Recognize the Heroes of our History

History is important. We’re taught our history in school, we learn it through stories, movies, textbooks; its importance is apparent. The importance of history in general is essentially the same thing as the importance of truthful, complete history--those things are implied when history is spoken about. If we learn about it, it must be accurate and truthful. There are many people, objects, and events that have been lost throughout the course of history, and one such person who’s story is at risk of being forgotten is Morris Childs’.

Morris Childs, "Agent 58"

Childs was a double-agent working on the side of the United States during the Cold War. Because of his history with many leaders of the Soviet Union ( see this article for more on that), he was an invaluable source of information for the FBI and CIA. He took frequent trips to Moscow under the guise of being a messenger for the Soviet Union to communicate with the United States’ communist political party, which had been forced underground because of the anti-communist sentiment in America at the time.

In truth, he was working with the United States government, using his position as a trusted associate of many Soviet leaders to give the U.S. an edge in the war. Morris Childs’ biggest success was his intel on the Soviet Union’s financial situation. In the 1970’s and 80’s, the USSR was struggling with money, which was a well-kept secret, were it not for Childs smuggling their financial records to the FBI agents he worked with.

With Morris’ information, a plan was constructed to get the Soviets to spend what money they had left. President Reagan made public addresses to speak about a new Strategic Defense Initiative, a weapon that would turn the tide of the Cold War in the United States’ favor indefinitely (more about the SDI here).

The technology to make this weapon did not exist, but Reagan spoke publicly as though it was, and (secretively) the Soviet Union scrambled to replicate this weapon. Building this impossible piece of technology drained the USSR’s funds, and with Morris Childs providing the financial information to prove it, the United States government used this odd tactic to run the Soviet Union to bankruptcy and end the war (AND completely dissolve the Soviet Union as a country, too).

Morris Childs is an irreplaceable figure of American history; it was his work that ended the Cold War. He is likely one of many unsung heroes of history whose stories are scarcely told, but we should seek to learn about and acknowledge the people who affected our world’s history to make it what it is today, whether or not their stories are taught in school.