World War II ended September 2, 1945 and Americans finally began the recovery from the war that took billions of dollars and millions of lives. Life started to settle down somewhat and families tried to pick up where they left off before the war had began. People thought they would finally be free from wars and the fear of wars. This “peaceful living” didn’t last for very long. Unfortunately in 1949, the United States caught wind of the Soviet atom bomb tests. This began a long, heated war between the Soviet and the United States, known as the Arms Race.
The Cold War had started a couple years earlier soon after the World War had ended. This was basically a period of time where the United States and Soviet Russia exchanged many threats and were extremely hostile toward each other. This was somewhat strange, seeing as how the two countries fought as allies against the Axis powers. However, the United States long feared the spread of communism. The Soviet, being under communist rule, fueled this fear and as a result, caused plenty of tension during the war.
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Americans feared for their lives when they heard about the atomic bomb. There were a lot of unfortunate events that kept happening as communism spread and Americans constantly wondered if communism would eventually spread to the United States. People were aware that another World War involving nuclear weapons was a big possibility. Families had nuclear shelters built under their houses and on their farmland. In 1957, America watched as the Soviets launched their first ship into space, called the Sputnik. Air Raid sirens were regularly tested, adding to the fear in America’s daily life. The radiation from the bombs being tested was easily absorbed by cows and the milk had the possibility of being tainted with radiation that could cause