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Effects of arms race on cold war tensions
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The start of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. Atomic bombs and nuclear weapons caused an arms race to happen, which led to a Cold War, “Relations between the Soviet Union and the Western powers grew steadily worse in the five years after World War II. The role of nuclear weapons in this deterioration was subtle but important,” (Holloway). It all started after the United States dropped the two atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities to end World War II. This caused Stalin to react to what the United States did and start his own production of atomic bombs to help insure that the Soviet Union stays in power. Which started the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, both sides trying to build …show more content…
more atomic bombs than the other. While both super powers built up on their nuclear arsenal, tensions were rising, and it was leading to dangerous waters between the two nations. Only a small mistake could set the whole arms race off into another World War, which could lead to more death and destruction of every nation. It could even be the end of civilization, if the two super powers decided on using their nuclear weapons to help their side win in the war. While this is just the beginning of the Cold War, the arms race for nuclear weapons lasted for more than ten years. The end of the Cold War and nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Both sides have created tons of nuclear bombs to destroy each other by the end of the cold War, “By the mid-1960s, a situation had been created in which each side could inflict massive death and destruction on the other,” (Holloway). After many years during the nuclear arms race, both sides have built up their nuclear arsenal for war. Which could likely have ended in the deaths of many people of the world, it could have led to much more destruction than World War II. But this was not the case, the two super powers built up so many nuclear bombs to help their side destroy the other. It caused a stalemate between them and never led to a war between them. Even though there were smaller wars around the world between their ideologies, the two super powers did not dare attack each other. Because they were afraid of how much death and destruction it would bring to their nations and the whole world. It would not be a war with one side winning, but a war with both sides losing. The Cold War ended peacefully between the two super powers and never led to another World War, only died out. While this arms race died out, nations never learn from the past and make the same mistakes in the
future.
Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began with mutual distrust in World War II, intense rivalry, and conflicting ideologies. Cold War was fought with four major weapons. The weapons were propaganda, economic and military aid to devastated nations after World War II, arms race, and the alliances. Propagandas were used for containment and to raise the people’s morale and patriotism. Economic aid of the devastated nations was also used as a method of containment, as it prevented the desperate nations from falling under communism. Arms race was one way of representing the nation’s military pride and the ability to retaliate when attacked, although the arms were not developed to dominate world power. Finally, alliances were created and its scale was compared to verify the superior side of the Cold War.
The Cold War was a period of dark and melancholic times when the entire world lived in fear that the boiling pot may spill. The protectionist measures taken by Eisenhower kept the communists in check to suspend the progression of USSR’s radical ambitions and programs. From the suspenseful delirium from the Cold War, the United States often engaged in a dangerous policy of brinksmanship through the mid-1950s. Fortunately, these actions did not lead to a global nuclear disaster as both the US and USSR fully understood what the weapons of mass destruction were capable of.
The Cold War in 1945 to 1953 brought about a period of tension and hostility due to the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period began with the end of the Second World War. The situation acquired the title for there was no physical active war between the two rivals. The probability of the tension got to be the fear of the then rise in nuclear ammunition. Things began to roll when a US based U2 sky plane got to take photos of some USSR intermediate ballistic missiles with the capability of transporting nuclear heads.
In 1945, America terrified the world by using the Atom Bomb in Hiroshima and later in Nagasaki. This fear of the most powerful weapon ever created started a cold war between America and Russia. These two great nations had started the race for the super bomb, which would have each country trying to out do the other for decades to come.
The war created a competition between the two countries. One one succeeded, the other needed to. Because of this, new technologies and discoveries were made, the first being space. The Cold War created the Space Race. While the USSR was first to reach space, the US was not far behind, ultimately placing the first man on the moon. The Cold War also led to the age of nuclear warfare. The US showed the world what technology it had created when it dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the USSR was not far behind. They developed their own atomic weapons, creating an arms race between the two countries. While the war was mainly between the US and USSR, it inspired other countries to start developing these weapons, or become allies with someone who had. Therefore, while Stalin was not alive for most of the Cold War, his previous actions and beliefs about communism helped cultivate this war. The tension he was partial responsible for creating with the US, led to both countries developing new technologies. He also led to the arms race, creating a new type of warfare throughout the entire world. This war helped change the path of the world. (Arms
To start off, one of the key ideas behind the tense, yet somewhat stable peace between the Soviet Union and United States during the second half of the 20th century was the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD. As both of the world’s superpowers attempted to outstrip each other in a nuclear arms race, it grew increasingly apparent that should one nation attempt to strike the other or its allies with nuclear weapons, the consequences from the secondary strike would cause an unacceptable loss of life and likely the extinction of the human race. Consider the Cuban Missile Crisis, for instance. There were multiple times where all out nuclear war between the East and the West ca...
A cold war is an ideological conflict with military standoffs while keeping diplomatic relations open. The Cold War consisted of two sides (or Superpowers); the first was the United States, who believed in and practiced capitalism, the opposing side was the Soviet Union, who believed in and practiced the idea of communism. Many historians dispute the start time of the conflict; however, it began some time after World War II and dragged on until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. The Cold War Project Group Online claims “the advancement of technology during the Cold War was greater than that of any one time period” (“The Arms Race”). The war developed nuclear missiles and many other technological advancements taking the world into a new era, the Nuclear Era. It was estimated at one time the United States and the Soviet Union could nuke the world seven times over; the governments realized the pointlessness of so many nuclear missiles and turned their attention toward other ways to get an upper hand in the conflict. Tensions ran high during this time; without military confrontation, research and resources were redirected towards other fields of technology such as detection systems, surveillance equipment, and underwater technologies.
...ngthened the Western side and meant that if an attack was made on the West, the countries would support each other. However, although this weakened the Eastern side, between 1948 and 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb, meaning that the arms race was about to begin.
We are told, "To love thy neighbour" and "To treat." our enemies, as we would want to be treated. " If you were to look at these commandments you would see that nuclear warfare could never be justified, and if you do provoke a nuclear war, you should be punished. That brings me into the second reason why countries retain nuclear weapons and that is a threat. It is a way of protecting your country, but you will protect yourself and retaliate if provoked.
The USA built and tested a new type of weapon called the Hydrogen Bomb. The Soviet Union became concerned as to whether the USA would actually use such a weapon. Because of this, the Soviet Union began designing a similar weapon. The war became an argument about who had the biggest weapon. However, neither country fired a single missile thus making this a cold war instead of a hot war (200 Years).
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
In 1945 when America was able to create and use the atomic bomb, the USSR felt insecure and was determined to create one of its own. After that, Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) were built up into huge arsenals by the USSR and America. Both sides soon had the power to wipe out the not only the enemy, but the rest of the world as well. The United States exploded a hydrogen bomb in 1952, and the Soviets tested on year later. Both nations rushed to develop missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.
The Cold War was a time of great tension all over the world. From 1945 to 1989, the United States was the leader and nuclear power and was competing with the Soviet Union to create huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. However, even though the Cold War ended, nuclear weapons are still a threat. Countries around the world strive to create nuclear power, and they do not promise to use it for peaceful purposes. Some examples of the struggles caused by nuclear weapons include the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s recent nuclear weapon program. Surely, nuclear weapons have created conflict all over the world since the Cold War era.
Ever since the end of World War II there has been a worldwide arms race that is and will truly be never ending. This race has affected more than just countries’ militaries, but their economies and foreign relations also. Military spending has increased drastically in almost every country since the start. Numerous amounts of treaties and pacts have been created in order to try and limit conflict. The current arms race typically involves nuclear weapons and much more advanced military technology. This is a big problem because countries themselves are trying to become the most dominant powerhouse but all that has done is create more weapons and force more countries to join the race. I am going to assess exactly how the arms race has affected countries