How did the arms race contribute to the tensions of the Cold War?

How did the arms race contribute to the tensions of the Cold War?

Development of the arms race This led to a race between the two superpowers to amass the most powerful nuclear weapons with the most effective delivery systems. Tension was greatly increased as a result of the developing arms race which served to militarise both sides and bring war closer.

What was the Cold War arms race?

The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War.

How did the arms race start the Cold War?

The Cold War Not long after World War II ended in 1945, new hostilities emerged between the United States and the Soviet Union. Initially, only the United States possessed atomic weapons, but in 1949 the Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb and the arms race began.

How did the arms race affect America?

The nuclear arms race resulted in widespread anxiety for both the American and Soviet peoples. In the United States, some families built homemade underground bomb shelters. Throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis many Americans feared they were standing on the brink of World War III.

Why is the arms race important?

This arms race is often cited as one of the causes of World War I. The United States’ use of nuclear weapons to end World War II led to a determined and soon successful effort by the Soviet Union to acquire such weapons, followed by a long-running nuclear arms race between the two superpowers.

Who was involved in the arms race cold war?

This arms race is often cited as one of the causes of World War I. The Cold War nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union is another example of a 20th-century arms race.

What was the result of the Cold War arms race?

As the Arms Race heated up, it became very expensive for both countries. In the early 1970s both sides realized that something had to give. The two sides began to talk and take a softer line towards each other. This easing of relations was called détente.

What was the result of the nuclear arms race?

Fear over nuclear weapons proliferation prompted the United States and the Soviet Union to negotiate arms reductions. This, combined with political and economic factors, resulted in a détente that characterized the 1970s. The word détente is French, and it means ‘an easing of tensions.’

When did the Soviet Union start the arms race?

Start of the Arms Race On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The world was shocked. They did not think the Soviet Union was this far along in their nuclear development.

When did the Cold War come to an end?

The Cold War, and with it the nuclear arms race, came to a rather abrupt end when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. While today there is some degree of tension between the United States and Russia, it is nothing like it had been throughout the Cold War.