10.5 - SPACE and ARMS RACE

NUCLEAR ARMS RACE

  • One of most frightening aspects of Cold War
  • They do not know all the effects that could happen because of it
  • Vast amounts of money spent on (BY THE US AND USSR)
    • More deadly weapons (H-BOMB) 
    • Efficient delivery systems & transports in order to transport the deadly weapon
    • They want to show dominance and power, to have the great more deadly bomb, trying to out do each other
  • Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
    • If one side launches attack, the other will retaliate, both sides would be destroyed
  • THE WORLD BECAME CLOSE TO A NUCLEAR WAR
    • the Cuban missile crisis

CUBA & THE COLD WAR

  • 1950s - Fidel Castro overthrows Cuban government
    • Created a Communist state
    • this benefited the lower class
    • Led to disgruntled middle class 
    • Felt like all their hard work was for nothing because now the lower class gets the same benefits as them
  • 1961 - John F. Kennedy authorized a plan to invade Cuba & lead an uprising against Castro
    • Poorly planned -> disaster 
    • A black mark against the marines
    • Helped Castro gain support, pushes more support to Castro
    • Thinks he is powerful
    • Defeated a US invasion
    • Why would we support someone who is not for our country and why would they support someone who LOST or seems WEAK
    • Known as Bay of Pigs Invasion

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

  • Most tense moment of Cold War
  • 1962 - US imposed trade embargo & naval blockade around Cuba
    • Cuba created ties with USSR in response
    • USSR built nuclear missile bases
  • Standoff between both sides which lasts about 2 weeks - a month
  • Nikita Krushchev backed down & both agreed to removed missiles from Cuba
    • Kennedy promised to not invade Cuba but also remove missiles from Turkey and Italy or smth
  • NOTES FROM VIDEO
    • The CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS lasts 13 days
    • Bay of Pigs
    • The USSR gave missiles to Cuba in order to combat US’s threat
    • A spy plane was shot down by a missile
    • 3 COMMANDERS HAD TO AGREE, 2/3 agreed, so that one saved the world from a nuclear war
    • Robert Kennedy (US) met with Anatoli Dobrynin (USSR)
    • They promised to never invade Cuba as long as the USSR removed the missiles and stuff

DISARMAMENT TALKS

  • Occurred to reduce threat of nuclear war 
    • Slowed due to mistrust
    • not understanding what they are trying to imply
  • Major Agreements occur later between the US and USSR
    • 1969 - Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
    • Limit # of nuclear weapons that they were actually creating
    • 1991 - Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
    • Removal of large # of nuclear weapons