The Cold War was a war about two different world powers that held vastly different ideals, the US a capitalist democracy and the USSR a communist republic. One way to show American supremacy was to show that capitalism was the key to living a prosperous life. In an attempt to prove that superiority the US government encouraged consumerism throughout the 50’s. Historian Lizbeth Cohen explains “The good purchaser devoted to ‘more, newer, and better’ was the good citizen. Since economic recovery after a decade and a half of depression and war depended on dynamic mass consumption”. The general public was now aware that consuming goods was essential to the countries economic growth. Televisions became a necessary good in he American household, television and automobile sales skyrocketed in the 1950’s. Families of all income brackets were buying 5 million televisions per year. Overall the economy grew by 37% during the 1950’s and at the end of the decade the median American family had 30% more purchasing power than they did at the beginning of the decade. Unemployment rates drastically dropped during this decade, getting down to as low as 4.5%. The constant demand for goods kept people working. Though only accounting for 6% of the world population, in the 50’s Americans accounted for one third of the world’s goods and services. This buying mentality became a norm and eventually people started wanting more than they could afford, which lead to a boom in private debt. Private debt went from roughly $100 billion to $260 billion by the end of the 50’s, more than doubled. This private borrowing further boosted the economy.
|
Military spending and the nuclear arms race. America’s infatuation with nuclear weapons began in the early 1940’s and drastically picked up in the 1950’s. In 1950 the U.S had an estimated 1-2 thousand nuclear warheads by 1960 the inventory held over 30,000 warheads with a combined Megtonnage (nuclear explosive levels) of 15,000 units. That translates to about 1.3 million “Little Boys” (bomb dropped on Hiroshima). It’s tough to calculate how much the government actually spent on nuclear weapons during this decade due to the lack of data but a Eisenhower administration analyst wrote “it seems reasonable to assume that half of the budget for general purpose forces was nuclear-related”. Military spending was at 59.8 billion in 1950 and from 1951-1959 it never went under 134 billion.
Was it necessary? Trying to calculate the adequate nuclear firepower needed was a tough task. This is easy to see when looking at the differences in estimates within the Armed Forces. In 1957 Army General James Gavin asked congress for 151,000 nuclear warheads just for the army and in that same year chief of naval operations Arleigh Burke estimated that 720 warheads aboard 45 submarines would be enough to achieve deterrence. Later in the 60’s a few other military officials calculated roughly the same numbers, which were in the range of 300-700 warheads. We will never know what the “adequate” number was but what is known is that the US had far more than enough firepower.
So what was the big driving force behind military nuclear production? Uncertainty, in 1946 the Soviets rejected the Baruch Plan so there was no regulations on the usage of nuclear weapons. In 1949 the Soviets tested their first atomic weapon, this coupled with the lack of Soviet information resulted in scaring the US even more, which led to cranking up production. As afore mentioned, by 1957 a few officials believed only a few hundred warheads were necessary but 1957 was also the year the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite known to mankind. The Soviets now had the ability to produce atomic weapons and the launching of Sputnik showed that they had made big technological advancements so once again the US could not afford to back off.
The big question still is unanswered, was it necessary? That’s going to depend on what one believes the objective was. If you wanted to have enough nuclear weaponry to combat and defeat the Soviets in warfare then your answer is a definite no. Though, the Cold War was never about combat; it was about alpha supremacy between two superpowers and in that sense then yes it was very necessary. Consumerism made the economy boom, which gave the US the means for technological and military advancements. The Soviets on the other hand did not have a booming economy but were still on par with the US. Eventually it became a burden; their economy stagnated throughout Leonid Brezhnev’s reign, which led to turmoil within the Republic. Ultimately resulting in the dissolution of the U.S.S.R.
Authored by: Juan Valencia