Key Figures
This decision that Harry Truman made ignited the Atomic Age.
Dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII.
What are three reasons some Americans oppose the nuclear arms race?
Concern about radiation poisoning; the amount of money being spent; and the fear that nuclear war would destroy all life on Earth.
What was NATO?
This president had to make tough decisions and take actions to help solve the Cuban Missile Crisis.
John F. Kennedy
This event was a close call for a full-scale nuclear launch.
The Cuban Missile Crisis.
What's the Warsaw Pact?
A mutual defense treaty among the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries.
This American politician launched a controversial campaign to uncover communists
Joseph McCarthy
Thirteen-day political and military standoff in October 1962 between leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Who were the Rosenbergs?
An American couple electrocuted for espionage, providing the Soviet Union nuclear technology secrets.
Describe Eisenhower's view on the Military Industrial Complex.
The worry that the military was too closely allied with American companies that produced weapons. "Every gun that is made...signifies...a theft from those who hunger..."
How did Mikhail Gorbachev contribute to the end of the Cold War?
By reforming the Soviet Union with perestroika (economic changes) and glasnost (greater openness). He reduced military tensions and communism.
Define Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
Based on the belief that the Soviets would not order a nuclear attack on the U.S. if doing so meant the destruction of their own country.