P-32+Origins+of+Detente+and+Effects+on+Cold+War;+Renewal+of+Cold+War+Tensions

= __The Renewal of Tensions in the Cold War__ =

**From Brinkmanship to Detente and Brinkmanship Breaks Down:**
__Brinkmanship cause repeated crises, which caused a constant?__ - **Threat** __John F. Kennedy-__He acted as a cold warrior during the cold war, using anti-cold war ideas to campaign for president.(McAdams) The Cuban Missile Crisis was a big scare for nuclear war at the time. The U-2 incident had stopped the US and Soviet Union from meeting and discussing the build us of weapons on both sides. When the Soviet ships avoided US ships at sea it showed the world how close they had come to disaster. This all took place during his presidency.(Beck;556)

** The Détente was **a policy adopted by the US during the Cold War in an effort to ease tensions with the Soviet Union**. And for the US it was significant because **it represented a shift in politics for the whole country and also a personal change for the president of the time**, Richard M. Nixon. Nixon was the **37th US president and served during the end of the Vietnam War**, and obviously the Cold War. He was also the one who moved the country towards the Détente largely because of his anti-communist views. Détente was a philosophy that **grew out of an idea called “realpoitik”** which is a German word meaning “realistic politics”. Realistic politics was the **philosophy of dealing with other nations in a practical and flexible manor** (Beck;554-557).
 * From Brinkmanship to Detente and the United States Turns to Detente:

In 1972 U.S. president Richard Nixon visits Russia to sign the SALT treaty. SALT also included a series of meetings called the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between Nixon and Brezhnev. These meetings eventually led to the signing of the SALT I treaty, which was a 5 year agreement limiting the number of intercontinental ballistic and submarine-launched missiles. This created somewhat of a peace between the countries. Congress never ratified SALT II (see 'The Collapse of Detente and Policy Changes'). (Beck; 557)
 * Nixon Visits Communist Powers:**



President Nixon and Gerald Ford improved relations with China and the Soviet Union. But later Jimmy Carter was concerned over the Soviet policies of the protesters, which caused the hesitation of the signing of SALT II. Then finally Brezhnev and Carter signed the SALT II agreement, but U.S. Congress refused to ratify SALT II because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. (Beck; 557)
 * The Collapse of Detente and Policy Changes:**

In 1981 an anti-communist president takes office .** This man's name was **Ronald Reagan**. Some say that Reagan was the greatest president the U.S. has ever had. This is because he supposedly ended the international peace threat, more commonly known as the Cold War. When Reagan was electedpresident he invested in the missile defense program **Strategic Defense Initiative** (SDI) (Heritage pg.1).This allowed the U.S. to start the development of surface to air defense missiles (SAM) incase the Soviet Union decided to strike. The missiles worked by intercepting the oncoming warheads which would cause them to safely detonate in the air. This only enforced the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union until 1985 when new Soviet leadership was brought in. The new leader of the Soviets ( Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev) was more willing to work with the U.S. which eventually led to the end of the bloodless **Cold War** by signing Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) which in the end caused the Soviet Union to break up into individual republics.The signing of the treaty and the dissolving of the U.S.S.R. occured in the year 1991 ending the alleged 45 year "war". (Cannon pg.1)
 * Reagan Takes an Anti-Communist Stance****:

__MLA Citation__

“Ballistic Missile” __Wikimedia__ online. March 17, 2009. May 11, 2009.

Beck, Roger B, et al. Modern World History- Patterns of Interaction.

N.p.: Houghton Mufflin Company, 2005. May 8, 2009 

"Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis to Detente.". Shmoop. 11 May 2009 . 

Dr. Joyce Starr. “Star Wars Ballistic Missile Defense”. __BlogTalkRadio online.__ March 26,

2009. [|http://www.blogtalkradio.com/RightsRadio/2009/03/26/-Star-Wars-] [|Ballistic-Missile-Defense-w-Host-Dr-Joyce-Starr] 

“Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich” __encyclopedia online.__ May 6, 2009. []

Garthoff, Raymond L. "Détente and Confrontation: American-Soviet Relations from Nixon to Reagan." __Foreign Affairs__. 6 May 2009

. 

Lou Cannon. “Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Talks Collapse as Deadlock on SDI Wipes Out Other Gains”. __Washington Post__ online. October 13, 1986. May 7,

2009. []

McAdams, John. "John Kennedy and the Cold War." The Kennedy Assassination. 2008. 11 May 2009 .

Oyos, Matthew M. "Jimmy Carter and SALT II: The Path to Frustration." __American Diplomacy__. 7 May 2009.

. 

“Ronald Reagan”. __Answers Online__. May 5, 2009. []

Schoenherr, Steven. "Nixon and Detente." __USD: History__. 10 Apr. 2006. 11 May 2009 .

Sibley, Katherine A.S. The Cold War. Westport, Connecticut London: Greenwood, 1961. Book 

"Signing the SALT I Treaty." __Wikimedia Commons__. 1 Feb. 2009. 11 May 2009 .

“Where is Star Wars Missile Defense Today?”. __Heritage online__ May 6, 2009 []

“World Affairs, 1969-1983”. __US history online__. May 5, 2009. []

“10 Hottest Moments of the Cold War”. __History__ online. May 4, 2009.

[] <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: 1pt;">“40. Ronald Reagan 1981-1989”. __Whitehouse online__. May 5, 2009. <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[]