military rivalry + arms race
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Describe key facts about both sides’ weapons, including nuclear weapons
• Explain why the USA and Soviet Union entered an arms race
The USA developed nuclear weapons during World War
Two.
They used them to end the war,
dropping two bombs on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) in
August 1945.
The Soviet Union did not have access to
nuclear weapons until 1949.
As they were the USA’s allies in World War Two they wanted the USA to share the
technology with them – but the USA refused (another reason for
tension).
Once both sides had ‘the Bomb’, they
each tried to build even bigger versions.
The Soviets and then the USA developed a
hydrogen bomb, bigger even than the atomic bombs used on
Japan.
Some people argue that nuclear weapons stopped the Cold War becoming a real war.
This is based on M.A.D. (Mutually
Assured Destruction), the idea that neither
side wanted to risk a nuclear war.
Neil Armstrong said it was “one small step for man” when he set foot on the
moon.
However the Space Race is actually a major part of the
Cold War.
In 1961 when Cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin became the first man to orbit the earth, many
people in the USA worried this meant the Soviets had better weaponry.
The USA sent men to the moon in 1969 to
show their own technology.
Originally nuclear bomb had to be
dropped from planes, which made their use
much harder.
Over time both sides began to develop rocket systems to fire them great
distances (ICBMs).
Before ICBMs had developed, the USA
based their missiles in various NATO
countries.
Eventually both sides developed the
technology to launch weapons from
submarines, and this became the main
method.
During the 1980s both sides built more and bigger weapons (USA,
Cruise; USSR, SS20).
The US also built a defence system
called Star Wars. Some people say the
arms race cost brought down the
USSR.
There were three main reasons that the arms
race started:
• Fear of future war
• Need to be seen as a strong leader
• More weapons = more jobs
Fear of future war
A simple reason for arms race was
because there was fear of another
world war.
Each side wanted to make sure they could
win such a war.
Need to be seen as a strong leader
Another reason was that leaders in
different countries wanted to seem strong
and in control.
This was a show for other countries and
their own people too.
More weapons = more jobs
More weapons meant more jobs – this was important to both
sides.
e.g. Many Americans worked in Defence,
leading to the military-industrial
complex
During the Cold War the main fear was nuclear weapons.
These bombs could kill millions of people and could have spelled the
end of the world.
And both sides had them!