The Atomic AgeModern American History

Political Effects• Espionage• The Arms Race• The Space Race• MAD & Second Strike Capability• Efforts to limit nuclear arms

Espionage

• Alger Hiss – State Dept official accused of passing secrets to USSR (1948)

• Klaus Fuchs – physicist admits giving American nuclear secrets to the USSR (1950)

• Julius & Ethel Rosenberg (members of Communist Party) found guilty of passing nuclear secrets to USSR (1951) and executed (1953)

The Arms Race

• Pres. Truman made the decision to keep the bomb from the USSR and not hand over to UN

• Once the Soviet Union developed bomb in 1949, US decides to make more powerful bomb…

• Leads to a nuclear arms race = each side seeks more powerful and efficient weapons and delivery systems

The Space Race

• Soviets launch first satellite into orbit in 1957– Sputnik– Causes panic in U.S. gov’t

• US slightly behind USSR in ICBMs• “Missile gap” exaggerated by both sides• U-2 Spy planes over USSR show find few• Investments in math, science, technology,

NASA to explore/control space

Sputnik

Model ICBM Missile Site

Nuclear Strategy• NSC-68 – Cold War required massive buildup of

conventional and nuclear weapons to deter USSR• Second Strike Capability• Mutual Assured Destruction• Strategic Triad = air, land, sea based nuclear missiles• SAC – Strategic Air Command– 1/3 planes up in air all the time, 1/3 on alert ready to go in

15 minutes, 1/3 in hangars• 1000 ICBMs in concrete silos• Polaris Missile – First SLBM

Timeline 1945-1962

• 1945: US uses 2 atomic bombs against Japan• 1949: USSR tests first atomic bomb• 1952: US tests first hydrogen bomb (750x)• 1954: USSR tests first hydrogen bomb• 1957: USSR tests first ICBM; Sputnik launched• 1961: USSR puts first man in space• 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis almost sparks

nuclear war

Arms Control & Reduction

• Nothing gained by using nuclear weapons• Result – constant preparedness, involvement

in “minor” escalations around globe• Attempts were made beginning in 1963 to

limit nuclear weapons testing• Arms treaties began in 1972 and reduction

began in 1991

Timeline 1963-2010• 1963: Test Ban Treaty (ends above-ground testing)• 1968: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)– Non-nuclear states will not acquire– Nuclear states will work to disarm

• 1969: US lands first man on the moon – Neil Armstrong• 1972: Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT) and

Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty– Limits certain nuclear warheads & defensive missiles– Countries continue to increase stockpiles with other kinds

of warheads and missiles• 1993, 2003, 2010: START treaties between US and

Russia to reduce deployed strategic warheads

Combined Nuclear Stockpiles

Stockpiles TodayUnited States Russia United

KingdomFrance

5113+ 4500+1000s 225 300China India Pakistan Israel240 100 90-110 75-200

Sources: U.S. State Dept. & Arms Control Association. Pub. Nov 2013

Cultural Effects• Fear of attack and the end of the world• Civilian Defense• Fallout shelters • Pop Culture– Rock n’ Roll– Movies and Television– Fashion & Consumerism– Generation Gap

Duck and

Cover

Civil Defense

Bomb Shelters

The Atom Bomb & Rock N’ Roll• Bob Dylan 2007 Rolling Stone interview: “I know [the atom

bomb] gave rise to the music we were playing. If you look at all these early performers, they were atom-bomb-fueled. They were fast and furious, their songs were all on the edge. Music was never like that before… nobody was singing with that type of fire and destruction.”

• Buddy Holly – “Rave On”• Jerry Lee Lewis – “Great Balls of Fire”• Carl Perkins – “Blue Suede Shoes”• Elvis – “Shake, Rattle & Roll”• Chuck Berry - “Maybellene” & “Johnny B. Goode”• Little Richard - “Good Golly Miss Molly” & “Tutti Frutti”

The Atom Bomb in Popular Culture• Songs such as “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” (Bob

Dylan) “99 Luftballoons” (Nena) “1999” (Prince)• Movies such as Godzilla, Dr. Strangelove, Fail-

Safe, James Bond, War Games, Rambo, Red Dawn, Rocky IV, The Hunt for Red October

• People were encouraged to live for today and surround themselves with material comforts (as well as keep well stocked for emergencies)

• The newly designed bikini (1946) was named after the atomic test at the Bikini Atoll

Cold War Generation Gap• The creation of the modern teenager– “A new model of youth: this product-hungry,

pleasure-seeking individual was the perfect person to inhabit the new psychology of a world that could be blown up at any moment.”

– "No longer could teacher, magistrate, politician, or even loving parent guide the young. Their membership of the H-bomb society automatically cancelled anything they might have to say on questions of right or wrong."

The Teenage Consumer• For the first time, the

teenage years were recognized as an important and unique developmental stage between childhood and adulthood

• Comic books, pimple creams, soft drinks, music and films were all aimed at teenagers with money to spend

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)• The story of a rebellious

teenager (James Dean) who arrives at a new high school, meets a girl, disobeys his parents, and defies the local school bullies was a groundbreaking attempt to portray the moral decay of American youth, critique parental style, and explore the differences and conflicts between generations.

Video Links

• 99 Red Balloons• Duck and Cover• Nuclear Testing & Arms Race• Rebel Without a Cause