This seems to be an old video of the historic “Kitchen Debates” between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev. The debates signaled a slight change in sentiment towards the Soviet Union as well as the Soviet’s politics both domestically and internationally. A few people, including President Eisenhower voiced their opinions about the massive build up of missiles and defenses. Furthermore, after the Soviets successfully tested their hydrogen bomb people became nervous. However in 1958 the two nations stopped testing nuclear weapons as per an agreement. They began to seek “peaceful coexistence.”
When did the “Kitchen Debates” take place? Why were they given that name?
The “kitchen debates” were so named because they took place during an exhibition in Moscow that displayed an American home, that was claimed, any American could afford. The homes were full of appliances that served to show the benefits of a capitalistic economy. The debates themselves were held in various locations during 1959 but many were featured in the kitchen of this house thus gaining its name.