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Consequences of errant switch - United States after Goldsboro Incident
Consequences of errant switch - United States after Goldsboro Incident
This is not a Soviet attack, I repeat, this is not a Soviet attack! - Terry Sanford, January 25th, 1961
The Goldsboro Nuclear Crash shaken American society's grounds. United States Air Force that swore to protect the nation caused great loss of life, property and irreversible blow to nature during few seconds but more important - it nuked its own country! People which should be protected by them perished in the greatest accident of all times - even the Soviet Union did not had such a tragedy in its history! Approximately ninety to one hundred and eighty thousands people died due to B-52 crash over North Carolina - town Goldsboror was literally wiped out from earth killing nearly all inhabitants while huge numbers of deaths were possible due to radiation sickness that engulfed Eastern Coast, cancers that appeared in North America with more frequency than before and deformations on which many young people were sentenced due to imprudence of their fathers. Whole generation in the United States changed during few seconds on this fateful night of January 24, 1961. People became more interested in politics as they seen politicians as responsible for crash and were more willing to vote on anti-nuclear and more isolationist candidates than interventionists who dominated previous decades. It also caused many of them to think that Cold War in relations between USA and USSR is pointless as every major confrontation could result in the nuclear devastation of both countries or worse - whole world. 1961 brought new responsibility for all men and women - to do not allow on next Goldsboro.
Errant Switch allowed two politicians to gain popularity in the United States - former Vice President Richard Milhous Nixon and Governor of Alabama George Wallace. Nixon announced that government is obliged to help all people who suffered in Goldsboror nuking and that United States Presidents should move towards nuclear disarmament of whole world by international treaties and cooperation to reduce dangers linked with nuclear war or nuclear accidents. Moderate Democrat Wallace won gubernational election in Alabama thanks to using anti-nuclear and anti-communist hysteria in the United States leading to formation of strong anti-nuclear bloc in US politics as alliance between Democrats and Republicans. Both became became bitter enemies in 1970s even if they shared (or simulated this in order to gain more votes) same views on certain issues becoming one of the most known examples of Democrat vs Republican front.
United States entrance into Cuban Civil War hurted Kennedy more than Fidel Castro. After failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and Khrushchev threat to use ballistic missiles to protect Cuban Workers' Republic President of the United States was seen as adventorous by many people while left wing newspapers named him warmonger and imperialist. On November 1st, 1961 at the height of Cold War 75,000 women brought together by Women Strike for Peace marched through sixty cities in the United States and called President Kennedy to end Cold War in the name of all who perished in Goldsboro. Growing unrest caused President to seek detente policy with Nikita Khrushchev but this was interrupted by Berlin Crisis 1961 which delayed American-Soviet cooperation in nuclear arms reduction by few years due to bad foreign policy. First Democratic President since 1953 became unpopular in the American society.