Term paper on U-2 Plane Shot Down (1959)

U-2 Plane Shot Down

term paper RESOURCE GUIDE

In 1959 relations between the United States and the Soviet Union began to improve, culminating in an agreement to hold a summit meeting in Paris in May 1960 between President Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Only a few days before, however, the Soviets downed a U-2 American spy plane and produced the plane’s pilot, Francis Gary Powers, after Eisenhower had denied the existence of the spy mission. Khrushchev subsequently walked out of the Paris summit conference, but not before denouncing Eisenhower and revoking his earlier invitation for the president to visit the Soviet Union. Powers was exchanged for a Soviet spy in 1962.
Suggestions for Term Papers

1. How important was the U-2 for surveillance of the USSR?

2. Discuss the development and special features of the U-2.

3. Compare how Khrushchev and Eisenhower handled the U-2 incident.

4. Discuss the trial and subsequent life of Francis Gary Powers.

5. Discuss the U.S.’s later use of spy planes.

Suggested Sources : See entry 52 for related items.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890–1969: Chronology, Documents, Bibliographical Aids . Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1970. A good listing of references covering all aspects of Eisenhower’s career. Somewhat dated.

GENERAL SOURCES

Ambrose, Stephen E., and Richard H. Immerman. Ike’s Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981. Examines Ike’s dealing with intelligence and the Secret Service starting with World War II.

Beschloss, Michael R. May-Day: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the U-2 Affair .

New York: Harper&Row, 1986. The fullest account of this celebrated incident, by an adept diplomatic historian.

Bowie, Robert R., and Richard H. Immerman. Waging Peace: How Eisenhower Shaped an Enduring Cold War Strategy . New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. A recent account of the Eisenhower plan for national security and foreign relations during the critical years of his terms.

Cook, Blanche W. The Declassified Eisenhower: A Divided Legacy . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981. An examination into the once-secret considerations and developments in foreign relations and strategies during the Eisenhower tenure.

Johnson, Miles B. The Government Secrecy Controversy, a Dispute Involving the Government and the Press in the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Administrations . New York: Vantage, 1967. Concise examination of the increasing awareness of the withholding of government information.

Linden, Carl A. Khrushchev and the Soviet Leadership, 1957–1964 . (1966). Reprint. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983. Provides insight into the nature of the relationship between Khrushchev and other top officials in that critical period.

Mayer, Michael S., ed. The Eisenhower Presidency and the 1950s . Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1998. Up-to-date examination of the formative Eisenhower years, providing insight into the situation that would exist at the time of the U-2 flight.

Tompson, William J. Khrushchev: A Political Life . New York: St. Martin’s, 1995. Recent examination of politics and government in the Khrushchev years; good insight provided into the man and his manner.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Powers, Francis G. Operation Overflight: The U-2 Spy Pilot Tells His Story for the First Time . New York: Holt, 1970. Powers’s only book telling his story of the momentous event.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Crankshaw, Edward. Khrushchev: A Biography . London: Sphere, 1968. Good detail and lengthy bibliography.

Medvedev, Roy A. Khrushchev . Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday, 1983. Good biography translated from the Russian; examines the successes and failures of the Khrushchev era.

Parmet, Herbert S. Eisenhower and the American Crusades . (1972). Reprint. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1998. Good general biography providing insight into Eisenhower’s life and orientation. From the American Presidents Series.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Beschloss, Michael R. ‘‘The U-2 Crisis.” US News and World Report . Pt. 1: ‘‘The Spy Flight That Killed Ike’s Dream,” March 24, 1986, 36–41, 44–45. Pt. 2: ‘‘Ike’s Nightmare Summit at Paris,” March 31, 1986, 34–37. Interesting and informative two-part account of Eisenhower’s embarrassment over the incident.

Moser, Don. ‘‘The Time of the Angel: The U-2, Cuba, and the CIA.” American Heritage 28:4–15 (October 1977). Description of a critical period in U.S.-Soviet relations; use of the U-2 to identify Soviet missiles in Cuba after the Powers incident.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy . New York: Worldvision Home Video, 1977. Videocassette. 2-hour television dramatization of the entire event with Lee Majors; based on Powers’s recollections.

WORLD WIDE WEB

Garmon, Linda. ‘‘Spy in the Sky.” The American Experience . September 1997. http://www.boston.com/wgbh/pages/amex/u2/u2.html From the PBS television show. Provides useful brief descriptions and excellent links. One is able to click on the real story, photographs taken by the U-2, declassified information regarding its specifications, and other material.