| Summary/Abstract |
This analysis evaluates plans for President Dwight Eisenhower’s visit to the Soviet Union in June 1960, prior to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev revoking his invitation at the Paris summit a month before. The plans were at an advanced stage prior to cancellation. The aborted trip is a footnote in the scholarship, but reconstructing the plans allows understanding the trip as part of the wider context of American diplomacy in 1960 and reveals its purpose in a new depth. Whilst the trip would not have been a critical juncture in the Cold War, understanding it informs appraisals of the final year of Eisenhower’s presidency. It provides insights into two questions of relevance for Eisenhower scholarship: What was the trip’s purpose? How would it have fitted into Eisenhower’s wider diplomatic plans in 1960?
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