Utah: Cold War & Space Race

Definition of Communism

• A system of government where the government plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds all the power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

Cold War

• The Cold War (1950s to 1990s) was a sustained state of political and military tension between the powers of the Western world, led by the United States and the communist world, led by the Soviet Union

• Though there were fears that the war would end in atomic destruction, it is considered a “cold” war because no official battles between the USSR & USA ever occurred

• The Korean War & Vietnam War were connected with the Cold War & and were efforts by the Western world to stop the spread of communism

4 Ways the Cold War Affected Utah

• Disruption to life: Bomb shelters & Air Raid Drills

• Utah men & women fought in Korean War & Vietnam War

• Fear of Nuclear War & Fallout• Search for Communists/paranoia

Space Race

• Competition between Soviet Union (USSR) & the United States for ultimate power/supremacy in space exploration

• Both nations focused on winning firsts in space exploration

• Seemed necessary for national security• Symbolic of technological & ideological

superiority• Pivotal part of the Cold War

Two Main Events:• Sputnik 1, Soviet Union satellite, began the Space Race in 1957

– World’s first artificial satellite– October Sky– USSR was first into space!

• Man on the Moon– USA first on the moon