Essay On Arms Race

The Cold War began at the end of World War Two with the destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American atomic weapons. This led to the rapid surrender of Japanese forces, causing the U.S. To possess the most dangerous and destructive weapons, known to mankind. But the soviets did not want this to be the case and rapidly started developing atomic weapons of their own, this beginning a new generation of warfare, a nuclear arms race, which would last four four decades until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

An arms race refers to a rapid increase in the quality and/or quantity of instruments of military and naval power by rival States in peacetime. This was clearly seen by the rapid development of weaponry by the two …show more content…
People feared that one leader or mistake would initiate the extinction of mankind. This came as a result of statistics suggesting that a nuclear war would continue to cause damage for years following it and would continue to cause death. As a result, people built bomb shelters in their backyards as well as at schools. In public places they also practiced attack drills. It also caused many psychological reactions such as tension, fear and anxiety within the countries, showing signs of an increase in negative psychological health. The Cold War also had a major influence and left its mark on a range of activities ranging from art to poetry to movies and even comic books. Thus, the Arms Race was sometimes seen as a doubtful exercise of social control. Furthermore, the Arms Race generated concerns in society over employment, economic planning, health and medicine due to the rapid increase in military spending. Although with the introduction of the MAD policy, some of these fears were eliminated, as this policy was seen as a deterrent to war, as both countries knew that a nuclear war would result in mutual