GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A; Interview with Andrew Goodpaster, 1986 [1]
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
03/15/1986
As staff secretary to President Dwight Eisenhower from 1954 to 1961, General Andrew Goodpaster was the person most privy to Eisenhowers thinking and key decisions during his White House years. Goodpaster began his long affiliation with Eisenhower as a staff officer under his leadership of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), and he went on to become the presidents right-hand man on security matters. Goodpasters interview conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: A Bigger Bang for the Buck provides an intimate portrait of Eisenhowers leadership style and approach to policymaking. He describes how the president handled immense pressure to intervene in South and Southeast Asia as well as demands for a crash military buildup in the wake of bomber-gap and missile-gap reports. Goodpaster recalls that Eisenhower always saw Europe as vital to U.S. interests and repeatedly advocated strengthening the European alliance. Goodpaster describes the inter-service rivalries that led Eisenhower to reorganize and centralize the armed forces, reflecting his general belief in systematic, integrated planning. The administration ushered in what came to be known as the New Look to sustain containment over the long term at a tolerable cost. Goodpaster describes a president confident in his military judgment despite the criticism that his administration endured. The introduction of massive retaliation became the most controversial policy of the Eisenhower administration, and the downing of a U-2 spy plane dealt the gravest injury to his presidency. Goodpaster returns several times to the impact that the introduction of thermonuclear weapons had on Eisenhowers thinking, fueling the presidents strong interest in Atoms for Peace, limited arms control, and negotiation.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Bigger Bang for the Buck, A
- Program Number
103
- Title
Interview with Andrew Goodpaster, 1986 [1]
- Series Description
The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.
In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989
- Program Description
For the destructive power they deliver, nuclear weapons are cheap and efficient. In the 1950’s the United States begins to rely on nuclear, rather than conventional, weapons for its defense.
As nuclear policy evolved during the Eisenhower Administration, three factors combined to produce a new American reliance on nuclear weapons: pressure to control the federal budget (the “bigger bang” argument); competition as each branch of the American military adapted nuclear weapons to its mission; and Soviet bluffs that fueled American fears about a “bomber gap” and later a “missile gap.” On October 4, 1957, Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that was the first to orbit Earth, shocked Americans and delighted the Soviets. A month later, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2 with a dog on board. Both the Soviets and the Americans knew that a booster capable of carrying a dog into space could also deliver a nuclear warhead across a continent in 30 minutes.
- Duration
01:01:42
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
- Massive retaliation (Nuclear strategy)
- Nuclear arms control
- United States
- Chiang, Kai-shek, 1887-1975
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Alsop, Joseph, 1910-1989
- Atoms for Peace (U.S.)
- LeMay, Curtis E.
- Military-industrial complex
- First strike (Nuclear strategy)
- Civil defense
- China
- Nuclear weapons
- Locations
- Washington, DC
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- Science
- History
- Global Affairs
- War and Conflict
- Contributors
- Goodpaster, Andrew Jackson, 1915-2005 (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A; Interview with Andrew Goodpaster, 1986 [1],” 03/15/1986, GBH Archives, accessed April 20, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DA2D068254BA4E5490BB0F2B251135F2.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A; Interview with Andrew Goodpaster, 1986 [1].” 03/15/1986. GBH Archives. Web. April 20, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DA2D068254BA4E5490BB0F2B251135F2>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A; Interview with Andrew Goodpaster, 1986 [1]. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DA2D068254BA4E5490BB0F2B251135F2