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Jessica Schwerdt
Ms. Krupicka
AP U.S. History
May 5, 2015
Americas Time of Conflict
The world changed a lot during Dwight Eisenhowers presidency. The war in Korea was
ended, the war in Vietnam began, and relations between America and the Soviet Union bettered
then worsened. Through this Eisenhower changed the American education system for the better,
shrunk the military, and attempted to accomplish world peace by working with the United
Nations. The fast changing world forced the United States and President Eisenhower to quickly
adapt to their new predicaments.
Once Northern Korea, supported by the U.S.S.R., decided to invade Southern Korea the
United States and other countries worried that the whole Korean Peninsula would become
communist. With the United Nations approval the United States helped South Korea fight back
against the North Korean Army. After a few years the war came to a bloody stalemate, neither
line moved but still the fighting continued. Once President Dwight Eisenhower was elected he
visited Korea. Once back in the United States Eisenhower began the steps for a treaty. Within
months the peace treaty was signed. The fighting between the two halves of the Peninsula were
over, but tension still remains to this day.

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In 1954 the new communist government in Vietnam defeated the French. America ally to
France and a strong enemy of communism was expected to quickly enter the war. Eisenhower
not wanting more war hoped SEATO, Asias version of NATO, would not tolerate communism.
SEATO was not a strong enough organization to stop Vietnam from becoming a communist
country. In 1955 the United States already sided with the French decided to intervene. Just two
years earlier Eisenhower ended a war, and now he was starting the longest and most
controversial war in Americas history. The war in Vietnam would continue long after
Eisenhowers presidency ended.
Before Eisenhower was elected the United States and the Soviet Union had begun an
arms race to create the hydrogen bomb. While America was the first to test the hydrogen bombs
the arms race still continued with each country continually making larger and larger bombs. In
order to still intimidate the U.S.S.R. and keep taxes and military spending low, President
Eisenhower decreased the size of the military and made it clear that America had an almost
unlimited number of atomic weapons. Then in 1957 the United States suddenly fell behind in the
race to space. The Soviets had launched Earths first satellite, Sputnik. America had lost the race
to space. Eisenhower then decided to create a new government organization just for space
exploration, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency better known as NASA. With the
creation of NASA President Eisenhower decided to increase school funding and better Americas
education system. The Nation Defense Education Act mostly help to improve math and science
programs. Even with all of this effort the Soviet Union was the first to launch a live creator, a
dog, and the first human to ever travel in space.

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In 1958 the United States announced it would be suspending nuclear tension. The Soviet
Union also decided to suspend their nuclear testing. The Soviet Union had been siding with each
other on the foreign affairs when Egypt seized control of the formally European controlled Suez
Canal, which helped to better relations between the two nations. In 1959 crisis occurred in Berlin
the two nations avoided any escalation of the matter. In doing so the Soviet Union invited
President Eisenhower to visit the country and the United States invited Khrushchev, the
U.S.S.R.s new leader, to America. Khrushchev took a tour of America but before Eisenhower
got his chance in the Soviet Union an American U-2 plane was shot down thousands of miles
into U.S.S.R. territory. The U-2 plane and others like it had been carrying information to
Eisenhower about the Soviets military strength. The piolet of the plane was also found with
poison to keep the mission secret, but the Soviets were able to interrogate him. The crash of the
U-2 plane over Soviet territory started another down fall of Soviet and American relations.
During Eisenhowers two presidential terms he and the American government were
forced to adapt to the fast changing world. With one war ended and another having begun
Eisenhower was in for many changes. The battle against communism was continued in his
presidency. The American education system was bettered because of this battle and arms race
though. Twice during his presidency peace was nearly accomplished when another conflict
suddenly started.