The document provides information about the Cold War and Space Race between the United States and Soviet Union. It includes slides summarizing key events like the development of nuclear weapons by both countries leading to a nuclear arms race and increased tensions. It also discusses early space missions by both countries including Sputnik 1, Luna 2, Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space, and Alan Shepard being the first American in space. The document lists accomplishments by both countries in an effort to one-up each other technologically and militarily during the Cold War era.

1. Kimon Steenpoorte
201225865
The Following is a mashup of slides found on Slideshare pertaining to
the cold war.
Please see the last slide for a list of references as this is not my own
original work.

2. THE COLD WAR

4. WHAT WAS THE COLD WAR?
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
The Cold War (1945–1991) 46
YEARS!!!
a state of political conflict,
military tension, and economic
competition existing after World
War II (1939–1945)
Tensions arose between the USSR
and its satellite states, and the
powers of the Western world,
including the United States.
Conflicts included military
coalitions, strategic conventional
force deployments, a nuclear
arms race, espionage, proxy
wars, propaganda, and
technological competition, e.g.
the Space Race.
“Somewhere In the USSR.” Photo
from Soviet Photo magazine 1970. Via Soviet Photo Daily.

5. THE AXIS VS THE ALLIES

During WWII major disagreements formed between allied
powers including the USSR, the US, the United Kingdom
and France
• Disagreements arose regarding the configuration of the postwar world.

At the end of the war, they occupied most of Europe

The US and USSR became most powerful military forces.
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The Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc with the eastern
European countries it occupied, annexing some as Soviet
Socialist Republics and maintaining others as satellite
states, some of which were later consolidated as the
Warsaw Pact (1955–1991).
The US and some western European countries established
containment of communism as a defensive policy,
establishing alliances (e.g. NATO, 1949) to that end.

6. INCREASED OPPOSITION:
The emergence of Communism
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Nations coordinated the rebuilding of western
Europe (post WWII), particularly western
Germany.
USSR shared a strong opposition to Germany.
In Latin America and Southeast Asia, the USSR
harbored communist revolutions.
• Were in opposition to several western countries and
their regional allies.

Some countries aligned with NATO and the
Warsaw Pact but in turn, non-aligned country
blocs also emerged.

7. WARSAW PACT AND NATO
Warsaw Pact

the informal name for the
mutual defense Treaty of
Friendship, Cooperation
and Mutual Assistance
commonly known as the
Warsaw Pact subscribed
by eight communist states
in Eastern Europe, which
was established at the
USSR’s initiative and
realized on 14 May 1955,
in Warsaw, Poland.
NATO
In the year 1949, an international organization created in 1949 by the
North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security

8. INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS
“The Arms Race”

The Cold War featured international
high tension
•
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the Berlin Blockade (1948–1949)
The Korean War (1950–1953)
The Berlin Crisis of 1961
The Vietnam War (1959–1975), the
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) – We will
discuss this in our next lecture
The Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–
1989), and the Able Archer 83 NATO
exercises in November 1983.
Mutual Assured Destruction

9. HOW THE COLD WAR AFFECTED
THE UNITED STATES
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS AND THE BAY OF
PIGS

The Bay of Pigs Invasion or “La Batalla de Girón,
or Playa Girón in Cuba”
•
•
•
•

unsuccessful attempt by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles
invade southern Cuba with support from US government
armed forces
to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
April 1961
The Cuban armed forces
•
trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the
exile combatants in three days. Bad Cuban-American
relations were made worse by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
OPTIONS:
1.) Naval blockade - shipments of missiles
2.) The “do nothing” option was not feasible because Congress had already passed a joint
resolution backing military action if offensive weapons were found in Cuba, and Republicans
were using the possibility of the existence of
3.) Diplomacy and Peace Talks between Khrushchev
and Kennedy.

10. THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
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The Cuban Missile Crisis was a
confrontation between the
United States, the Soviet Union
and Cuba in October 1962,,
In the Soviet Union, former
Eastern Bloc countries, and
other communist countries such
as North Korea and the nation
of China.
In September 1962, the Cuban
and Soviet governments placed
nuclear missiles in Cuba.
When United States military
intelligence discovered the
weapons, the U.S. government
sought to do all it could to
ensure the removal of the
missiles.
The crisis ranks with the Berlin
Blockade as one of the major
confrontations of the Cold War.
ARMS RACE AND PARANOIA

11. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
(continued)
Testimony from retired Air Force Major (WWII sailor, Cold War),
Roberto
De La Cruz (Sara’s grandfather), referencing the Cuban Missile
Crisis paranoia.
“We (the United States Air Force) were given direct orders by
Kennedy to prepare the launching of our Missiles from the
Niagara Falls Missile Site. Nora (Sara’s grandmother) and your
mother (Sara’s mother) were told to go underground and take
the children on base with them when I made the call to launch
the missiles. We did not know if we would wake up the next
morning as it may have been the end of the world.”



At 9 a.m., on October 28th, a new message from
Khrushchev was broadcast on Radio Moscow.
Khrushchev stated that, "the Soviet government, in
addition to previously issued instructions on the
cessation of further work at the building sites for the
weapons, has issued a new order on the dismantling
of the weapons which you describe as 'offensive' and
their crating and return to the Soviet Union.“

12. THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS AND
PRESIDENT KENNEY

Kennedy immediately responded, issuing a
statement calling the letter "an important and
constructive contribution to peace…I consider
my letter to you of October twenty-seventh and
your reply of today as firm undertakings on the
part of both our governments which should be
promptly carried out... The U.S. will make a
statement in the framework of the Security
Council in reference to Cuba as follows: it will
declare that the United States of America will
respect the inviolability of Cuban borders, its
sovereignty, that it take the pledge not to
interfere in internal affairs, not to intrude
themselves and not to permit our territory to be
used as a bridgehead for the invasion of Cuba,
and will restrain those who would plan to carry
an aggression against Cuba, either from U.S.
territory or from the territory of other countries
neighboring to Cuba."

13. THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION


1980s – US increased diplomatic, military, and economic
pressures against the USSR, which had already suffered
severe economic stagnation.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the
“liberalizing reforms of perestroika”
• "reconstruction“ or "reorganization“ - year 1987
• glasnost or "openness“ - year 1985).
• The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991
• The collapse of The Soviet Union left the United States as the
MOST POWERFUL military power.
• On the contrary, the collapse of the Soviet Union left Russia
possessing most of the Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal.
• Russia’s nuclear arsenal poses a great militaristic threat to the
global community.

14. The Nuclear Arms Race

15. Nuclear definitions
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ICBM: Intercontinental ballistic
missiles.
MRBM: Medium rang ballistic missiles.
IRBM: Intermediate ballistic missiles.
The main problem was developing a
missile that was accurate. They often
did not hit their intended target.
Although mainly aimed at the target
they often landed many miles away.
The further the V-2 rocket had to
travel, the more inaccurate it became.

16. Nuclear weapons
The first country in the world to create a
nuclear weapon was the U.S, it first
used its weapon on Japan. The whole
world was shocked by the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Russia seeing
this wanted to compete the U.S as
Russia was the other superpower. So
there and then it begun, the battle for
the development of the best and better
nuclear weapons.

17. Russia develops its own nuclear
bomb
Russia who is already an superpower
also wanted to develop a nuclear
bomb because America was winning
them in the arms race. So then Russia
creates one shocking America.
America now was shocked to see
Russia having its own nuclear bomb
because they thought it would take
many years for Russia to create an
nuclear bomb.

18. The danger that the world faces
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Both America and Russia massively
built up their stockpiles of nuclear
weapons.
The world greatly changed when
USA exploded the H-bomb in 1952.
This one bomb was smaller in size
than the Hiroshima atomic bomb
but 2500 times more powerful.
The Russians produced an H-bomb
in 1953 and the world became a
much more dangerous place.

19. The H-Bomb

This one bomb was smaller in size
than the Hiroshima atomic bomb but
2500 times more powerful.

20. The Mighty superpower weapons
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However, it is possible that the sheer power of
these weapons and the fear that they evoked,
may have stopped a nuclear war.
In October 1957, the world was introduced to the
fear of a missile attack when Sputnik was
launched. This was to lead to ICBM’s : Intercontinental ballistic missiles. As a result, America
built the DEW line around the Artic - Defense
and Early Warning system.

21. How they made it
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During the 1960’s, the Russians put their money into
producing more missiles regardless of quality while
America built fewer but better quality missiles - the
Atlas could go 5,000 miles at a speed of 16,000 mph.
By 1961, there were enough bombs to destroy the
world.
Despite this, great emphasis was put on new weapon
systems - mobile missile launchers were built, missiles
were housed underground in silos and in 1960 the
first Polaris submarine was launched carrying 16
nuclear missiles. Each missile carried four warheads
which could targeted on different cities; hence one
submarine effectively carried 64 nuclear warheads.

22. Theory of hope
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During the 1960’s the theory of MAD developed Mutually Assured Destruction. This meant that
if Russia attacked the west, the west would make
sure that they would suitably retaliate i.e. there
would be no winners.
The people and the countries lived with fear
through out this time as they could be attacked
any moment by any country. Fear was one thing
that people could not defeat.

23. Facts
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British Intelligence estimated that just one
medium sized H-bomb on London would
essentially destroy anything living up to 30 miles
away.
By 1981, USA had 8,000 ICBM’s and USSR 7,000
ICBM’s.
By 1981, USA had 4,000 planes capable of
delivering a nuclear bomb. Russia had 5000.
By 1986, it is estimated that throughout the
world there were 40,000 nuclear warheads - the
equivalent of one million Hiroshima bombs.

24. Space Race
U.S.S.R
U.S.
19571975

25. ORGINS
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It began in the 1950's, soon after the
beginning of the Cold War. The United States
was working on its first earth-orbiting satellite.
At the time we didn't know it, but the Soviet
Union was also.
We found out on October 4, 1957, that the
Soviet Union launched its first satellite,
Sputnik I into space. An A-1 rocket boosted
Sputnik into space from its base in the Soviet
republic of Kazakhstan. Its first orbit of the
Earth took about 95 minutes traveling at a
speed of 18,000 miles per hour. Sputnik
stayed in space for 57 days.

26. SPUTNIK
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On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully
launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite
was about the size of a beach ball(58 cm.or 22.8 inches
in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds,
and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth. Sputnik
was what started the U.S. Space Race.
U.S. feared that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites
might be a chance for them to launch missiles that
could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S.
Then the Soviets on November 3, Sputnik II was
launched, including a dog named Laika.

27. EXPLORER I
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On January 31, 1958, the United
States successfully launched
Explorer.
This satellite discovered the
magnetic radiation belts around
the Earth.
Explorer I was named after
principal investigator James Van
Allen.

28. LUNA 2

Was launched on September 12, 1959. Luna 2
was the second of a series of spacecraft
launched in the direction of the Moon . There
were twenty-four series of Luna but Luna 2
was the most important.

29. Yuri Gagarin
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Yuri Gagarin was born in Moscow, Russia on March 9, 1934.
Yuri joined the Soviet Air Force in 1955
In 1959, he was training to become a cosmonaut
On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin was the first human to orbit the
Earth. The name of his spacecraft was Vostok 1. Vostok 1 circled
Earth at the speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour.
The flight lasted 108 minutes , and he didn’t land in the
spacecraft he ejected on a parachute.
He died on March 27, 1968

30. Alan Shepard Jr.
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Born November 18, 1923, in East Derry, New Hampshire
In January, 1961 Shepard was chosen for the first American
manned mission into Space.
On May 5,1961, Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 mission and
became the second person, and the first American to travel into
space. before the launch, Shepard stated "Please, dear God, don't
let me mess up.” This is known as the "Shepard's Prayer."
Unlike Yuri Gagarin flight, Shepard remained in control of his craft
at all times.
Alan died on July 21, 1998

31. John Glenn Jr.
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He was born July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio. He then
married the former Anna Margaret Castor.
He attended Muskingum College in New Concord and
received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.
Glenn was assigned to the NASA Space Task Group at
Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on April
1959 after his selection as a Project Mercury Astronaut.
Glenn flew on Mercury-6 in February 20, 1962 and STS95 in October 29 to November 7, 1998 and spent over
218 hours in space.

32. Valentina Tereshkova
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Tereshkova was born in Bolshoye
Maslennikovo on March 6, 1937.
Four women were selected to be trained for a
special woman-in-space program. Out of the
four women selected, Valentina Tereshkova
was the only one to complete a space mission.
Tereshkova was launched on the Vostok 6 on
June 16, 1963 and became the first woman to
fly in space. During the 70.8 hour flight,
Vostok 6 made 48 orbits of Earth

33. Apollo 8
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Apollo 8 was the Apollo space program’s
second successful manned mission. It
was also the first manned launch of the
Saturn V rocket.
Its crew became the first humans to
orbit the moon.
Apollo 8 was launched on December 21,
1968 and landed December 27, 1968.

34. MAN ON THE MOON!!!
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Neil Alden Armstrong is the first human to have step
foot on the moon!!!
Armstrong was born on August 5,1930 in Wapakoneta,
Ohio. His first space flight occurred in 1966 aboard
Gemini 8. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong was the
commander of Apollo 11, America's first attempt to land
a manned vehicle on the Moon.
On July 20, 1969 Commander Armstrong and astronaut
Edwin Aldrin successfully touched down on the Moon
surface.

35. PRIMARY SOURCE
Picture of Moon taken by Apollo 8

36. • Dover, B. (2007) ‘The Space Race’ accessed on 05 March 2014.
• Emami, S. (2013) ‘The Cold War’ accessed on 05 March 2014.
• Palani, V. (2012) ‘The Nuclear Arms Race’ accessed on 05 March
2014.