (e.g., jobs).
  • While jobs can be created through federal infrastructure (e.g., the Messina power project or the Eisenhower Locks in Messina, which created jobs at the New York Power Authority), they are also frequently created through military spending.
• Local Case Study: The North Country and Fort Drum:
  • Location: Fort Drum is located in Watertown, in a district that encompasses everything north of Albany and Syracuse.
  • Scale: While "smallish" compared to some bases that are $10 \times$ or $15 \times$ larger, Fort Drum employs nearly $20,000$ people.
  • Political Incentive: Since the end of the Cold War, the military has been closing bases because "readiness centers for deployment" are less necessary. Consequently, representatives—including John McHugh ($1990$s), Owens ($2000$s), and Elise Stefanik—have campaigned on their ability to keep Fort Drum open.
• Eisenhower’s Social Warning: Eisenhower articulated the "opportunity cost" of military spending with the following metaphors:
  • Every aircraft carrier built represents a hospital that cannot be built.
  • Every bomber produced is a school that goes without support.

The Launch of Sputnik and the Technological Crisis of 1957

• The Event: In $1957$, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik. This created a "philosophical crisis" in the U.S., as Americans had previously believed their system was technologically superior after developing the atomic bomb first.
• Bomb Delivery Systems: At the time, the U.S. relied on its B-2 bombers to deliver nuclear weapons (as seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The Soviets, however, capitalized on German rocket research from World War II—where rockets were launched from Germany into England—to develop missile technology faster.
• Sputnik's Physical Details:
  • Size: Roughly the size of a beach ball; it could fit in the back of a pickup truck.
  • Function: It was a simple communications satellite that emitted a "beep beep beep" radio signal. It lacked cameras, weapons, or spying capabilities.
  • Lifespan: The batteries died after approximately $2$ weeks, and it crashed out of orbit a few months later.
• The Real Threat: The panic in the U.S. was not caused by the satellite itself, but by the power of the missile required to launch it. The fact that the Soviets could overcome Earth's gravity implied they possessed the power to launch a missile from Russia that could land anywhere in the United States.

The Evolution of Missile Technology

• Transition from Land to Mobile: Early missiles used land-based launchers, which were easily targeted because their locations were known. (Today, old underground land-based launch sites are sometimes sold as real estate developments).
• Mobile Deployment: The U.S. and USSR transitioned to mobile launchers, such as massive trucks (comparable in size to wind turbine transport trucks) and submarines.
• Submarine Warfare: Despite previously viewing German submarines as "unfair" because they sneaked up on ships, the U.S. adopted submarine-launched missiles as a core part of its strategy.

The Space Race and Soviet "Firsts"

• Soviet Dominance: Throughout the $1950$s and $1960$s, the Soviet Union achieved almost all major "firsts" in space except for the moon landing.
  • First Satellite: Sputnik ($1957$).
  • First Human in Space: Yuri Gagarin (the first "cosmonaut").
  • First Woman in Space: Valentina ($2$ years after Gagarin). The U.S. did not match this for many years.
  • Soft Landings: The Soviets achieved soft landings (intact, purposeful landings rather than crashes) on the Moon, Mars, and Venus. The speaker notes the immense difficulty of hitting a moving, orbiting planet hundreds of thousands of miles away.
• U.S. Lunar Success: The U.S. successfully put a human on the moon in $1969$. President John F. Kennedy set this goal in a $1961$ speech, aiming to achieve it within $10$ years; the U.S. accomplished it in $8$ years.

Sputnik’s Impact on American Education

• Federal Funding: Sputnik caused the U.S. government to move away from its previous "hands-off" approach to education. The government began pumping money into public schools specifically for Math and Science to train a new generation of engineers and scientists.
• Department of Education: There was no federal Department of Education in the $1960$s. Funding preceded the creation of the department. (Modern political debates now involve dismantling this department, arguing the federal government is no longer needed in schools).
• Critique of Education Focus: A political cartoon discussed in class suggests that while science and math funding is high, there is a risk of negligence toward other essential skills like reading and writing if schools lack broader resources.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What was a major outcome of the Korean War?
  • Answer: Choice A: Korea continued to be a divided nation.
• Discussion on UN Role: The instructor notes that while the UN Security Council decided to act, they do not manage the day-to-day governance of countries; thus, South Korea was not turned over to UN control (rejecting choice B).
• Question: Which development led to the others (Cause and Effect)?
  • Choice A: A joint Soviet-American space mission.
  • Choice B: JFK set the goal of landing on the moon.
  • Choice C: U.S. government increased funding for science education.
  • Choice D: The Soviet Union launched a satellite.
  • Answer: Choice D. The launch of Sputnik (the Soviet satellite) was the catalyst that led to increased science funding and JFK's moon landing goal.