How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb (and the arms race, and the alliance system)

HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (AND THE ARMS RACE, AND THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM)ACTUALLY, YOU SHOULD JUST CALL THESE NOTES “THE ARMS RACE.” SORRY.

THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM

LABEL THESE COUNTRIES ON YOUR STUDY GUIDE (IF POSSIBLE)

NATO Belgium Canada Denmark France Iceland Italy

Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal UK USA

THE WARSAW PACT Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovaki

a East Germany Hungary

Poland Romania USSR

NATO

Date: 1949Mutual defense

organization of western capitalist democracies

All members will respond to an attack on any member

THE WARSAW PACT

Date: 1955Mutual defense organization of

eastern communist dictatorshipsTwo major goals:

Provide defensive alliance for Eastern Bloc

Maintain USSR control over satellite states’ militaries

IN YOUR NOTEBOOK

How might the alliance system make the world safer?

How might the alliance system make the world less safe?

THE ARMS RACE

NUCLEAR WEAPONSHighly explosive devices

developed during WWIIUS dropped first nuclear

weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945

USSR tested first nuclear weapon on August 29, 1949

THE ARMS RACE

Date: roughly 1945-1990Definition: competition between

the US and the USSR to develop greater military capacity

SignificanceRequired huge military expensesMade the world more dangerous…

or did it?

SOME NEW WEAPONS

THERMONUCLEAR (HYDROGEN) BOMBS

INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES (ICBMS)

TSAR BOMBA

NUCLEAR SUBMARINES

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

THE SPACE RACE

CIVIL DEFENSE

Civil defense sheltersPreparedness effortsEducation efforts –

Bert the Turtle

SO WHY AREN’T WE ALL DEAD?

Key concept of the Cold War: mutual assured destruction (MAD)

Principles of MAD:Each side maintains enough offensive capacity to

annihilate the other sideHuge arms stockpiles are a deterrent – they

discourage offensive attacks