The A-Bomb and H-Bomb

One of the biggest fears of Americans in the 1950s was that a war could be brought to American ground. With the development of the Atomic bomb and the improvements of missiles, the Soviet Union and the US began building a large number of ICBMs. With a successful launch, the Soviet Union could destroy major American cities without an aerial attack. This meant that cities could potentially be destroyed without any warning. After two Atomic Bombs were dropped in Japan, US citizens saw the complete destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All it took was one bomb and each city disappeared.

In 1952, the United States successfully detonated the first Hydrogen bomb. This bomb could have an explosion over a thousand times the size of the Atomic bomb. One year later, the Soviet Union was able to build a H-Bomb of their own. Americans no longer feared the destruction of major cities, they now feared the destruction of entire states and even the end of the United States. All it took was one problem and a potential Armageddon attack would begin. In most of the US wars, the battles were fought with only US soldiers overseas. The only exposure American citizens would get would be over the radio or from stories from soldiers returning home. World War I and II were fought in Europe. European cities were attacked, but American's were far from the danger. With the creation of the ICBMs, this changed. Anyone in the US could be killed. American ground could be under attack with little warning. The war was brought home.
In 1957, The Soviet Union launched a missile to put a satellite into space. This put the US behind the USSR in the Arms Race. The Soviets had beaten the Americans to space. With the launch of "Sputnik", American's realized that not only was the Soviet Union as technologically advanced as them, they might even be ahead. The USSR could now take satellite pictures of the US and even in time, control missiles. One year later, the US launched "Explorer I" into orbit. The Americans were finally in space.

More about the bombs

The development of these two bombs changed the way we look at war. To learn more about these bombs, click the link.

Why did both the US and USSR feel the need to building so many large and destructive bombs?