Atomic Fears and the Arms Race: Nuclear Testing
- How some U.S. soldiers were affected by the atomic age and America’s rise to global power.
- How the U.S. government’s estimate of the dangers of nuclear weapons has changed over time.
- How the Cold War and America’s rise to power coincided with a rise in government secrecy.
- How the U.S. government and its citizens failed to accurately appraise the danger of nuclear radiation at the beginning of the atomic era.
- Social Studies
- U.S. History
- The Atomic Bomb
- Arms Race
- America as a World Power
- The Postwar Era (1945-1980)
- Cold War
As the Cold War heated up, fear of a nuclear war rose, the U.S. government was determined to develop weapons to meet any threat from the Soviet Union.
So it began testing nuclear weapons on land and at sea, exposing its own troops to the atomic blasts to determine how they would perform in nuclear combat.
The U.S. conducted some 200 tests from 1946 to1962, exposing thousands of military men to nuclear explosions, often with little if any protective gear. The government told troops the tests were safe but kept them secret from the public.
By the 1980s, however, some atomic veterans were getting sick, suffering from a variety of ailments, including various cancers. They blamed their health problems on the secret atomic tests and demanded federal compensation for their medical expenses.
The government initially refused to address the problems, saying it was impossible to connect military duty to a specific illness or cancer. But as some veterans spoke out, risking jail by breaking secrecy oaths they were forced to sign, Congress stepped in to establish a compensation program in 1988 that eventually covered some 21 cancers.
Today, the issue raised by the atomic veterans– when is the federal government responsible for exposing its soldiers to life-changing illness? – continues for many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Why did the US government think it seemed reasonable and justified to order soldiers to participate in atomic testing?
- How did the context of the Cold War affect this justification?
- Why do “atomic veterans” today believe the government mistreated them?
- What led the Congress to finally pass a compensation bill for veterans affected by nuclear tests?
- Are America’s veterans treated better today than the “atomic veterans”?
- The splitting of the atom created unprecedented power for the US following World War II, but also created substantial problems and challenges. What are other technological innovations from the 20th century that solved some problems but created others?
- How has the government changed its approach to nuclear testing
- What are other examples of how the rise of government secrecy during the Cold War created negative effects, much like those suffered by “atomic veterans”?
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequences of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact or develop over the course of a text.
Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
Analyze multiple and complex causes and effect of events in the past.
Evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.
Skill 3.A: Identify and describe a claim and/or argument in a non-text-based source.
Theme 6: America in the World (WOR).
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The War on Terror and the Debate Over Torture
