Ralph Cicone

1/13/16
Nason Modern Era

Arms Race

The Cold War was a tension between the United States and the Soviet
Union. It was known as the cold war because they never real physical altercation.
The Cold War started because the Soviet Union and the U.S. wanted to see who
was more powerful. It started during WWII on Aug. 6 1945 after Truman ordered
the drop of the atomic bomb. The arms race was a result of the Cold War.

The nuclear arms race was a competition between the United States and
Soviet Union to see who had the best nuclear weapons. During this period other
countries developed nuclear weapons, although none produced nearly the same
amount as the two superpowers. The United States produced its first nuclear
weapons during World War Two. At this time the United States basically had a
monopoly on nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union was aware of the power of
nuclear weapons and had already started their own research of nuclear weapons.
The Soviet Union had already known about the Manhattan project through spies

that Stalin had in the United States. 6 months after World War Two the United
States began to test nuclear weapons on boats in Bikini Atoll known as Operation
Crossroads. The Soviet Union was working on building an atomic weapon.
American experts estimated that the Soviet Union would not develop its own
nuclear weapons until the mid-1950s. On August 29, 1949, the first Soviet bomb
was detonated named "First Lightning". The Soviet bomb was extremely similar to
the United States World War Two bomb Fat Man. Shortly after the United States
and the Soviet Union began to test hydrogen bombs. On November 1, 1952, the
United States feared that the Soviet Union would get more nukes so the United
States detonated the first hydrogen bomb codenamed Ivy Mike. The Soviets
surprised the world again by exploding a deployable thermonuclear device in
August 1953. On March 1, 1954, the United States conducted the Castle Bravo
test, a hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll once again and is the largest nuclear
explosion tested by the U.S. On November 22, 1955, The Soviet Union detonated
its first hydrogen bomb. In the late 1950s, intercontinental ballistic missiles, or
ICBMs were developed. ICBMs changed Cold War military strategy. An ICBMs
are capable of being launched from one continent to another. In the context of the
Cold War, ICBMs were designed to carry nuclear warheads. The first ICBM was
the Soviet R-7. The United States followed shortly after with their Atlas Missile.
Both superpowers had the ability to push a button and obliterate each other in a

short amount of time. Military theorists came up with the doctrine of mutually
assured destruction, or MAD. According to this view, if one country were to launch
missiles, the other, would have a few minutes notice before impact. They could
retaliate by launching their own missiles, destroying both countries. Some viewed
this doctrine as a discouragement to war because both countries would be less
likely to launch missiles knowing that it would only result in the destruction of not
only the other country but also their own. The arms race caused economic
problems in both countries. This period known as dtente. In 1958, the U.S. and
Soviet Union agreed to put nuclear testing on hold. The agreement would come to
an end when the Soviets starting testing again in 1961. The United States followed
with more nuclear tests of its own. These events led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in
1962. An American spy plane discovered missile sites in Cuba. Military officials
told Kennedy to launch a strike on the missile sites. Kennedy instead issued a
blockade on Cuba. Kennedy was negotiating secretly with the Nikita Khrushchev
(Soviet Leader). They came to an agreement and the Soviets ended up removing
the missiles from Cuba. Since 1945, the United States produced an estimated
70,000 nuclear warheads. The Soviet Union has built approximately 55,000
nuclear warheads since 1949. The nuclear arms race finally came to an end with
the fall of communism in 1991.

In conclusion the arms race instilled fear of total annihilation into not only
Soviet citizens but also United States citizens. Civilians would practice nuclear
drills in school where they would seek shelter in fallout shelters or take cover in
closets or even under their desks in order to avoid falling debris. The arms race was
a financial burden to both countries and would eventually lead to the fall of the
Soviet Union. The arms race also caused the travel and trade ban on Cuba which is
sort of still in effect today.

Citation

History.com Staff. Cold War History. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

History.com Staff. Arms Race. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

Rossenfeld, Carrie. Cold War: A Brief History. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

Paine, Christopher E., Thomas B. Cochran, and Robert S. Norris. The

Arsenals of the Nuclear Weapons Powers. Washington D.C.: NATURAL
RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC, 1996. N. pag. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.