Unit 4: The Cold War

US nuclear weapons test, Baker, a few seconds after detonation in the western Pacific Ocean in 1946. A relatively low strength weapon with a yield of 22-23 kilotons (22,000-23,000 tons) of TNT. In comparison, the strongest weapon tested by the United States, Castle Bravo (1954), had a strength of 15 megatons of TNT (15,000,000 tons). Stronger yet, the Soviet Union detonated the Tsar Bomba in 1961 with a strength of 50 megatons.
Source: United States Department of Defense (either the U.S. Army or the U.S. Navy) / Public domain

“Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.”

– Stuart Chase (1990)

Lesson 1: The Fate of Europe

Lesson 2: Establishing an International Order

Lesson 3: “Are you MAD?” – Nuclear Escalation and the US-Soviet Rivalry

Lesson 4: Berlin

Lesson 5: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Lesson 6: The Vietnam War

Lesson 7: