Essay about Arms Race

Submitted By belisagee101
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Arms Race
In order to maintain peace and stability in the world, there must be a balance of power between countries. The Nuclear Arms Race was started because there wasn't a balance of power after World War II. The U.S. was the only country at that time that had nuclear weapons. Russia was afraid of the United States developing power, and created a nuclear bomb. Starting , the Arms Race where both countries gained the advantage. However, the Arms Race ended when several treaties were passed. I believe that in the end, the United States and the Soviet Union realized that one country would eventually win, and the balance of power would again change .Fearing a nuclear war, arms negotiations began. This is evident in the fact that treaties between the two countries were signed, agreeing on the limitation and testing of nuclear arms. It is also just a huge paranoia that the other side would retaliate.

The Arms Race began shortly after World War II when the Soviet Union became hostile to the free democratic countries of the world. The Arms Race was basically the buildup of nuclear weapons by both the United States and its allies. One reason for such a large build up of weapons, both nuclear and conventional was to protect each of the powers from one another. Out of all of this, the consequences of this arms race would change the economy and the way governments of the world react. The hostility between the United States and the USSR began near the end of World War I. The arms race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. was actually a reckless competition to see who was the most powerful and had most advanced nuclear weapons. The purpose was to make yourself more powerful in the eyes of your enemy so that you would not be attacked. The two heavyweights battled constantly for power over one another. Whoever was most powerful would have an advantage always .The possession of nuclear weapons, rather than conventional weapons, made the arms race between the two powerful countries greatly advanced.
A few years after World War II, the United States was the first country to gain more amounts of knowledge about nuclear weapons and even more importantly, the raw materials that were needed to make the weapons. With the first atomic bomb being dropped on Japan in 1945, The United States already had an advantage over the Soviets. The United States thought that with this knowledge it could achieve superiority over the Soviet Union. But Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, knew all about the United States plans for production of the nuclear weapons and acted as if he were certain that the United States would not risk another massive war. He also acted as if he did not even care if they did use the weapons. But behind the scenes, Stalin worked furiously to develop the Soviet’s own nuclear arms to compete with the Americans. In 1945 the Soviets tried to rapidly catch up to the United States and, as a result the first Soviet nuclear bomb was detonated and surprised the entire world, especially the United States. Both governments devoted massive amounts of money to its nuclear arsenals to improve their nuclear weapons. The United States could heavily fund its military development and still maintain a healthy economy. Whereas the Soviet Union’s economy weakened, because of all the financial support directed towards the military, giving the United States an advantage. If the united states had the advantage they’d defiantly be at the top.
The USSR successfully launched Sputnik 1 into space. The launch of this satellite received so much attention and made a strong political and social impact. When the Soviet Union Launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, people all over the world would see a new age of
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