These are IEB Grade 12 History notes that cover the topic of Science and Technology in the Cold War. This pack includes the Space Race and the Arms Race. This topic forms part of Paper 1
- USA had nuclear technology at the end of the WW2 (Manhattan Project, 1945)
- Stalin wanted to catch up and used USSR resources to achieve this
- Russia made its first atomic bomb in 1949
- USA accused USSR of espionage (spying) – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg blamed in May 1951
and executed by electrocution in 1953
Weapons advanced from atomic bombs to hydrogen bombs
- Hydrogen bombs more powerful than atomic bombs
- Development of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)
- USSR created the largest bomb in history – Tsar Bomba, 13 October 1961 (used as a political
showpiece – "my bomb is bigger than yours")
Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed 5 August 1963 by America, Soviets and Britain
- Banned nuclear testing underwater, in the atmosphere and in space (can still be tested
underground)
- So the superpowers began to stockpile arms to create a nuclear arsenal
- Both powers were wary of using nukes because they feared retaliation from the other
(known as “Mutually Assured Destruction”)
Superpowers feared that a wrong decision could end the world and the cost of the arms race was a
financial drain on both economies
- So USA and USSR held Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) to reduce the arms race and
limit the number of nuclear weapons in the arsenals
- Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev held SALT I between 1969 and 1972
- Nixon left office after Watergate Scandal and Gerald Ford (then Jimmy Carter) became US
president
- Carter and Brezhnev held SALT II talks between 1977 and 1979
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