Nuclear Arms Race

Was the World’s reaction to the nuclear arms race between Russia and the United States positive or negative?

The nuclear arms race consisted of the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies. The nuclear arms race was a competition for world domination. (This is one of the fights that the United States and the Soviet Union had gotten into. The other fight was the space race.) Who ever obtained the most nuclear weapons was considered the most powerful. They would try to manufacture as many nuclear warheads as possible. Soon they had enough nukes to destroy the world by doing nothing more than pushing a button. The tension was getting stronger and stronger, and very dangerous. The Soviet Union and the United States were far more advanced with technology then the rest of the world; this is why the race was primarily between them. Other countries also produced nuclear stockpiles, however none compared to that of the two superpowers.

During this nuclear arms race, smaller and less powerful countries could not compete as well as the major superpowers, so they were forced to pick a side. Countries felt two different opinions; they either didn’t mind that they were not involved, or they were aggravated that they could not compete with the rest of the world.

The smaller and less powerful countries that did not want to compete for many reasons. One of the reasons why was because nuclear weapons are very expensive to manufacture. They needed to save their money for other things such as their military. The countries also only had to worry about their allies, not just themselves. There were also countries that were disappointed that could not compete, because they wanted to feel like they were part of the world. They want to feel dominate and want their county to be the greatest.

The Worlds reaction to the nuclear arms race was both positive and negative. The arms race was the race that definitely impacted the most people. Even though the government ultimately made the decision of whether to participate in the arms race or which countries to ally themselves with, the people had no so say on what they wanted. The citizens of the country were scared of the decisions that their government could make at any moment. For example, say they were allied with Russia, and the United States decided to detonate their nuclear weapons against them. Who is to say that Russia would come to their aid? A positive side to having nuclear warheads is the fact that people feel protected from the enemy countries.


It is possible that the power and fear of these weapons made the nuclear war stop. Since the nuclear arms race, the United Nations has attempted to have the nuclear weapons banned from the world. This conflict has yet to be resolved. Still today, there is a threat of countries secretly developing nuclear weapons. This crisis has been continuing for decades and unfortunately the world may never come to a peaceful solution. 504

Was it right for the Japanese to start using germ warfare towards China?

During the Second World War, the Japanese began using a new form of fighting towards the Chinese. This new form of fighting is known as Biological Warfare or Germ Warfare. According to Webster’s Dictionary, Germ Warfare is “the use of harmful microorganisms as weapons in war”. Instead of weapons that kill instantly such as a bullet or a bomb, germ warfare is brutal. Germs travel through the air and can be inhaled. They can be transported by a fleabite or transmitted by sexual contact. Once infected the victim may suffer for a long period of time before dying. And in the meantime infect others with his same disease. Germ warfare was so awful that there was an international law banning its use for war purposes. The Japanese officials saw this as an opportunity to gain power over other countries.
Japanese scientists would first experiment on Chinese POWs (prisoners of war) by injecting them with inoculations of disease, disguised as vaccines to study the effects on them. The POWs were infected with syphilis, gonorrhea, fleas and they even brought back the black plague. The harmful effects of these test cases proved to be a powerful weapon for the Japanese. Once infected the POWs were soon released then diseases reached the outside world and spread like wildfire, killing millions of people.
Soon the Japanese realized the powerful effects of these deadly germs. They used low flying planes to drop tons of plague-infested fleas (fleas carrying the black plague). These fleas would spread throughout the land by getting into the Chinese’s clothes, their food supply, and their homes and on their animals. The Black Plague killed thousands of innocent Chinese civilians during World War II.
Germ warfare is an uncontrollable form of weaponry. Civilians should not be hurt or killed during any form of war; only soldiers who are willing to fight for their county should have their lives at risk. With biological warfare it is difficult to only attack your enemy. So many outside people fall prey to the effects of germ warfare. For example, the scientists who concoct the infectious diseases are susceptible to obtaining these horrid germs as well. In addition, civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time can also fall victim to the toxic germs. Therefore this type of battle is inhumane.
Germ warfare was so horrid, that it was nationally banned and considered a war crime. The Japanese saw this as an opportunity and took advantage of its strength. People might think that using biological warfare is a brilliant idea; but they do not realize how out of hand this form of fighting can get. The only people’s lives that should be taken are the lives of the soldiers who are willing to fight. Innocent civilians should not be endangered of loosing their lives due to the spreading infectious diseases. Germ warfare is an inhumane weapon of war and should never be used again. (501)