Nuclear arms race during the Cold War Research Paper

Nuclear arms race during the Cold War - Research Paper Example 6). An increasing distrust of communism developed among most Americans by the end of the war. Their aim was to ‘hide’ nuclear secrets from Soviet hands. America had a monopoly on nuclear weapons, which ensured that Russia was more manageable from a political point of view. Tension brewed between these two states, and sparked a nuclear arms race. The nuclear arms race was a period where several countries developed and examined the power of a myriad of nuclear technology. They kept buffer stocks of thousands of nuclear weapons with an aim of being ahead of one another. Power was tested by the country with the best technology. This was a dangerous era, since the possibility of an all-out nuclear war between countries always loomed. The 20th century had a fair share of near catastrophes and uneasy international policies (Swift p. 14). The Cold War did not make it into the 21st century. Its history explains a period where nations increased their quality and quantity of ‘tools’ of military power; â€Å"An arms race.† This period was first encountered in the 19th century where Russia and France confronted Britain’s naval superiority. Germany had attempted to outdo Britain’s fleet, and the effects spilled over into World War I. After the war between Britain, Japan, and the United States, an arms-limitation treaty took place at the Washington Conference. The degree of tension among nations was high. Nations were incited to develop and test weapons that would wipe out an entire generation. This regime lasted up to November, 1990, when the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty was signed. The entire generation lived under the shadow of looming catastrophe; the survival of humanity was questionable. Any provocation or misunderstanding could have initiated the extinction of humanity. Stockpiles of weapons were developed to levels far beyond