There were three main reasons that the arms
race started:
• Fear of future war
• Need to be seen as a strong leader
• More weapons = more jobs
Fear of future war
A simple reason for arms race was
because there was fear of another
world war.
Each side wanted to make sure they could
win such a war.
Need to be seen as a strong leader
Another reason was that leaders in
different countries wanted to seem strong
and in control.
This was a show for other countries and
their own people too.
More weapons = more jobs
More weapons meant more jobs – this was important to both
sides.
e.g. Many Americans worked in Defence,
leading to the military-industrial
complex
During the Cold War the main fear was nuclear weapons.
These bombs were capable of killing
millions of people and could have spelled the
end of the world.
And both sides had them!