To what extent was the nuclear arms race a stabilising factor in the cold war between 1949 and 1963? The nuclear arms race was very much a stabilising factor in the cold war, nuclear weapons were never used in an aggressive way. It was more the fear of each country using nuclear weapons against one another that aided the stabilisation of the cold war. It allowed the cold war to continue to be dormant and lives were not lost as a result of a catastrophic explosion. And with the cold war the likelihood would have been that once one side had launched a nuclear bomb, the other would and the cold war would have turned into a world- wide disaster.
These developments changed the US policies of brinkmanship and massive retaliations, as these methods only worked while the USA remained militarily superior. The Cuban missile crisis showed how back dated these policies were, something Kennedy’s military advisors failed to notice, his understanding of the dangers and his controlled response helped save the USA from the most destructive war ever seen. However the military assured destruction that came with the power of the nuclear era forced the USA and USSR into the standoff of Cuba. This crisis was inevitable and the only way of bringing the arms race to the end. However the driving
The Cold War changed American culture in a number of important ways. Fear of communism greatly increased due to rising tensions with the Soviet Union. Politicians of both parties often tapped into that fear and ran for office based on how strong they would be against communists. And fighting communism always involved the threat of nuclear war since both the U.S. and Soviet Union had nuclear weapons trained on each other. President Dwight Eisenhower's military plan relied on nuclear stockpiles rather than land forces.
The Decision When Harry Truman learned of the success of the creation of nuclear weapons, he was faced with the most difficult decision in history. The capacity to end the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would involve unleashing the most terrible weapon ever known. Truman ultimately had to decide if the gains from ending the war would outweigh the destruction from ordering the bombs and leading the world into the nuclear age. After very careful deliberation Truman made the right decision on ordering the use of the atomic bomb. The decision prevented millions of American casualties, millions of Japanese casualties, and served as a deterrent to the USSR expansion.
The Soviets cut off the western side of Berlin and prevented the Americans, British and French from accessing the city. It made the dispute between them public and was the first military confrontation of the USSR towards America. The western part of Germany had to supply West Berlin from the air for around a year, causing Russia to eventually give up. This was a triumph for the USA and the rest of Western Europe as they managed to outwit the Soviets, and due to their peaceful defeat the USSR looked increasingly aggressive. However this made Stalin and the Soviet Union despise the capitalist Europe even more.
In response to the bombing of Japan, the Soviet Union and Communist China developed their own nuclear weapons. This marked the beginning of the Cold War, the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United Sates was due to the fact that both countries wanted to become the sole superpower of the world, and they also disagreed on what the world should look like postwar. The Cold War lasted for several years and had many period of heightened tension such as the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. World War II impacted America in many ways the GI Bill helped stimulate the economy which led to development and expansion into the west. Due to the financial securities family sizes increased and gave us the baby boom era.
Therefore, the US created unconditional terms of surrender, knowingly going against the Japanese ethic of honour and against the institute of the emperor, whom most Americans probably wanted dead. Consequently, the use of the atomic bomb became a way to avenge America's fallen soldiers while also keeping the USSR in check in Europe. The Japanese civilian casualties did not matter in this strategy. Also, it did not prevent the Cold War, as the USSR was just a few years behind on a-bomb research. At the time, revenge, geopolitics and an expensive project that could not be allowed to simply rust away, meant the atomic bomb had to be hastily deployed “in the field” in order to see its power and aftermath – though little was known about radiation and its effects on humans.
Nagasaki and Hiroshima: A necessary atomic attack The atomic bomb that was detonated on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States was essential to the world because it shows how much power the United States had at that time and due to the fact they had the knowledge and money for such weapon. Although it wasn’t necessary to target the innocent civilians in Japan with the atomic bomb, there could have been other way of making Japan surrender with a lower casualty rate than to nuke the populated areas. Harry S. Truman, the president of United States during the World War 2 possibly had been influenced either by his past or by his colleagues in terms of his decision making. If any other resourceful ideas that were brought up to Truman’s mind then there might be a precise chance that the nuke will be withdrawal from World War II and rethought of again, at the time of Truman’s decision. Further or more the atomic bomb has already been dropped on
Karan Agarwal 12 E To what extent was the cold war a result of World War II? ESSAY PLAN Introduction v What was the Cold War? v Differences between USA and USSR Yes, it was a result of the Second World War: v v v v The question of a ‘second front’ during the war had worsened relations between USSR and USA USA had used the Atomic bomb without informing USSR (distrust) The USSR had suffered enormously from the war while the US emerged stronger (threat to USSR). The was a power vacuum in the heart of Europe was filled by The Red Army, that controlled Eastern Europe, which increased the USSR’s sphere of influence (threat to USA). v v Yalta conference agreements resulted in Germany being divided into zones of occupation and Berlin was to have a western zone.
The nuclear arms race made the world a more dangerous place 1949-63 During the course of history many Arms races have developed, however this one was different. These nuclear weapons possessed an incredible amount of destructive power which meant that both superpowers, the USA and USSR, found themselves in a situation where doing everything to intimidate their adversary by being the more superior superpower to prevent direct nuclear warfare was vital. It is for this reason that this stage of the cold war is seen by some as the most key stage as well as a pivotal turning point. From what looked like initially a simple issue at first with more of these weapons being produced therefore the world would become a more dangerous place it can be assumed. This isn’t case with as this arms race progressed it became clear about the catastrophic dangers nuclear warfare would bring if the weapons were ever deployed.