WHY WAS THERE A NUCLEAR ARMS RACE?
The nuclear arms race was a buildup of nuclear weapons after World War II. When the war ended, scientists knew that it was possible to build nuclear bombs far more powerful and destructive than the first atomic bomb. Some people, including scientists, thought it was wrong to build these weapons of mass destruction. Others feared that the Soviet Union would make them first. By the late 1940s, the Cold War pitted the United States and its allies against the Soviet Union and its allies. Each side feared an attack from the other side, though their armies did not actually fight during the Cold War. Everyone knew that a war using nuclear weapons would be a terrible disaster. A nuclear war would kill millions of people and possibly end life on Earth. Each side believed that having a large supply of nuclear weapons would frighten the other side and stop it from starting a nuclear war. If one side attacked, the other side would strike back with even more nuclear bombs. And so began a race to ha
