Goodbye, Uncle Joe: U. S. Reactions to the Death of Joseph Stalin

Abstract

This article discusses contemporaneous U. S. reactions to the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953.  It includes reactions of the U. S. government, including the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the U. S. Embassy in Moscow.  In spite of years of study, the U. S. did not have a definite plan to take advantage of Stalin’s death in the early stages of the Cold War.  There were differing opinions as to whether to take an aggressive stance or a cautious wait-and-see attitude in dealing with the Soviets. This article also includes reactions of the New York Times and the mainstream U. S. media and the reactions of U. S. radicals, including the Communist Party USA and the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party.  Because of their ideological differences, these two radical factions had contrasting attitudes toward Stalin and his legacy.