Melissa Jordine said that “1949 proved to be a pivotal year,” and she would be correct (Cold War). It was the middle of the Cold War and tensions were high between the Soviet Union and the United States. The US had consistently opposed Russia’s communist government, but had become even more vehement in their hostilities once Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the USSR, announced his intentions to overthrow capitalist systems worldwide, which included the system that the United States boasted (Cold War). The American people knew they must resist the rising power, and the only feasible option that they saw to deter Soviet aggression was to maintain military superiority, namely through the singular possession of nuclear weapons. So it came as a terrifying shock when the Soviet Union detonated their own atomic bomb on August 29, 1949, ending the United States’ “atomic monopoly” and starting a race to develop better nuclear arms (Jordine, Hydrogen Bomb). The hydrogen bomb, or H-bomb, was a product of this race, and while its creation negatively impacted the environment, it served its intended purpose in the respect that the threat of its use prevented a nuclear war and allowed for the United States to retain its capitalist government. The hydrogen bomb is a thermonuclear weapon, meaning that it requires extreme temperatures (upwards of 400 million degrees Celsius) to begin the nuclear fusion reactions that characterize it (Jordine, Hydrogen Bomb). In order to reach this temperature, there is a second bomb at its core, the explosion of which detonates the first, bigger bomb (Hirsch, 1990). The idea of a bomb as a catalyst was actually proposed years before work on the H-bomb ever even started by the nuclear physicists Enrico Fermi and Edwar... ... middle of paper ... ...rieved from http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/310579?terms=cold+war. Rhodes, R. (2005, August). Living with the Bomb. National Geographic, 208:2, 98. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=7828d023-46bc-49cb-bb5e-251407b1d1f4%40sessionmgr4001&vid=19&hid=4214&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=tth&AN=17647241. Schwartz, S. (1998). 50 Facts About U.S. Nuclear Weapons. Brookings Institution. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/about/projects/archive/nucweapons/50. Smith, R., DeGroot, G. J. (2006, June). The Bomb. Salem Press. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=7828d023-46bc-49cb-bb5e-251407b1d1f4%40sessionmgr4001&vid=10&hid=4214&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=103331MLA200610170300303965. Teller, E., Stanislaw U. M., (1951, March 9). On Heterocatalytic Detonations I, Los Alamos Report LAMS-1225.
When one thinks about warfare, the average mental picture is usually a movie war scene with soldiers, and planes; very rarely do people think about about the average Joe, trimming his hedge. In the short story “Grace Period”, by Will Baker, there is a man trimming his hedge outside with an electric hedge trimmer when a nuclear bomb is dropped; his wife has gone to get the mail. In “an instant [he felt as] everything stretched just slightly, a few millimeters, then contracted again” (Baker, 1989, p. 7). Although the character does not know what is happening, the reader may realize that this description is a high altitude nuclear burst. The article “Nuclear Weapon Effects”, by John Pike, describes what a nuclear bomb’s effects are and what could happen if one was dropped. Based on clues in the story and the information from the article, the reader can determine what is happening to the man and what he can expect will happen to him.
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 Race To Build A Bomb." National Geographic 208.2 (2005): 102. Middle Search Plus. Web.
In 1980, it seemed like the United States was not as dominant in the world as it had been before. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began after World War II. The two nations had joined forces as members of the Allies, but tensions arose after the war. The Americans were very worried about the spread of Soviet communism, and tried to prevent it with a policy of containment, where the United States would protect countries from outside oppression. The Cold War also expanded to include the race between the Soviets and Americans to create atomic weapons. Furthermore, there was a race between the two countries to put the first man in space, which was accomplished by the United States in 1961 (“Cold War History”). The Cold War was a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union to try to prove their dominance in the world. Each country wanted to have more power and diminish the power of the other. At home, Americans were paranoid with the thought of Soviet spies and communists hiding amongst them, dubbed the “Red Scare.” President Richard Nixon and the Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic A...
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.
Sherwin, M. (1973). The atomic bomb and the origins of the cold war. American Historical Review, 78: 1-7.
Teller, who is a “Hungarian-born atomic physicist” and “known as the "father" of the hydrogen bomb”, was at the forefront when it came to the design of the Teller-Ulam Hydrogen Bomb (Hydrogen Bomb Exploded). Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, mathematician who developed the idea of the lithium hydride bomb, was the other half of that perfect combination. Although there was excitement for the U.S. being the first to be the bomb, some scientists did not share that excitement. Not all people agreed with the idea of building this bomb, some people had their doubts. For example, Julius Robert Oppenheimer was a highly known theoretical physicist and Director of the Los Alamos Laboratories.
Powers, Thomas. "THE BOMB : Hiroshima: Changing the Way We Think About War." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 06 Aug. 1995. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
The USA’s new weapon, the Hydrogen bomb, or H-bomb, was one of the most powerful weapons of the time. In 1950, the H-bomb was tested in the Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands (Cold War History). The reaction was so fierce, the explosion wiped the island off the face of the earth leaving a crater on the ocean floor. The explosion reached a range of 25 square miles and had a mushroom cloud which dropped radioactive fallout on the surrounding areas (The Cold War Museum). This new weapon scared the Soviet Union into creating their own bombs. This buildup of weapons by the two countries started The Cuban Missile Crisis (The Cuban).
In addition to the prevention of communism, President Truman’s decision was also influenced by the apprehensive environment during The Cold War. The Soviet Union was able to ruin the United States as the monopoly of nuclear bombs in 1949 when they successfully detonated their firs...
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 this essay, I will summarize two specific events that occurred within the framework of the Cold War. From there, I will analyze their potential effects if nuclear weaponry had not been involved. Lastly, I will explain how nuclear power had a positive effect on the war, due to its influence via deterrence. Finally, I will summarize the importance of nuclear power in the Cold War.
Introduction The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in the 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 led to another conflict.
However, on August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union shocked the entire world with their first nuclear bomb named “First Lightning”. The world did not think that the Soviet Union was this far along in their nuclear weapons. The United States felt threatened. The nuclear arms race had began.
It was the 1960’s in America, a time of social consciousness, fear, war, distrust in government, and rebellion. It was a time in which bomb shelter ads on TV were common place. It was a time of tension and fears for communism creping though our neighborhoods and infiltrating American ideals. We were at war with a nation. After World War 2, there were two dominant nations, the United States and the Soviet Union. Political ideals and control over Germany would separate the allies into bitter rivals and enemies. The fear of the Soviet’s use of nuclear weapons was constantly in the backs of our minds. It was a global ...