Nikita Khrushchev paid astate visit to the United States from 15 to 27 September 1959. It marked the first state visit of aSoviet leader to theUnited States. Khrushchev, thenFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union andChairman of the Council of Ministers, was also the first leader of the Soviet Union to set foot in theWestern Hemisphere.[1] Being the first visit by a leader of his kind, the coverage of it resulted in an extendedmedia circus.[2]
Earlier in 1959, Vice PresidentRichard Nixon visited theSoviet Union, attending a tour of theAmerican National Exhibition in Moscow. He and Khrushchev took part in what later became known as theKitchen Debate, in which both Nixon and Khrushchev defended their country's respective economic systems. In early August of that year, it was announced by PresidentDwight Eisenhower that Khrushchev was invited to visit the United States, and did so that September, spending thirteen days in the country.[3][4][5]
Leading up to the event, theJohn Birch Society (JBS) formed thefront organization CASE (the Committee Against Summit Entanglements) in opposition. The group, believing Eisenhower to be capitulating to the Soviet Union, raised over $87,000 and sent hundreds of thousands of postcards, bought advertisements inThe New York Times and over a hundred other newspapers, as well as circulated a petition calling upon Eisenhower to not attend.[6]
During the course of the visit, Khrushchev traveled toWashington, D.C.,New York,California (briefly visiting a supermarket in San Francisco),Iowa,Pennsylvania, andCamp David.[7][8][9][10][11]
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Khrushchev arrived inWashington, DC on 15 September 1959, landing atAndrews Air Force Base at11:30 a.m.[12] Khrushchev was accompanied by his wife Nina, as well as his adult children (sonSergei, daughters Yulia and Rada, andson-in-law Alexey). This was unprecedented, as it was not usual for Soviet officials to travel domestically or internationally with their families.[13] Upon arrival, he and President Eisenhower were honored with a21-gun salute as well as a national salute by a Joint Service (Army,Marine Corps,Navy,Air Force, andCoast Guard)Honor Guard, during which theState Anthem of the Soviet Union and theStar Spangled Banner were played. Khrushchev and his family stayed atBlair House for the rest of the day. He arrived inBeltsville, Maryland the next morning. While attending the Agricultural Experiment Station, Khrushchev allegedly complained that the "pigs are too fat and the turkeys are too small". He returned to the capital later in the day for a luncheon at theNational Press Club.[citation needed]
He arrived by train inNew York City on 17 September.[14] He spent his first night at a dinner hosted by theEconomic Club of New York at theWaldorf Astoria,[15] where he spoke to an audience of about 2,000 described byNew York Herald Tribune as "one of history’s greatest concentrations of capitalists."[16] During his visit to New York City, he visited formerFirst LadyEleanor Roosevelt at her home inHyde Park.[17] Khrushchev was accompanied byHenry Cabot Lodge Jr., the then-United States Ambassador to the United Nations, during his tour of the city. When touringManhattan, Khrushchev reportedly argued with "capitalists" and yelled at hecklers who protested his visit. At the end of his tour, he addressed theUnited Nations General Assembly. He also met with GovernorNelson Rockefeller and MayorRobert F. Wagner Jr.[citation needed]
During the visit, Los Angeles mayorNorris Poulson addressed Khrushchev's "We will bury you" statement made at theEmbassy of Poland in Moscow three years prior when delivering welcome remarks. Poulson stated the following: "We do not agree with your widely quoted phrase 'We shall bury you.' You shall not bury us and we shall not bury you. We are happy with our way of life. We recognize its shortcomings and are always trying to improve it. But if challenged, we shall fight to the death to preserve it". Poulson's comments came after the Soviet premier constantly touted Soviet superiority to L.A. during his tour of the city.[18][19]
During a luncheon at theTwentieth Century-Fox Studio, Khrushchev was engaged in an improvised debate with his hostSpyros Skouras over the respective merits of capitalism and communism.[20] On the set of the filmCan-Can, notable American actors such asGary Cooper,Frank Sinatra,Elizabeth Taylor, andMarilyn Monroe met Khrushchev. Although Khrushchev was supposed to visitDisneyland on 19 September, the visit was canceled for security reasons, which added to his anger.[21][22]
While visiting a new research campus for theInternational Business Machines Corporation (IBM) inSan Jose, Khrushchev seemed to express little interest in the computer technology, but rather the self-service cafeteria, which he introduced in the USSR upon return to Moscow.[23]
The Soviet leader arrived inIowa on 22 September. He immediately attended a reception inDes Moines, hosted by GovernorHerschel Loveless and MayorCharles Iles the next day. He visitedCoon Rapids, Iowa on 23 September,[citation needed] visiting theRoswell and Elizabeth Garst Farmstead Historic District. He was quick to compare the farm to many Sovietcollective farms, saying the two types of farms were "very striking indeed".[citation needed] He also visited theSwine Research Center ofIowa State University. Khrushchev later remarked to journalists that the visit to Iowa was "the most relaxed"[citation needed] of his visit to the U.S.[24]
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Pittsburgh mayorThomas Gallagher greeted and welcomed Khrushchev on 24 September, presenting thepremier with akey to the city. The last two days concluded the tour with a meeting with President Eisenhower atCamp David. Khrushchev and his delegation left the country in the early hours of 27 September.[25][26]
The visit took place during a period in time in which it was feared that the ongoingCold War might eventually lead tonuclear war. The visit helped alleviate these fears. Khrushchev and Eisenhower reached an informal agreement that there would not be any firm deadline over the fate ofBerlin and that any solution would be developed at a four-power summit. This summit would be postponed until 1960 due to actions by French PresidentCharles de Gaulle. The premier left having achieved a personal relationship with Eisenhower and the possibility ofdétente with the Americans.[27]Sergei Khrushchev, who became anAmerican citizen in 1999, said that his father's visit brought about the "Spirit ofGeneva".[28] Sergei also stated that the visit also suppressed the idea thatPresident Eisenhower was an "evil instigator of war".[28]
Khrushchev gave Eisenhower a replica of the Soviet pennants thatLuna 2 had placed onto the lunar surface a few days before Khrushchev arrived in the U.S.[29] The sphere is kept at theEisenhower Presidential Library and Museum inAbilene, Kansas.[30] A copy of the spherical pennant is located at theKansas Cosmosphere inHutchinson, Kansas.[31]
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