Even before WWI, the tensions have always been somewhat high between the US and the Soviet Union. However, when the US detonated the H-Bomb in 1952 the world became a different place forever. We now had the capacity to level and entire city and by 1961, we had enough bombs, in communion to destroy the entire world. Obviously, Russia couldn't let the US become so much more powerful then themselves, so by 1953 Soviet spies and recovered intelligence and they too had a nuke. From that point, there was an ongoing rivalry between the two nations. Whatever the Russians did we would do it better and vice-versa for the USSR. So that meant for the US, the next step was developing the B52 bomber. It was capable of flying over 5,000 miles and dropping nukes anywhere in range. Fast-forwarding to 1981 US spending had grown to 178 Billion dollars and just five years after that, it was 367 Billion. By that point in 1986, there was an estimated 40,000 nuclear warheads in existence and just one could demolish the entire city of London and anything within 30 miles of it.
Capitalism (USA)
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Communism (USSR)
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Word Bank:
ICBM- Intercontinental ballistic missile capable of traveling long distances and delivering nukes or other warheads
DEW- Defense and early warning system built around Alaska to detect incoming threats
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)- the theory that if Russia attacked the US, that we would retaliate in a manner that would allow for now winners
Conventional Weapons- Weapons that most militaries posses (tanks, planes, machine guns)
Non-Conventional Weapons- Weapons that are not common (nukes, bomber planes and submarines that carry nukes)
ICBM- Intercontinental ballistic missile capable of traveling long distances and delivering nukes or other warheads
DEW- Defense and early warning system built around Alaska to detect incoming threats
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)- the theory that if Russia attacked the US, that we would retaliate in a manner that would allow for now winners
Conventional Weapons- Weapons that most militaries posses (tanks, planes, machine guns)
Non-Conventional Weapons- Weapons that are not common (nukes, bomber planes and submarines that carry nukes)