CS 22 Nuclear Age

With the Soviet threat posed by the launch of Sputnik the United States increased spending on science education and national defense.  Which of the following was an example of this?

• Creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

• Passage of the National Women's Education Act.

• The Race to the Top program.

• Creation of the United Nations commission on space travel.

What was the name of the top secret project by the U.S. to use atomic energy to develop a weapon?

• Big Bang project.

• Chicago Atomic Plan.

• Manhattan project.

• Atomic Weapons Administration.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  How did the Soviet Union respond to this military action?

• It accelerated the pace of its military invasion of Germany.

• It formed an alliance with the United States to share nuclear technology.

• It intensified development on and successfully tested its own nuclear weapons.

• It withdrew from international organizations in which the United States was also a member.

Why did the Soviet Union intensify development and test their own nuclear weapons?

• It wanted to quickly end the war to avoid further military casualties.

• It wanted to retain political and military influence in the post-war world.

• It wanted nuclear technology to be available as a cheap source of energy after the war.

• It wanted to pursue a policy of isolationism following the devastation caused by World War II.

In 1939, it was rumored that he Nazis were developing an atomic bomb.  During World War II, a secret laboratory was founded in Los Alamos, New Mexico, that would serve as a centralized facility to coordinate the scientific research of the Manhattan Project, the Allied project to develop the first nuclear weapons.  In the years during the war, this secret laboratory was responsible for the development of the atomic bomb.  In 1945, two atomic bombs built in Los Alamos were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 

            The development of the atomic bomb had several worldwide implications for the uses of nuclear power, it led to a way to generate electricity for civilian use.  With new technologies also came the creation of fresh jobs and the capabilities for more concentrated physiological studies of the human body.  Each of these developments brought about numerous military, scientific and economic advancements that changed our world forever.

 

            According to the passage, nuclear technology is an example of:

• Technology that has no applications other than those for military use.

• Technology that should never have been created because it is too dangerous.

• Technology that made all other scientific inquiry seem obsolete by comparison.

• Technology that was first developed for the military but also has civilian uses.

World War II ended shortly after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.  Four years later, the Soviet Union responded by successfully detonating an atomic bomb.

 

            How did these developments affect the policy of the United States?

• The United States mobilized all of its armed services.

• The United States drafted all young men into military service.

• The United States increased its efforts to construct nuclear weapons.

• The United States suspended diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

The four year period following World War II, the United States was the only country in possession of atomic bombs.  What was the impact of the testing and explosion of the atomic bomb by the Soviet Union in 1949?

• The surrender of Japan and the end of World War II in Pacific.

   

• The beginning of an arms race that continued for decades.

• The formation of the League Nations Security Council.

• The reunification of Germany under Soviet control.

After 1949, why did tensions rise between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.?

• U.S.S.R. invade South Vietnam.

• U.S. built a hydrogen bomb that was 10 times more powerful than "Little Boy".

• U.S.S.R. violently put down the Hungarian Revolution.

• U.S.S.R. stole U.S. secrets using spies and tested their own nuclear weapon.

How did the space race between the United States and Soviet Union impact U.S. society?

• The U.S. government nationalized most large industries.

• Science education was given renewed emphasis in the nation's schools.

• Public protests grew as opposition against the U.S. space program mounted.

• Defense spending was decreased as tensions between the United States and Soviet Union lessened.

22 "We cannot and must not allow ourselves to have the message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki fade from our minds.  We cannot allow our ideals to fade, either.  For if we do, we have but one course left.  And that flash of light will not only rob us of our vision, but will rob us of our lives, descendants and very existence."  Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor Hiroshima.

 

            With which issue is Mayor Akiba most concerned about?

• Depletion of the ozone layer.

• Nuclear proliferation.

• Treatment of radiation diseases.

• International terrorism.