History

More than fifty years ago, human beings faced the gravest nuclear escalation in world history. From early summer 1961, the Soviet Union started to challenge the United States on many fronts: The Soviets built a wall that divided Berlin, thus transforming that city into a symbol of the cold war itself. Furthermore, the Soviets were improving their intercontinental ballistic missiles system by testing a long-range missile named R-9 Desna—or SS-8 Sasin as NATO reports called it. As part of this escalation strategy, they decided to resume their atmospheric nuclear testing program by late summer of that year. At that point, the American administration had to decide whether and how to reply to the systematic and increasing Soviet threats. This essay tries to explain to what extent Kennedy's administration was shattered by a combination of uneasiness and anxiety in dealing with the choice to resume atmospheric nuclear tests. While the administration was pressured by strategists, military elites, and nuclear hard-liners who called for a bold reply to the USSR's provocations, the administration also had to contend with an internal public opinion that was reluctant to passively accept the resumption of American tests. Indeed, many Americans, who were scared by nuclear fallout, had been educated, coordinated, and organized by several private and influential anti-nuclear groups. These groups took the lead in protesting and eventually increased the general awareness of nuclear testing. Consequently, as recently disclosed documents seem to confirm, this essay considers Kennedy's choice as a particularly complex one. Rhetorically, ideologically, and strategically, the choice to delay and limit the U.S. nuclear program ultimately meant the end of an era and the advent of the détente.

This article looks at Eleanor Roosevelt's role within the intense debate on nuclear fallout as it developed in the US in the early 1950s. In particular, the article analyzes Mrs. Roosevelt's position on nuclear weapons, deterrence, and disarmament; her condemnation of nuclear testing; and her role as both a public intellectual and a mass educator who helped people to understand the real consequences of nuclear fallout. Here, Mrs. Roosevelt emerges as an active voice that, by defending freedom of speech, also contributed to popularizing the issue of nuclear fallout and making American citizens aware of the urgency of a ban on nuclear testing.

... La Pace Calda. La nascita del movimento antinucleare negli Stati Uniti e in Gran Bretagna, 1957-1963 Presentata da: Dario Fazzi Coordinatore Dottorato Relatore prof. Stefano Cavazza prof. Mario Del Pero Esame finale anno 2010 Page 2. 2 Page 3. 3 A Laura, ...

Scholars have interpreted the American global web of military bases as both outposts of empire and beacons of freedom. In Europe, in particular , U.S. military deployment has been quite exceptional: since the end of World War II, American bases have mushroomed and grown steadily all over the continent. Originally meant to keep Western Europe from totalitarianism, embed it in a system of collective, transatlantic security, and tie it firmly to the free market and capitalism, U.S. bases in Europe eventually projected and embodied the American century. Focusing on the case of an American base installed in the Dutch village of Schinnen, this article shows that American military outposts in Europe have constantly disseminated the American way of life in a number of ways: they have affected the local economy, generated cross-cultural encounters and deeply impacted the surrounding environment. Taking into account the positive as well as negative dynamics set into motion by the American military presence in Schinnen, this article invites further inquiry into the relationship between the centre of the American empire and its periphery, and puts the historical and historiographical viability of the American century to the test.

This short essay gives an overview of an academic expertise that lies at the crossroads of different historical subfields. It explains how the Department of History and Politics at the University of Bologna has introduced the author to the core tenets of classical political and international history. It also shows how other international academic environments place an emphasis on bottom-up approaches. The combination of these two approaches is ideal to explore the development of cold war's transatlantic relations through the experiences of organized social movements and assess their political effectiveness as well.

Scholars have interpreted the American global web of military bases as both outposts of empire and beacons of freedom. In Europe, in particular, U.S. military deployment has been quite exceptional: since the end of World War II, American bases have mushroomed and grown steadily all over the continent. Originally meant to keep Western Europe from totalitarianism, embed it in a system of collective, transatlantic security, and tie it firmly to the free market and capitalism, U.S. bases in Europe eventually projected and embodied the American century. Focusing on the case of an American base installed in the Dutch village of Schinnen, this article shows that American military outposts in Europe have constantly disseminated the American way of life in a number of ways: they have affected the local economy, generated cross-cultural encounters and deeply impacted the surrounding environment. Taking into account the positive as well as negative dynamics set into motion by the American mili...

This article looks at Eleanor Roosevelt's role within the intense debate on nuclear fallout as it developed in the US in the early 1950s. In particular, the article analyzes Mrs. Roosevelt's position on nuclear weapons, deterrence, and disarmament; her condemnation of nuclear testing; and her role as both a public intellectual and a mass educator who helped people to understand the real consequences of nuclear fallout. Here, Mrs. Roosevelt emerges as an active voice that, by defending freedom of speech, also contributed to popularizing the issue of nuclear fallout and making American citizens aware of the urgency of a ban on nuclear testing.

Introduction Ch 1 Freedom of Speech- Linda Eades, Southern Methodist University Ch 2 Freedom from Want- Matthew Jones, London School of Economics Ch 3 Freedom of Religion- Tisse Wenger, Yale University Ch 4 Freedom from Fear- Frank Costigliola, University of Connecticut Ch 5 The Afterlives of the Four Freedoms- William Hitchcock, University of Virginia Photo essay Bibliography Index