Technological Advancements During The Cold War

When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

The cold war in conjunction with the nuclear arms race raised a countless number of dangers that were new to Americans. One of the most obvious risks raised by the nuclear arms race was the blast of the bomb itself. The bombs that were emerging were only getting colossal, and the effects were reaching potential world destruction. For example, the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were minuscule compared to the Hydrogen bomb, which the U.S built to stay ahead of the Soviet Union. But as history has shown itself, the Soviet Union came kept up with the competition and created a Hydrogen bomb as well. Now both countries possessed bombs that could decimate out entire countries.

The Hague Conference of 1899 made an attempt to outlaw projectiles carrying poison gases; the agreement to this effect lasted only until W.W.I. In Geneva in 1925 a League of Nations protocol against chemical and biological war was signed; it was not, however, ratified by the United States until 1975. The treaty outlaws the first use of such weapons in warfare, but nations generally reserve the right to use them in retaliation. Agreements totally banning chemical warfare have proved difficult to achieve. A treaty totally banning biological warfare was drawn up by the Geneva Disarmament Conference in 1971 and approved by the United Nations General Assembly. Some 80 nations signed the Biological Weapons Convention, which the United States ratified in 1974. This treaty is unique because it outlaws a whole class of weapons by most of the world. Its effectiveness, however, is still questionable; progress in genetic engineering has also complicated this issue. At the Bush-Gorbachev summit in June 1990, a treaty was signed providing for both the United States and USSR to reduce stockpiles of chemical weapons. In May 1991, 19 industrial nations--including the United States-commited to adopt controls on the export of 50 common chemicals used to manufacture these weapons. Anthrax is a contagious disease of warm-blooded animals, including humans, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. One of the oldest known diseases, it was once epidemic and still appears in many world areas,

The Cold War was a competition. The US and the Soviet Union raced to become the world’s number one superpower, building up their militaries, improving their arsenals, and developing more advanced weapons. However, weapons in the war were not limited to only nuclear warheads. The weapons used in the Cold War were nuclear warheads, and hope and terror caused by propaganda.

The Cold war was a time of hardships in the mid 1900s and continued having a war between the two superpowers for which would have more of a sphere of influence on the nations worldwide. Sphere of influence, nuclear weapons, and propaganda were main ways on how the Cold war had started and were a few of the many “weapons” used in alternating ways for the war. Cold War began in many ways, but a few main ones were the nuclear weapon warfare, the sphere of influence among the two superpowers, the Soviets and the United States and the ways the two nations used propaganda to promote their ideologies on their citizens and others to gain influence. Nuclear weapons are a main source of conflict between the U.S.S.R and the U.S in the cold war.

The development of the atomic bomb and chemical warfare forever changed the way people saw the world. It was a landmark in time for which there was no turning back. The constant balancing of the nuclear super powers kept the whole of humankind on the brink of atomic Armageddon. Fear of nuclear winter and the uncertainty of radiation created its own form of a cultural epidemic in the United States. During these tense times in human history officials made controversial decisions such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dangerous biological experiments and bombs tests were carried out in the name of the greater good and national defense. Some historians and scientists argue that the decisions and acts carried out by the U.S.

By September, 1944, before Roosevelt’s death, the threat of a nuclear arms race and possible retaliation for the use of this weapon is already a point of concern. The Office of Scientific Research and Development’s memorandum to Secretary of War Henry Stimson outlines some of the dangers the United States and Great Britain face in continuing the secret development of this “art”. Realizing this technology in the hands of the Soviet Union or other countries, especially defeated enemies, would make highly populated cities especially vulnerable. They also concluded that there was a high possibility of a “major power, or former major power undertaking this development.” The threat of the Soviet Union or Germany developing this weapon was a

Leading up to the Cold War is a perfect example of a time in history that shows mankind creating and adapting, which has been dubbed the space race. The space race was much more than producing the first man on the moon. Both the United States and the Soviet Union made amazing scientific discoveries of space during this time. The Soviet Union had many achievements in the space race that were not recognized, and it was the United States that did not acknowledge them. The Soviet Union stated out the Space Race with Sputnik and the United States ended it with the first man on the moon. The Space Race not only affected the outcome of the Cold War, but it also

The space race is very significant to the Cold War because it became a key part of the overall competition which created more tension between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Space Race influenced the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in Russia, which lead to the arms race. It also opened America's eyes to the importance of science and support it more as a necessity to stay on top rather than just being a hobby. When America first accomplished the biggest space achievement,  getting a man on the Moon the end of the Cold War seemed to be

In 1950, a National Security group of people who advise Report known as NSC-68 had past Truman's recommendation that the country use military force to contain communist acts of something getting bigger anywhere it seemed to be happening(Unit 7 Lesson 6 “The Korean War”). Especially, American people in charge inspired the development of atomic weapons like the ones that had ended the second world war(P.K). This way began a deadly arms race. In 1949, the Soviets tested an atom bomb of their own. In return, President Truman announced that the United States would construct an even more deadly atomic weapon called the hydrogen bomb.

This strategy provided the unprecedented arms buildup in the US. American Officials encouraged the development of atomic weapons similar to those that ended WWll. Thus beginning the “arms race”. The Soviets tested an atom bomb in 1949. Truman responded by announcing that the US would build an even larger, more destructive atomic weapon: the hydrogen bomb, or “superbomb”.

After World War II, a new enemy was in the horizon: technology. In the 1940’s, the United States was the leader of the “Free World” paving a path and setting an example for the rest of the world to follow (Maland 191). Americans believed the misconception that “American society was sound, and that communism was a clear danger to the survival of the United States and its allies” (Maland 191). The U.S. maintained a policy of containment by fighting communism wherever it may be, and in a show of might in 1952, they detonated the first hydrogen bomb (Maland 192). Only a short year later, the mighty Soviet Union announced that they too had the Atom bomb (Maland 192). And, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, the United States became alarmed that they were falling behind in science and technology. Because the Soviets had the same capability to annihilate the world with the bomb as the United States, tensions between the two countries increase daily. But, this new war tactic brought into question man’s ability to make decisions of nuclear proportions with

There are many repercussions to not having a biological weapon. If we cannot reinstate chemical warfare, we will continue to lose many soldiers’ lives. Having chemical weapons is like when we came out with the UCAV. The UCAV stands for unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The UCAV got rid of the loss of lives in the air. It made bombing targets easier. With chemical weapons, we could eliminate thousands of war related deaths. If

The development of nuclear weapons helped to end World War II, but in turn created their own war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The development of modified military missiles such as the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM, by Americans and the Soviets, had an impact on the struggle of power of the Cold War. The importance of military involvement in the creation of modified missiles and engines were critical events of the Cold War. Additionally, the steps taken to get to space were a byproduct of this Arms Race and the Cold War. Because the United States and the Soviet Union feared what the other country would or could do with weapons of mass destruction and the thought of the opposing country being able to control

Biological warfare presents many problems compared to the positives. First off, biological weapons can potentially live in infected areas for long periods of time. For example, one of the more common diseases used in biological warfare is Anthrax. Anthrax has the capability to transform into spores which protects the bacteria for decades (Hoyle). This offers the chance of spreading the biological agent in the future to other people who were unintended targets. Another example is the incapacitating agent known as the bomblet. When used, the bomblet leaves a remainder of five percent of the agent behind (Eitzen). If the leftover agent is identified, the opponent can research and produce a medical treatment, rendering the agent useless. Another major disadvantage relates to the U.S. The knowledge of the general population is that the U.S. holds no biological weapons (Eitzen). If this is true, another country could easily attack us with biological agents and the U.S. army would not know how to approach such a devastating hit. Although biological warfare is cost effective, this means enemies can get ahold of the agents easier and research more. I believe that if a group of terrorists were to spend a decent amount of time studying the agent and manipulating it, the agent could become super