This is an interactive timeline of key foreign policy events of the Eisenhower Administration during the Cold War of the 1950's.
In the election of 1952, the Democrats nominated Governor Adlai Stevenson and the Republicans nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower. IKE easily beat Stevenson with 442 to 89 electoral votes. This was a change for the Democrats since they controlled the White House for 20 years in a row. A quote that IKE stood by was, "Conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings."
The United States detonated their first successful hydrogen bomb on November 1st, 1952. The bomb obliterated an entire island called Elugelab. "Mike" destroyed this island by only leaving behind a crater. This hydrogen bomb made the US ahead of the Soviets in the nuclear arms race. This didn't stop the Soviet Union because the following year they detonated their first hydrogen bomb as well.
Operation Ajax was a covert operation to overthrow the government of Iran and Prime Minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. This idea came from the US wanting to make Iran Pro-America because they border the USSR. They figured that would help them with the Cold War and maintain oil flow from Iran. They also successfully replaced the Prime Minister with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was a decisive engagement in the First Indochina War. It consisted of a struggle between the French forces and the nationalists under Ho Chi Minh when eventually it ended with a Vietnamese victory. The French attempted to cut the nationalist's supply lines into Laos and keep a base for attacks against enemies. The base was then overrun despite the aid from the US. The fighting ended in a settlement that took place at a conference in Geneva.
In 1954, the CIA helped overthrow Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, the leader of Guatemala. The operation was all about land, bananas, and protecting the United Fruit Company. IKE relied on the CIA to bolster the US allies and interests but weaken opponents. Arbenz also turned to the US for help not realizing there was a secret plot against him.
The Geneva Summit was the meeting of leaders from the US, France, Britain, and the Soviet Union. After Stalin's death, Cold War tensions relaxed somewhat. In July 1955 IKE met with Khrushchev in Geneva, Switzerland. During the meeting, IKE mentioned his "open skies" proposal which stated that the United States and Soviet Union exchange maps of locations of every military base but unfortunately Khrushchev denied it.
The Hungarian Uprising was a revolt against the communist Soviet government. Imre Nagy formed a new government in which he promised free elections, denounced the Warsaw Pact, and demanded Soviet troops leave Hungary. This angered Khrushchev so he sent in troops that killed 30,000 Hungarians and were the reason 200,000 people fled West. Lastly, Nagy was then executed because he was charged with treason.