1959: Khrushchev visits USA; the Kitchen Debate

DATE: September 1959

DESCRIPTION:The Kitchen Debate was a series of impromptu exchanges between Nixon and Khrushchev during a tour of an exhibit of a model US house that had been set up in Moscow. The two men debated over the merits and achievements of communism and capitalism in the kitchen area of the aforementioned house. At the end, both men agreed that both of their countries should be more open with each other and promised each other the debate would be televised in their respective nations. The kitchen debate really highlighted the differences these two countries and their ideologies have from one another.

BLAME: Khrushchev was the one that caused this event to happen, as he actually surprised Nixon when he randomly launched into a protest over a recent resolution the US congress had passed which condemned the Soviet Union for their control over many of Eastern Europe’s peoples. This started and led the debate off, which escalated because of both men because their arguments led the conversation into different directions.

TENSION INCREASE: Tensions were rising during this debate between the two countries as it became more and angrier as the exchange went on. The two were arguing for their conflicting ideas and wouldn’t back down. The television broadcast that took place afterwards also angered the Soviet Union, as Nixon and Khrushchev had both agreed to broadcast the debate at the same time. American networks broadcast it early because they felt that if they waited, the news would lose its sense of immediateness. +1

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