In an ironic twist, United States Vice-President Richard Nixon had a chance for a meeting with the Soviet Unions’ Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, at an American showcase exposition in 1959. Initially intended as a tour to highlight what a new $ 14,000 home is like in America, the discussion quickly changed directions and a debate ensued between the two leaders about the merits of communism and capitalism (Richmond, 2009). The kitchen of the home was well equipped with a dishwasher, refrigerator, and a range, and was built to demonstrate what the typical American worker could own (Richmond, 2009). The Kitchen Debate, as the meeting is now called, opened up additional conversations, discussions, and exchanges between the two countries not only
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National Exhibition under the 1958 US-Soviet Cultural Agreement (Richmond, 2009). This agreement was the idea of President Dwight Eisenhower who was a strong advocate for the informational exchange between American citizens in a number of different fields with those from other countries (Libraries and Cold War Cultural Exchange staff, n.d.). Relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union remained strained during the cold war; however, President Eisenhower believed that the public wanted peace and if the governments were not cooperative, that should not prevent the people from learning about each other. Instead of limiting the interaction between only scientists and engineers, the exchange also included people from television, radio, and film and other professions. The initial exchange was for two years and over 450 companies provided products ranging from consumer products to automobiles, trucks, and farm equipment. The exchange also provided the American home with the modernized kitchen with the appliances. Vice-President Nixon met with Premier Khrushchev twice before the kitchen encounter. At these previous meetings, Premier Khrushchev exerted political control and advocated for his country’s political party, communism. Verbally berated by the Premier twice during other encounters, Vice-President Nixon finally started disagreeing with the Premier and …show more content…
Nixon proclaimed that democracy and capitalism was superior because many options were available to the public and they could choose what to purchase and when. Premier Khrushchev took the opposite stance and proclaimed that communism was superior because the government was able to provide the appliances to their entire citizenry instead of being only available to the rich. Premier Khrushchev’s position was that the appliances and the home at the exhibit were only available to the rich Americans not the average American earners (Richmond, 2009). Much of this verbal sparring could be attributed to previous comments by Khrushchev that some of the American products were indeed intriguing and worth having; however he quickly modified his tone and stated that the “Soviets would soon overtake Americans in peaceful economic competition, and would wave as they passed them” (Richmond, 2009, p.
National Exhibition under the 1958 US-Soviet Cultural Agreement (Richmond, 2009). This agreement was the idea of President Dwight Eisenhower who was a strong advocate for the informational exchange between American citizens in a number of different fields with those from other countries (Libraries and Cold War Cultural Exchange staff, n.d.). Relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union remained strained during the cold war; however, President Eisenhower believed that the public wanted peace and if the governments were not cooperative, that should not prevent the people from learning about each other. Instead of limiting the interaction between only scientists and engineers, the exchange also included people from television, radio, and film and other professions. The initial exchange was for two years and over 450 companies provided products ranging from consumer products to automobiles, trucks, and farm equipment. The exchange also provided the American home with the modernized kitchen with the appliances. Vice-President Nixon met with Premier Khrushchev twice before the kitchen encounter. At these previous meetings, Premier Khrushchev exerted political control and advocated for his country’s political party, communism. Verbally berated by the Premier twice during other encounters, Vice-President Nixon finally started disagreeing with the Premier and …show more content…
Nixon proclaimed that democracy and capitalism was superior because many options were available to the public and they could choose what to purchase and when. Premier Khrushchev took the opposite stance and proclaimed that communism was superior because the government was able to provide the appliances to their entire citizenry instead of being only available to the rich. Premier Khrushchev’s position was that the appliances and the home at the exhibit were only available to the rich Americans not the average American earners (Richmond, 2009). Much of this verbal sparring could be attributed to previous comments by Khrushchev that some of the American products were indeed intriguing and worth having; however he quickly modified his tone and stated that the “Soviets would soon overtake Americans in peaceful economic competition, and would wave as they passed them” (Richmond, 2009, p.