Kitchen Debate
From Free net encyclopedia
←Older revision | Newer revision→
The Kitchen Debate was an impromptu debate (through interpreters) between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, on July 24, 1959. For the event, an entire house was built that the Americans claimed anyone in America could afford. It was filled with labor saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits created by the American consumer market through capitalism. The debate took place in the house's kitchen. The two men discussed the merits of each of their economic systems, capitalism vs. communism. The event was recorded on color videotape, a new technology pioneered in the U.S., and Nixon made reference to this fact. The debate took place during an escalation of the Cold War, beginning with the launch of Sputnik in 1957, through the U-2 Crisis in 1960. Most Americans believed Nixon won the debate, and hence the event added to his prestige on the homefront.
The debate is not only called "The Kitchen Debate" because it took place in a kitchen, but also because Nixon tactfully tried to steer the focus to household appliances such as the washing machine, rather than bombs or weapons, to prevent showing any shortfalls of the United States military in comparison to the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev was appalled by the kitchen exhibit, repeatedly stating that Russian people focus on things that matter rather than luxury. He even asked if there was a machine that "puts food into the mouth and pushes it down." Nixon responded by saying at least the competition was technological, rather than military. In the end, both men agreed that the United States and the Soviet Union should be more open with each other. However, Khrushchev was skeptical of Nixon's promise that his part in the debate would be translated into English and broadcast in the U.S.
External links
- A condensed version is available at TeachingAmericanHistory.org, a project of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.
- A fuller version of the text is available at Turner Learning, a division of CNN.
- The Loss of Early Video Recordings - Article about the missing Kitchen Debate videotape