Arms Race Lesson

The Cold War Fuels the Space

Race

How did the Arms Race and Space Race drive the US and USSR apart?

The Cold War was a period
of political tension and
military rivalry between the
Western powers, led by the
United States, and the
Eastern bloc, led by the
Soviet Union, from the end
of World War II until the
collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991. The conflict was
characterized by proxy wars
(the two powers fighting
through other countries –
e.g. Vietnam), espionage, a
nuclear arms race, and
ideological competition
between Capitalism (The
West) and Communism
(The Soviet Union).

During the Cold War,
nuclear war with the
Soviet Union seemed
constantly on the horizon.
Adults around the United
States built fallout
shelters and stocked their
basements with canned
food, water, and safety
supplies. Children learned
to "duck and cover"
whenever they heard the
alarm, sliding under their
desks, lunch tables, or
whatever was sturdy
nearby, and covering their
heads and necks.