1956

Buddy Holly, in “January ’56, at Bradley’s Barn in Nashville, he cut 4 sides…His Decca contract mis-spelled his surname Holley as Holly.”

The US toyed with idea of flying U2 missions from Germany while pressuring the UK to allow U2 flights from British bases – that would take them over the USSR. Eden blocked it while CIA, UK foreign office and RAF all supported it. In early 1956 Eden was informed that the CIA would share all intelligence gathering with the British. OPERATION AQUATONG – spyflights.

Eden went with the Suez fiasco and was replaced by MacMillan who continued to oppose U2 flights from the UK until 1960.

Martin Luther King received a threatening phone call on January 27th – which inspired him to continue. King’s home was bombed three day later. No injuries, as King was at a mass meeting. He later plead with the crowd for non-violence.

27th January King receives threatening phone call which inspires him to carry on.

Elvis appeared on tv for the first time on January 28th – effect?

30th January King’s home is bombed – no injuries – King was at a mass meeting – he pleads with crowd, later, for non-violence.

Diem launched a brutal crackdown, in January 1956, against Viet Minh suspects in the countryside. Those arrested were denied counsel and hauled before “security committees” with many suspects tortured or executed under the guise of ‘shot while attempting escape.’

February Elvis began recording for RCA and soon got to no. one with “Heartbreak Hotel”.

Krushchev’s strategy to seize power – paid off when Stalin died on March 5th (had he been ill?). There followed a brief power struggle. Eventually the more moderate Nikita Krushchev took control. The Cold War could have melted this year – but US policy planners were determine to repel any attempt by the Soviets to thaw the ice. For them, nothing short of absolute victory over the Russian empire would suffice. The new “Evil Emperor” made an enormous diplomatic gesture by admitting Stalin’s crimes on behalf of the USSR. He criticised Stalin, and talked about “peaceful coexistence” with the west.

Krushchev outlined changes in a speech to the 20th Party Congress in 1956, that the Soviet third world policy had changed from the tight bipolar and rigid Stalinist policy of 1940s to one of courting newly independent states in the Third World to assist their development towards a non-capitalist path and he acknowledged that a peaceful road to socialism was possible. (“The Soviet-Cuban connection in central America and the Caribbean” [Washington DC 1985] released by Depts of State and Defense).

There was some debate over arms in the light of Krushchev’s diplomacy. Adlai Stevenson proposed mutual ban on nuclear testing. Eisenhower rejected this test ban idea.

The policy planning Division of the State Department began to study the impact of an imminent collapse of Soviet communism but this was halted by Secretary Dulles.

The Eisenhower Doctrine was announced on March 9th. In reality it was the Dulles Doctrine. The US was prepared to use armed force to support any Middle Eastern country that asked for help against communist aggression.

British commander of the Arab legion – Glubb Pasha was dismissed by King Hussein in March 1956 – threw GB’s mid-Eastern security policy into chaos.

Nasser recognised the PRC on the 16th May 1956 – sure to wind the west up. Especially JF Dulles.

A survey of Guatemalan internal security forces – carried out by private consultants under ICA contract – was completed on 25th March 1956. Training for police and military started. Carried out in the US and Panamanian canal zone. Military were to be reoriented toward an internal security role. In other words instead of defending their country – they defended their government from is own people.

JFK was asked to give the nominating speech for the Democratic candidate for president, Adlai Stevenson.

At the convention JFK was championed as candidate for V-P noomination. Southerns didn’t want a catholic – liberals didn’t want someone who backed away from opposing McCarthy. Joe Kennedy forbade JFK from standing, but JFK went ahead and came within a few votes of getting nomination. He made decision to become a Democratic Party team player.

At the 1956 Democratic convention JFK went as Stevenson’s backer, but also hopeful to be V-P nominee. Kefauver got it though. Just.

The US gained goodwill from Arabs by opposing UK-French-Israeli operatives against Egypt in the autumn of 1956. By spring 1958, however, this goodwill was gone.

On the “10th April 1956 Elvis played Lubbock for the last time…he had outgrown the local circuit.” He’d become a national star.

SOME BUILD UP NEEDED

The last French soldier left South Vietnam on April 28th. The French High command for Indochina was then dissolved.

OCB Working Group (1290d) added summary assessment of Venezuela to their list on 13th June 1956.

June 30th 1956 Chuck Berry “Roll Over Beethoven” gets to no. 2 on the R&B chart and 29 on pop chart.

Nasser’s support for the PRC on the 16th of May led to the US withdrawing its offer to fund the building of the Aswad Dam on 26th July 1956. So Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal.

Ike’s Travels

Presidents of the American Republics – Panama City July 21st – 23

July, the deadline passed for the unifying elections in Vietnam, set by the Geneva Conference. Diem, backed by the US, had refused to participate.

August 1st – tripartite meeting at Downing Street – US attempting to head off a war over Suez.

August 15th summary assessment report on costa Rica appeared.

October NKC tv show began, the first to feature a “negro” in high profile tv show. A big risk. And not a successful risk either. He was attacked in the KKK capitol of America – Birminhgam, Alabama – a racial attack by white thugs. But NKC was criticised by civil rights groups as he did not refuse to play segregated venues.

Radio free Europe incited Hungary to revolt by broadcasting Krushchev’s Secret speech, in which he denounced Stalin. It also hints that American aid will help the Hungarians fight. This aid fails to materialise as Hungarians launch a doomed armed revolt, which brings about a major Soviet invasion. More than 7,000 Soviets and 30,000 Hungarians were killed. This crisis peaked on the 28th of October. The UK raised the matter at the UN on October 29th.

A military attack on Egypt by Britain, France and Israel began on 29th October 1956. Now known as the Suez crisis.  The UK was banking on US support – which was a mistake.  Israel attacked Egypt on 30th October. So now there was a double crisis.

On the 1st November the UN discussed Egypt.

Britain was eager to tame Nasser and looked towards the United States for support. However, President Eisenhower remained unresponsive; America's closest ally in the region, Saudi Arabia, was just as fundamentally opposed to the Hashemite-dominated Baghdad Pact as Egypt, and the U.S. was keen to increase its own influence in the region. The failure of the Baghdad Pact aided such a goal by reducing Britain's dominance over the region. "Great Britain would have preferred to overthrow Nasser; America, however uncomfortable with the Czech arms deal, thought it wiser to propitiate him."[22]

The events that brought the crisis to a head, occurred in the spring/summer of 1956. On 16 May, Nasser officially recognized the People's Republic of China, a move that angered the U.S. and its Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, a keen sponsor of Taiwan.[23] This move, coupled with the impression that the project was beyond Egypt's economic capabilities, caused Eisenhower to withdraw all American financial aid for the Aswan Dam project on 19 July.[24] Nasser's response was the nationalization of the Suez Canal. On 26 July in a speech in Alexandria, Nasser gave a riposte to Dulles. During his speech he deliberately pronounced the name of Ferdinand de Lesseps, constructor of the Canal, a code-word for Egyptian forces to seize control of the Canal and implement nationalization of it.[25]

In his 26 July speech in Alexandria, Nasser announced that the Nationalization Law had been published, that all assets of the Suez Canal Company had been frozen, and that stockholders would be paid the price of their shares according to the day's closing price on the Paris Stock Exchange.[26]

The nationalization of the Suez Canal hit British economic and military interests in the region. Britain was under immense domestic pressure from Conservative MPs who drew direct comparisons between the events of 1956 and those of the Munich Agreement in 1938. Since the US government did not support the British protests, the British government decided in favor of military intervention against Egypt to avoid the complete collapse of British prestige in the region.

Direct military intervention, however, ran the risk of angering Washington and damaging Anglo-Arab relations. As a result, the British government concluded a secret military pact with France and Israel that was aimed at regaining control over the Suez Canal. Wiki

In July, Nasser announced he would accept the US offer of a loan for the construction of the Aswan Dam project. JF Dulles prepared a statement that USA had decided to retract its offer. Dulles gave statement to Prescott Bush (a confidential ally of the Dulles brothers) for his approval. The statement was also sent to Eisenhower and the GB government.

Nasser reacted by nationalising the Suez Canal to pay for the dam. Israel, then GB and France invaded Egypt to overthrow Nasser; Eisenhower standing up to Dulles – threatened sanctions against GB.

Sinai Campaign – Israel attacked the Mitla Pass with the aim of seizing its western extremity and advancing rapidly from there to the Suez Canal, but became caught in lethal cross-fire.

The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression,[4] (Arabic: أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي‎ ʾAzmat al-Sūwais/Al-ʿIdwān al-Thalāthī; French: Crise du canal de Suez; Hebrew: מבצע קדש‎ Kadesh Campaign, or מלחמת סיני Sinai War) was a military attack on Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956.[5][6] The attack followed Egypt's decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam.[7] Wiki

Israel invaded Egypt in October, to destroy, they claimed, bases from which guerrillas harassed their borders. France and GB called for a cease-fire which Nasser rejected and so launched an air attack on 5th November, and then a sea-borne assault on Egypt. The US became alarmed – they thought they might lose out to USSR. The US forced GB to accept a cease-fire negotiated by the UN.

In the Sinai campaign, Sharon’s forces attacked the Mitla Pass with the aim of seizing its western extremity and advancing rapidly from there to the Suez Canal. The troops soon found themselves caught in a lethal cross-fire, in what became one of the most difficult battles in the history of the Defence Forces. Sharon’s superiors were furious. He was accused of breaching discipline and of being responsible for a non-essential operation.

To what extent did the US collude with Israel over this crisis?

On the 4th November Russia crushed the Hungarian revolt, followed by an ultimatum on 6th November.

November, peasant unrest in North Vietnam resulting from oppressive land reforms is put down by communist force with more than 6000 killed or deported.

13th November US Supreme Court upheld court opinion that bus segregation laws are unconstitutional.

The US Communist Party, by 1956, thanks to the FBI and McCarthy, which had peaked in 1944 at 80,000 members, was now at 20,000. 8,500 in 1962 and 2,800 in 1971. Hoover stopped publishing the figures so that he could continue to bang on about the communist threat.

William Sullivan – the Commie ‘threat’ was “a lie perpetrated on the American public.” According to Estes Kefauver. Hoover’s hold on congress gave him ‘more power from the president’ from mid 1950s.

Election Result

Eisenhower 57.6, 457

Stevenson 42.1,    73

Eisenhower may have won, but his health was very poor. He’d had one heart attack already and VP Nixon may have expected to rise to the challenge at any point.

Eisenhower’s cabinet: John Foster Dulles, Sec of State; George M Humphrey, Sec of Treasury; Herbert Brownwell Jr, Attorney General; Arthur E Summerfield, Postmaster general; Douglas McKay, Sec of the Interior; Ezra T. Benson, Sec of Agriculture; Sinclair Weeks, Sec of Commerce; James P Mitchell, Sec of Labor; Charles E Wilson, Sec of Defense; Oveta Culp Hobby, Sec of Health, Ed and Welfare.

Fred A Seaton replaced McKay as Sec of Interior; Marion B Folsom took over as Sec of HEW.

The Kennedys

After Eisenhower won election, JFK began cementing relationships with big city political bosses like Richard Daley of Chicago – who could help deliver votes.

Bobby took a job with a Senate Committee investigation labour corruption. His main target – Jimmy Hoffa. Bobby took control of the investigation.

21st December King was among the first passengers to travel in a bus in non-integrated fashion.

New 1290d programmes had been initiated in Costa Rica and Venezuela. In the New Year plans for 8 more Latin American countries – including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, Peru, and Haiti.

Interstate Highway System

Main article: Interstate Highway System

One of Eisenhower's most enduring achievements was championing and signing the bill that authorized the Interstate Highway System in 1956. He justified the project through the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 as essential to American security during the Cold War. It was believed that large cities would be targets in a possible future war, and the highways were designed to evacuate them and allow the military to move in.

Eisenhower's goal to create improved highways was influenced by his involvement in the U.S. Army's 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. He was assigned as an observer for the mission, which involved sending a convoy of U.S. Army vehicles coast to coast.[28][29] His subsequent experience with German autobahns during World War II convinced him of the benefits of an Interstate Highway System. Noticing the improved ability to move logistics throughout the country, he thought an Interstate Highway System in the U.S. would not only be beneficial for military operations, but be the building block for continued economic growth.[30]

FROM WIKIPEDIA

Graham Greene’s “The Quiet American” was made into a movie. It was a cynical look at US involvement in south east Asia.

Olympics – Althea Gibson first black in US lawn tennis Nationals at forest Hills New York.

Globalisation

International finance Corporation (www.ifc.org/) was founded for purpose of backing loans for private sector investment in the third world without government repayment guarantees; also helped mobilise investment from private sector.

Function: commercial, venture-capital outfit, runs separate from IBRO and IDA, but shares same directors. In recent years, more than half its investments are in manufacturing, heavy industry, energy and mining. – New Internationalist

Prescott Bush was put on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Bush toured the US and allied military bases throughout the world, and had increased access to the national security decision-making process.

“Eisenhower did not oppose the CIA’s covert action projects; he only wanted to be protected from the consequences of their failure or exposure. Gray’s primary task, in the guise of “oversight” on all US covert action, was to protect and hide the growing mass of CIA and related secret government activities.”

In the USA there was the scandal in the Teamsters. The president of the Teamsters, Dave Beck, was sent to prison for embezzling funds. Hoffa succeeded him.

Robert Kennedy was working as chief counsel to the Senate rackets committee.

JF Dulles’ grandfather was John W Foster, President Benjamin Harrison’s Secretary of State. research

It was Diem who started calling pro-North terrorists “Vietcong” and it caught on. – make a note

Dance – Martha Graham

Cinema’s dying out as tv takes over.

Buster Crabb incident during Soviet visit.