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!