Tension During The Cold War

In 1945, the two superpowers--the United States and the USSR--became enemies because their beliefs and objectives were completely at odds, this was known as the Cold War. An aspect of the Cold War was the race for nuclear superiority. As tension grew between the USSR and America, Americans were engulfed in great anxiety and fear towards the atomic bomb. During the atomic era and since then, the atomic bomb had predominantly been portrayed as the cause of great fear and anxiety.

As fears intensed, atomic survival became a top priority. “Atomic survival, yet another theme, had become an everyday dimension of American life”(Scheibach 212), many Americans were wary of the nuclear threat that loomed over them and as a result invested large amounts of time and resources into atomic survival procedures. Even the government, “did its
During the atomic age, there was great tension between America and Russia. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the tension was extremely heightened. In his Cuban Missile Crisis speech, JFK states that the russian weapons in cuba constituted, “an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas”(JFK par.3). As Americans heard things such as the, fears of foreign threats increased exponentially. Even long after the atomic age, fear of the bomb falling into the wrong hands lingered, “ … in the 21st century fear of terrorists with nuclear bombs stood on the shelf along with other nuclear fears.”(Weart). With tragedies such as 9/11, the idea that these terrorists could possibly get their hands on nuclear weapons crossed many people’s minds, “...a poll in 1998 found that half of all Americans believed that terrorists would explode a nuclear bomb in the United States within the next ten years. During the atomic age, images such as Atomic War comic book cover only added on the intense fears with its presentation of America in