The Cold War | Arms Race

Competition and Evolution

From 1945 to 1949 the U.S. was the only country with nuclear weapons – this was then broken in 1949 by the Soviet Union because Stalin had spies in the Manhattan Project.

The U.S. then started working on a more powerful bomb in response, starting the beginning of the arms race.

Arms Race: A competition to gain a military advantage by building large stockpiles of powerful weapons – any improvement or technological advance one country makes is soon matched by the other.

Hydrogen Bomb(H-Bomb): A fusion bomb – also called a thermonuclear bomb – is a more potent atomic bomb with thousands of more power. The heightened temperature/pressure created by the splitting of atoms causes H atoms to fuse (or join), which releases neutrons that feedback into the fission reaction, causing more atoms to split and ‘‘boost’’ the reaction. The first testing started in 1952; the Soviets followed in 1953, and the advantage of the U.S. lasted less than a year.

Delivery Mechanisms: Piloted aircraft – was inefficient and dangerous because the planes driven by the pilots could only carry so much. Accuracy was a big problem, too, and the risk of the pilot getting injured from the bombing as they evacuated the bombing site was an issue. A solution for this was rockets and missiles. Rockets and Missiles – rockets would go where they’re pointed and missiles have a guidance system to direct them to their destination. Both the U.S. and USSR(Soviets) were using German technology captured at the end of WW2 to develop their rockets and missiles.

Operation Paperclip: More than 1,600 German scientists were brought in from the war – the ones who were Nazis got a ‘‘free pass’’ from their past actions because they were supporting the American military.

ICBM: Fastest type of ballistic missile

Modern ICBMs: Much more accurate than early versions – can strike w/in a few hundred feet of the target and carry multiple warheads, each aimed at a different target.

Cruise Missile: Unpiloted flying bomb with wings powered by an air-breathing jet engine that evolved from the German V-1(aka ‘‘buzz bomb’’). It can fly as low as a few meters off the ground and be launched from ships, aircraft, or the ground – though it couldn’t operate outside the atmosphere.

Ballistic Missile: Evolved from German V-2 rocket. Initially powered by a rocket/series of missiles, then travels by unpowered ballistic trajectory(gravity) and can travel outside of the earth’s atmosphere while being faster than the cruise missile. It has four classifications ← finish

R-7: The World’s first ICBM by the USSR – the first successful test in August 1957. Developing ICMBs wasn’t a priority for the U.S. until 1954.

Atlas: America’s first ICBM – the first successful test: November 1958, deployed 1959-65, eventually replaced by Titan and Minuteman missiles.

Nukes & U.S. Foreign Policy

President Dwight Eisenhower: His main foreign policy goal was to deter the USSR from launching a nuclear offensive – he achieved his goal by vowing to launch a highly destructive counterstrike – as damaging, or even more detrimental to the attacking nation as it was the one that was attacked – in response to any attack(nuclear or not). The president was willing to risk nuclear war to achieve his peace goals. This was known as brinkmanship, as he was tip-toeing on the edge of an all-out war – the foreign policy was supported and encouraged by his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles.

Paraphrased Quote from John Dulles (Secretary of State, 1956): ‘‘The ability to get to the edge without getting into a war is a skill that must be mastered. If you cannot master it, you will get into war, but if you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost.’’

Paraphrased Quote from Adidai Stevenson(Democratic Presidential Candidate, 1956): ‘‘The Secretary of State is playing a dangerous game with the life of our nation.’’

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): By the mid to late 50s, the USSR’s nuclear capabilities matched the U.S. – both countries could respond to any attack with ‘‘massive retaliation’’ – killing all, resulting in both countries being wiped out. This was a powerful deterrent for each country.

Missle Gap: the (false) perception in the U.S. during the late 1950s and early ‘60s that America was lagging behind the USSR in developing missile technology. The term was coined by John F. Kennedy and used to his advantage in his 1958 Senate re-election campaign and the 1906- presidential campaign.

Events that caused Americans to believe a missile gap existed: The launch of Sputnik on October 4th, 1957 by an R-7 ICBM – if the Soviets had the technical prowess to launch a satellite into orbit they could launch nuclear weapons at the U.S.; America’s first attempt came two months later and failed.

U-2 incident: Occurred on May 1st, 1960; the Soviets missed shooting down a U.S. spy plane over the USSR. The pilot – Francis Gary Powers – was captured and confessed. Disrupted plans for a meeting between Eisenhower and Nikitra Khrushchev to discuss nuclear disarmament  Eisenhower had agreed to stop the spying but refused to apologize, so Khrushchev called off the meeting.

U.S. Spending: The U.S. spent more money to catch up and surpass the USS5; the military-industrial complex was a big help it is the linkage of the U.S. military and the corporate/scientific communities – employed 3.5 million Americans by 1960. Eisenhower warned Americans about its growing power in his farewell speech in 1961.

Nuclear proliferation: the spread of atomic weapons – countries are trying to feel more secure and restore the balance of power – leading up to the five recognized ‘‘Nuclear Weapons States’’: U.S. (1945; 1st/only country to use a nuclear weapon in war), USSR(1949), United Kingdom(1952), France(1960), China(1964); unrecognized Nuclear Powers: Israel(Unknown), India(1974), Pakistan(1998; Pakistan followed behind because they weren’t on good terms with India).

Space Race Age

Space Race/Space Age: Part of the Cold War rivalry between the U.S. and the USSR – grew from the realization that a rocket can carry a bomb across the globe could also be used to loft machines and men into orbit – the competition to build rockets also became a competition to reach space.

During the Space Race, each side sought to demonstrate its superiority through impressive feats in rocketry and spaceflight, beginning with the launch of Sputnik.

Reagon and the Cold War(end of the Cold War)

Ronald Reagan was bold. Reagan built up their military and weapon power to break the stalemate of the cold war with confrontation. He believed that the only way to resolve the cold war was strength. He believed the Democrats were too soft on the Soviets. America had to keep up with the Soviets and their advancement in missiles. Ronald was focused on confrontation and not the appeasement of the Soviets. Reagan felt his purpose was to get rid of communism. Reagan hoped his bold strategy would force the Soviets to reduce their nuclear weapons. Reagan founded the STI(otherwise known as the Star Wars Program). This was so that Reagan could intercept a ballistic missile from the Soviets. Reagan’s boldness and confrontational attitude led to rising tensions. The only way the Soviets would bargain was if he scared them. He told Gutraphiv (Soviet leader) that he wasn’t going to win the arms race, but he did like that soviet leader and somewhat got along with him. He agreed with the soviet leader that they would abolish warheads and make all sorts of proposals that took giant steps to the proposals the U.S. had on the table. A soviet leader is giving him a chance to abolish nuclear threats ballistics missiles. He turns Soviet Unions down. Reagan didn’t want to give up STI because it was protection against nuclear weapons, and he couldn’t tell the American people that they didn’t have protection against that. Ronald Reagan became friends with the Soviet Union leader but the soviet leader agreed to sign an agreement with Reagan that didn’t involve STI. Intermediate Range nUCLEAR fORCES tREATY.