Conformity and Challenges in the Eisenhower and Kennedy Years 349“The USSR does not seem likely deliberately to launch a general war against
the United States during the period covered by current estimates (through
mid-1955).” It continued, “the uncertain prospects for Soviet victory in a
general war, the change in leadership, satellite unrest, and the U.S. capability
to retaliate massively, make such a course improbable. Similarly, an attack on
NATO countries or other areas which would be almost certain to bring on
general war in view of U.S. commitments or intentions would be unlikely. The
Soviets will not, however, be deterred by fear of general war from taking the
measures they consider necessary to counter Western actions which they view
as a serious threat to their security.” Like Truman, Eisenhower and Dulles were
aware of the weakness and caution of the Soviet Union compared to the U.S.
and they knew that there was but a small chance of war. In pursuit of “more
bang for the buck,” however, they developed an offensive strategy based on
air power and nuclear weapons.
Duck and Cover!
With talk of nuclear war so common, Americans naturally became anxious,
or alarmed, at the prospect of large-scale annihilation. The government,
which was exaggerating the Soviet threat in order to justify intervention
abroad and military budgets at home, moved to ease their fears with a civil
defense program. The idea behind the program was to prepare Americans to
survive a nuclear war, a rather difficult, if not impossible, task. And the way
the government did it, in retrospect, would be laughable if the purpose of the
effort—living through nuclear war—were not so deadly serious. In 1950, the
National Security Resources Board, a federal agency, created a 160 page
report, called the “Blue Book” by civil defense bureaucrats, that included a
plan for U.S. citizens to react in the event of an attack by a foreign power.
They put out pamphlets such as “Survival Under Atomic Attack,” to give tips
on how to avoid being incinerated in a nuclear exchange. But the most
famous civil defense effort was a cartoon designed for school kids, Duck and
Cover. Children in every school in America were being taught to prepare for
nuclear war. There were 2 types of war, the video simplistically told them,
“with warning” and “without warning.” The cartoon featured “Bert,” a turtle
who had a shell for protection. Since humans did not have shells, they had
to improvise. The video told schoolchildren that if an atomic bomb hit their