Notes

7. In the Soviet Union, the Cold War developed out of a deep distrust of the United States and Great Britain that only became worse in the aftermath of World War II. In particular, it emerged from fears that the United States was extending its influence into Europe to an alarming degree, possibly even blocking Soviet plans to ensure a barrier of satellite states between the USSR and the West.
In the United States, on the other hand, the fear was that Stalin would expand Soviet influence westward into Western Europe, which would deny the Americans crucial allies and trading partners. US fears were exacerbated when communist armies seized control of China after a long and brutal struggle. The United States became committed to resisting the spread of communism, a policy that became known as containment.
Europe became the earliest "battleground" of sorts in the Cold War, as the United States and the USSR vied for influence in many of the nations most devastated by the conflict, where society and government was the least stable. The conflict between the two superpowers (a new term coined during the Cold War) left Europe divided, east from west, a situation which was most marked in Germany and elsewhere along the borders of the so-called "Iron Curtain."

8. The race to develop delivery systems. At the start of the arms race, nuclear weapons were meant to be delivered by long-range bomber aircraft. The two sides raced to develop missiles that could deliver the weapons farther and faster.The race to develop more destructive weapons -- this started with the development of thermonuclear weapons. The race to have so many weapons as to be able to survive a first strike and fight back. Both sides wanted to be able to destroy the other even if they were surprised by a nuclear attack.

9. Because the Cold War years lasted so long, political and economic life changed drastically during that time.
At the start of the Cold War, the US was by far the dominant economic power in the world. American workers could expect good jobs at good pay, more or less for life. By the end of the Cold War, the rest of the world was starting to catch up with the US. Americans were particularly worried about Japan catching up to us. Politically, we moved for a very polite political system with Democrats and Republicans getting along pretty well to a much more divided system. The Democratic Party lost the South and politics became divided much more along geographic lines.

10.