Changes in Leadership, 1953-1956 (Edexcel GCSE History)

Why did Leadership Change in the USA and the Soviet Union, 1953-56? - Summary

Leadership changes in the US government were not as common in the 1940s as they are in modern times. In the 21st century, an elected US president only holds office for 4 years before they have to be re-elected. A president in the USA can only hold the position two times. The American government introduced this rule in 1947. Franklin D. Roosevelt held the presidency four times between 1932 and 1944 due to the Great Depression and the Second World War. The government under Harry Truman decided the constitution should limit a president to two terms in office. By 1952, Truman had already held the position of president twice. 

In the Soviet Union, leadership changes were much rarer. In 1917, the Bolshevik Party established a communist dictatorship in Russia. From 1917 to 1953, there were only two leaders of the Soviet Union - Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Both leaders died in office. The political atmosphere of the Soviet Union was tense. Stalin, in particular, feared that a political rival would assassinate him. In 1953, it was unclear who would take ultimate control of the Soviet Union. It would take three years to declare a new General Secretary of the Soviet Union.

Dwight Eisenhower and the Cold War

• The 1950s was influenced by McCarthyism and the Red Scare

  • Joseph McCarthy was the US Senator for Wisconsin

    • He made several speeches on the dangers of communism

    • From 1947 to 1954, he accused up to 200 government officials of being communists. This created widespread panic among the American population

    • His accusations triggered intensive investigations within the government. These investigations occurred in the Army and the CIA. Legal trials proved that McCarthy's claims were false. This did not end the US public's fear of communism

• In the 1952 presidential election, the Republican candidate Dwight Eisenhower became the new president of the USA

• Eisenhower did not know how to approach the USA's relationship with the Soviet Union

  • Eisenhower was anti-communist

    • Eisenhower's presidential campaign centred on attacking communism in the USA and worldwide

    • His Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, wanted Eisenhower to take a firm stance against communism

  • However, Eisenhower feared nuclear warfare

    • He understood the dangers of new nuclear weapons developed in the Arms Race with the Soviet Union. The USA developed the hydrogen bomb in 1952. It was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb

    • To avoid nuclear warfare, he wanted to work on improving the USA's relationship with the Soviet Union 

The Soviet Union's General Secretary: Nikita Khrushchev

• The Soviet Union's dictator Joseph Stalin died on 5th March 1953

  • He named Georgy Malenkov as his successor

• Stalin's death triggered a three-year power struggle between various politicians in the Soviet Union

  • Malenkov was a weak leader

    • He did not know how to stop political rivals from taking his power

  • An alliance against Malenkov resulted in Nikita Khrushchev formally taking the position of General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1956

• To the world, Khrushchev marked a change in the leadership style of the Soviet Union

  • At the 20th Party Congress in 1956, Khrushchev denounced Stalin's leadership

    • The three-hour 'Secret Speech' accused Stalin of abusing his power

    • Khrushchev stated the need for 'peaceful co-existence' with the West

  • Khrushchev began a process called 'De-Stalinisation'

    • He released a large number of political prisoners

    • He lifted some censorship of information

    • He increased the number of consumer goods in the Soviet Union

• Khrushchev's actions indicated that the Soviet Union wanted to improve relations with the West

  • The two powers met in 1955

    •  The USA and Soviet Union met to discuss how the two countries should govern Austria

    • The superpowers failed to agree on the issues of disarmament and what should happen to Germany. However, the atmosphere was positive and collaborative between the USA and the Soviet Union

The Impact of a Change in Leadership on Cold War tensions

• World events also motivated Eisenhower and Khrushchev to improve their relationship

  • The USA and the Soviet Union gave support to different sides in the civil war in Korea. This is called a proxy war

    • After the Second World War, Korea split into North and South

    • North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 with the support of the Soviet Union

    •  The United Nations sent troops to support South Korea

    • In July 1953, the Korean War ended. This allowed the USA and the Soviet Union to pursue better relations

• There was an economic motivation to improve US-Soviet relations
  

  • The arms race meant that the USA and the Soviet Union spent an excessive amount of money on their defence budget

    • During the 1950s, the USA invested more than 13% of its GDP on military spending

• The optimism for better relations did not work in practice

  • The leaders of the USA and the Soviet Union did not take the necessary steps to improve their relationship

    • The US government and population could not accept collaborating with a communist country

    • Khrushchev could not implement too many capitalist elements and freedoms into a communist dictatorship

• Events in Europe escalated tensions between both countries

  • Conflict over Germany

    • West Germany joined NATO in 1955

    • In response, the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact

  • The Hungarian Uprising

    • Khrushchev's retaliation against the uprising demonstrated his use of violence to prevent freedom within the Eastern Bloc. He acted in the same way as Stalin