This Week in EUCOM History: September 10-16, 1959
September 15, 1959-- The U.S.-Soviet "hot line" goes into operation
Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States. During the next two weeks, Khrushchev's visit dominated the news and provided some dramatic and humorous moments in the history of the Cold War.
Khrushchev came to power in the Soviet Union following the death of long-time dictator Joseph Stalin in 1954. Many observers believed that Khrushchev, a devoted follower of Stalin during the 1930s and 1940s, would not provide much difference in leadership. He surprised them, however, by announcing that he sought "peaceful coexistence" with the United States and denouncing the "excesses" of Stalinism. During the late 1950s, Khrushchev continued to court a closer relationship with the United States and often praised President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a man who also sought peace. In 1959, the U.S. and Soviet governments shocked the world by announcing that Khrushchev would visit America in September and meet with Eisenhower face to face.
Khrushchev's first day in America was mostly taken up with formal receptions and a motorcade from the airport to downtown Washington. At the airport, Khrushchev announced that he had arrived in America "with open heart and good intentions. The Soviet people want to live in friendship with the American people." Groups of spectators and several military bands lined the way of the motorcade procession from the airport, and Eisenhower, Khrushchev, and Mme. Khrushchev sat together in the back of a convertible to wave at the crowds. Once in town, Khrushchev almost immediately sat for a nearly two-hour talk with Eisenhower and his advisers. Longer and more involved talks were scheduled for later in the Soviet leader's visit. "Because of our importance in the world, it is vital that we understand each other better," Eisenhower declared at a state dinner that night. Khrushchev agreed, adding that friendship was necessary "because our two countries are much too strong and we cannot quarrel with each other."
During the next few days, Khrushchev took the opportunity to tour the United States before his summit meeting with Eisenhower. Although Khrushchev's trip was more of a goodwill visit than an opportunity for significant negotiations, the tour provided some moments of high drama and low comedy, particularly during the Soviet leader's trip through California.
Find more articles tagged with:
Related Topics
Related Articles
-
The close of an era: A-10 Thunderbolt makes final flight over the Grafenwoehr Training Area
On April 24, 2013, the A-10 Thunderbolt took flight over Grafenwoehr Training Area’s impact area for the last time.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Visitors experience history in Bastogne
Visitors from around the world swarmed the small town of Bastogne, Belgium Dec. 15-16 as part of the 35th Bastogne Historic Walk. Many participants traded their modern-era clothing for the olive-drab garb that U.S. troops wore here 68 years ago.Find more articles tagged with:
-
65 years after leaving RAF Alconbury, WW II veteran returns
Ted Penn, a quartermaster in the 685th Air Materiel Squadron, who returned to RAF Alconbury Nov. 13 - the first time in 67 years - to discover the installation in a far different state than when he left it in October of 1945Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: Nov. 11-17, 1918
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France.Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: Nov. 4-10, 1956
Following nearly two weeks of protest and political instability in Hungary, Soviet tanks and troops viciously crush the protests. Thousands were killed and wounded, and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country.Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: Oct. 22- 28, 1962
In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F. Kennedy announces that U.S. spy planes have discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile sites—under construction but nearing completion—housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C.Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 1990
Less than one year after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany come together on what is known as "Unity Day."Find more articles tagged with:
-
CNE-CNA Fleet Master Chief Meets Ukraine’s First MCPON, Tours Naval Facilities
The fleet master chief (FLTCM) of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa spent two days touring facilities and meeting junior and senior Ukrainian Sailors along with the recently selected first Ukrainian master chief petty officer of the navy (MCPON) in Sevastopol, Ukraine, Sep. 11.Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: August 27 - September 2, 1963
Two months after signing an agreement to establish a 24-hour-a-day "hot line" between Moscow and Washington, the system goes into effect. The hot line was supposed to help speed communication between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union and help prevent the possibility of an accidental war.Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: August 13-19
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev declares that he is ready to begin disarmament talks with the West.Find more articles tagged with:
Comments: 1
When I was a young I watched him hatetred towards the USA in the Bay of Pigs stand Off.He said a a NATO open meeting with President Kennedy .If we can't take you from without we will take from within! Sort of like the hidden sleepers that sit in places of power trying to make the US into a Socialistic Goverment! If keep the direction our President leading us torwards in his policy Today. I think President Truman was the most understated President Today in his Policy of "The Buck Stops Here.".In my opinion we have one as good as he . Regards Chuck.