Global Arms Race (College Board AP® US History)
Study Guide
U.S. Military−Industrial Complex
As the Cold War continued, military leaders, politicians, and civilians debated the merits of stockpiling nuclear and other deadly weapons
Pros of nuclear weapons
Having the most dangerous (deadly) weapons acted as a deterrent to Soviet aggression
The U.S. could reduce its standing military (and the associated expenses) if it had the weaponry for a massive, long-distance retaliation
Cons of nuclear weapons
Having the most dangerous and deadly weapons encouraged the Soviet Union to create weapons that caused even more damage
This would cause the U.S. would have to increase their weapons capabilities, fueling an arms race
Creating and maintaining a deep artillery is hugely expensive
Even if the U.S. attacked first, there is the risk of mutual assured destruction
At the end of his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans about the dangerous influence of the military‒industrial complex
He was referring to the big business of manufacturing weapons in the United States
He worried that government and military officials would start making policy recommendations and decisions based on business relationships, not on what was best for the country and the larger world
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Learning about history isn't just memorizing dates, places, and people. It's also about understanding the risks and rewards facing the leaders of the past as well as analyzing the consequences of the decisions they ultimately made. You may be asked to do this on the AP US History exam in the form of a persuasive essay.
For example, imagine that you are asked to write a persuasive essay about the effectiveness of mutual assured destruction. You want to convince your reader that mutual assured destruction is the best way to prevent nations from harming one another. One way to do that is through comparison. Describe a time when two nations were at war and mutual assured destruction wasn't a possibility, such as at the end of the World War II. Only the United States had the atomic bomb. The result was the US's double attack on Japan, which killed millions of Japanese civilians. Then describe how mutual assured destruction works and why its outcome of a standoff or Cold War is better.
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