Sputnik

Sputnik was the beginning of the space race. It was a competition between the US and Soviet Union. The space race was just a section of a larger conflict which was the Cold War.

The Soviet Union left to set up governments and countries they invaded and turn them communist. Most of this was Eastern Europe. Half of Europe was Democratic and the other half was Communist this created an Iron Curtain. The end of World War II set up the idea of an Iron Curtain at this institute’s Cold War. It was a competition between two worldviews, communism and democracy. However, there were only small proxy wars, not huge conflicts. however there was a lot of stealing and spying. Both sides know that if they went to war their countries would be destroyed, this was because of MAD, Mutual assured destruction. The Truman Doctrine was instituted by Harry Truman who was the US president at the time. The doctrine outlined the US has commitment to the Cold War. This meant that if the Soviets try to topple free countries the US would intervene. the first place that this occurred was in Germany. 

Korea was cut in half; the north  was controlled by the Soviet Union and was Communist, but the South was Democratic and was supported by Britain; there was a divide at the 38th parallel. Communist however did not want there to be a divide and they invaded the South. However the US intervened and helped push back the South to the 38th parallel. There was a stalemate between the North and the South however they had never signed a peace treaty only an armistice this was a ceasefire between the two sides.  The US intervened because they feared that if they let Korea go communist the Soviets would continue  to invade other countries just like what Germany did in World War II. 

The space race with the less violent aspect of the Cold War conflict. Russia had the upper hand in the beginning and they launched the first person into space. the US knew that they were falling behind and at this latitude John F Kennedy starting NASA, National aeronautical and space agency. The US eventually landed on the moon and it was a symbol of the winning of the Cold War however there was so much more space to be explored.  A side effect of space exploration was technology and would introduce new technology to the rest of the world.

Sputnik was an awareness for the u.s. that they were engaged in a struggle. The conflict was a result of World War 1 when the Soviets had first become communist. The last decades consumed a lot of national attention and resources. This was an existential conflict and  both the US and Soviet Union knew that they were fighting for their existence. Sputnik represented that in two ways, nuclear missiles and two worldviews, which were communism democracy.