On May 1, 1960, the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying through Soviet airspace. The fallout over the incident resulted in the cancellation of the Paris Summit scheduled to discuss the ongoing situation in… Read More ›
Cold War
5 of the most dangerous spy plane missions in US history
From Business Insider by Brad Howard: Since the United States entered World War II, the Department of Defense has engaged in the systematic surveillance of other nations by air to glean valuable intelligence on weapons capabilities and military movements. These… Read More ›
How did World War II Lead to the Cold War?
The Cold War (1945-1991) represented a series of localized conflicts and intense diplomatic rivalries between camps led by the capitalist United States and Communist Soviet Union. This era also saw a massive increase in civilian and military technology, including thousands… Read More ›
Did Governments try to Make it Rain? – Interview with Kristine C. Harper
In the 19th and 20th Centuries, both the federal and state governments of the United States explored ways to control the weather. Initially these were not particularly serious, but by the Cold War the United States was looking for any… Read More ›
The 1952 Olympic Games, the US, and the USSR
From the Process History Blog by Erin Redihan author of The Olympics and the Cold War, 1948-1968: Sport as Battleground in the U.S.-Soviet Rivalry: The relationship between politics and international sport is fraught with tension and drama: the same qualities that make for… Read More ›
Five myths about espionage
From The Washington Post by Mark Kramer: The poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in southern England, most likely by Russian intelligence agents, highlights the role of espionage in Russia’s relations with the West. Skripal had… Read More ›
Ten fascinating facts about the Marshall Plan
From OUP Blog by Benn Steil author of The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War. In 1947, with Britain’s empire collapsing and Stalin’s rise in Europe, US officials under new Secretary of State George C. Marshall set out to… Read More ›
How the U.S. Used Jazz as a Cold War Secret Weapon
From Time Magazine by Billy Perrigo: Almost exactly 60 years ago, in the crisp, early spring of 1958, a young boy from California named Darius shuffled through the streets of Warsaw. He shivered; it still felt like winter, and snow… Read More ›
Eisenhower and the Cold War
From Imperial & Global Forum by Jeremy Black Successful presidents do not need to come through the political process, but whatever their background, they need to be able to lead intelligently and to make sense of and mould the… Read More ›
Why did the United States and Soviet Union Reach Detente During the Cold War?
Detente was a period lasting approximately from 1972 to 1981 in which there was a thaw in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was punctuated by major and surprising events, including the end of American involvement… Read More ›