In the Spirit of Camp David, President Eisenhower Hopes to End the Cold War

From the start of his administration, Eisenhower sought to maintain the vitality of the U.S. economy while still building sufficient military strength to prosecute the Cold War. This was a difficult balancing act and nobody has done it as well since. Despite this success, Ike was concerned about the potential for another hot war and worried about the impact on the nation of perpetually high levels of spending on armaments. During his last years in office, he hoped to achieve a détente with the Soviet Union that could produce a treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere and oceans, thus hoping to promote the safety of the American people, make a dent in the Cold War and set a precedent for future accords, all at the same time. Expectations rose after Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in September 1959 and met with Ike at the presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains. This summit produced no arms control agreement, but it did lead to good will and optimism known as “the spirit of Camp David.” Eisenhower and Khrushchev agreed to meet again, along with the leaders of France and Great Britain, in Paris in May 1960.

Typed Letter Signed on White House letterhead, Washington, January 8, 1960, to R. Dewey Stearns, Mayor of Saginaw, Michigan, reflecting the spirit of Camp David desire to bring to an end the Cold War. “The President of the Saginaw Club, Mr. Roswell Burrows, was kind enough to send me a copy of the toast given to the President of the United States on January first of this year…I assure you of my personal gratitude for all you said. I was particularly interested in your report of what I stated as a conviction, so many years ago, of the duty of a soldier. I would amend that statement today to say that it is up to all of us, soldier and civilian alike, to do everything possible to bring an end to the “cold war” of recent years. And I heartily second your statement that our country is worth every effort we can put forward to keep it great.”

Eisenhower’s hopes were not to be brought to fruition, however. The May summit collapsed in acrimony and bitterness in a dispute over the U-2 incident. Then the U.S. elections intervened, Ike retired to Gettysburg, and Kennedy replaced him. The Bay of Pigs disaster ensued in April 1961, after which Khrushchev thought the young JFK was a lightweight and brought Berlin to a boil by building the infamous wall. A year later the Cuban Missile Crisis took the world to the brink of nuclear war. So sadly, the Cold War grew steadily worse rather than better.