Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project which was tasked by Leó Szilárd and Eugene Wigner and consulted by Albert Einstein, in 1939 but created and designed by a theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Initially the Manhattan
Project was a research and development project that was tasked with producing the first atomic bombs and was led by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the close advisement of Major General Leslie Groves. Along with the support of Britain and Canada the project properly begun in 1942 and went on until 1946. It was a race against the Germans who had built powerful missiles called V1 and V2, and were devastating London in the Blitzkrieg, and was the worlds first long range missile. As a result the search for a nuclear deterrent to more war was increased substantially. However with the end of World war Two with the Allies march into Berlin and on 8th May 1945 the war in Europe was deemed over, however the Japanese had not surrendered, and led to the use of the two atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war.
Project was a research and development project that was tasked with producing the first atomic bombs and was led by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the close advisement of Major General Leslie Groves. Along with the support of Britain and Canada the project properly begun in 1942 and went on until 1946. It was a race against the Germans who had built powerful missiles called V1 and V2, and were devastating London in the Blitzkrieg, and was the worlds first long range missile. As a result the search for a nuclear deterrent to more war was increased substantially. However with the end of World war Two with the Allies march into Berlin and on 8th May 1945 the war in Europe was deemed over, however the Japanese had not surrendered, and led to the use of the two atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war.
Tensions Mounting
Tensions Mounting
New Zealand and Australia both under joined the United States objectives of Nuclear Testing in the Pacific under the ANZUS in 1951. This agreement meant that New Zealand and Australia were given protection from the United States from possible invaders if they agreed to go ahead with the approval of nuclear testing in the Pacific. The United States weapons testing were about building up an arsenal of nuclear weapons because of the tensions that were mounting between the United States of America and Russia, which began around the time of 1947.However despite New Zealand's interactions with the monitoring of atmospheric tests, public opinion on the sanctity of the atolls in the Pacific, the native inhabitants, and the almost palpable realisation of the how real a nuclear war could affect the world.
New Zealand and Australia both under joined the United States objectives of Nuclear Testing in the Pacific under the ANZUS in 1951. This agreement meant that New Zealand and Australia were given protection from the United States from possible invaders if they agreed to go ahead with the approval of nuclear testing in the Pacific. The United States weapons testing were about building up an arsenal of nuclear weapons because of the tensions that were mounting between the United States of America and Russia, which began around the time of 1947.However despite New Zealand's interactions with the monitoring of atmospheric tests, public opinion on the sanctity of the atolls in the Pacific, the native inhabitants, and the almost palpable realisation of the how real a nuclear war could affect the world.
Cold War and Vietnam War
The Cold War was a nuclear arms race to build up the stock piles of nuclear weapons it spanned from 1947 to 1991. The Cold War was also mostly Political as well as America and Britain were experiencing a wave of Communism in their countries after World War Two. This was because in both countries the political idealology of most was one that was capitalistic,centrally among the middle class. America had dealt with communism before but it had never really been able to take hold as it was seen as far to radical. However despite these new revolutionary idea's permeating amongst the people, the government of the United States was worried and put pressures on the USSR both political, and economic. The USSR was already a country that was suffering the post war economic crisis, which led to the German people in East Germany fleeing across the Berlin Wall due to the, then current state of Russian Communism.
All the mean while in Nevada and the Pacific, America the once previous allies of the USSR were testing and accumulating a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
In response the USSR began testing their nuclear weaponry as well in 1949 and detonated it Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, which was then a part of the USSR. These nuclear tests carried out by the United States and the USSR continued until they both each had a massive stockpile.
The United States stockpile peaked in 32,040 in 1966, and the USSR with 45,000 in 1986.
Although each country was prepared for the possibility of attacking one another the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) came about. This idea was about the fact that if one the countries did detonate a nuclear weapon over the other the ending result would also bring much harm to the one that detonated it, so the fact of the matter is that their were no attacks with nuclear weapons because of how detrimental to their own people it would be.
Despite many people being convinced that everything was okay, many in New Zealand felt as though that this technology would also eradicate Australia as well as New Zealand, had the concept of 'MAD' not been to real of an idea.
The Vietnam War was also along the line of the Cold War as it was a country that was embracing communism, which was something that the United States political system truly feared and that it would be the 'Domino' that would lead to the eventual demise of all Western civilities and liberties, but most historians now say that it was more of a result of the protection of specific socio-economic classes as communism would be the break down of it, especially with the hippy movements that formed, some saw really did see communism as a threat as it was essentially another way of a nanny state controlling everything.
Overall with John .F. Kennedy's invasion of Vietnam and the Cuban missile crisis, and more specifically the Bay of Pigs invasion, those outside of the two countries were generally frightful that another war would be the demise of the world. This is illustrated through the anti Vietnam Protests that generally were tied in with the anti nuclear protests as well.
All the mean while in Nevada and the Pacific, America the once previous allies of the USSR were testing and accumulating a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
In response the USSR began testing their nuclear weaponry as well in 1949 and detonated it Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, which was then a part of the USSR. These nuclear tests carried out by the United States and the USSR continued until they both each had a massive stockpile.
The United States stockpile peaked in 32,040 in 1966, and the USSR with 45,000 in 1986.
Although each country was prepared for the possibility of attacking one another the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) came about. This idea was about the fact that if one the countries did detonate a nuclear weapon over the other the ending result would also bring much harm to the one that detonated it, so the fact of the matter is that their were no attacks with nuclear weapons because of how detrimental to their own people it would be.
Despite many people being convinced that everything was okay, many in New Zealand felt as though that this technology would also eradicate Australia as well as New Zealand, had the concept of 'MAD' not been to real of an idea.
The Vietnam War was also along the line of the Cold War as it was a country that was embracing communism, which was something that the United States political system truly feared and that it would be the 'Domino' that would lead to the eventual demise of all Western civilities and liberties, but most historians now say that it was more of a result of the protection of specific socio-economic classes as communism would be the break down of it, especially with the hippy movements that formed, some saw really did see communism as a threat as it was essentially another way of a nanny state controlling everything.
Overall with John .F. Kennedy's invasion of Vietnam and the Cuban missile crisis, and more specifically the Bay of Pigs invasion, those outside of the two countries were generally frightful that another war would be the demise of the world. This is illustrated through the anti Vietnam Protests that generally were tied in with the anti nuclear protests as well.
Key Historical Idea:-
Despite this new advancement in nuclear technology to eradicate war as well as human life, their also lay the possibility of a new and even more terrifying war with these nuclear experiments. The World War Two aftermath for most as not a happy one as those who came home from the war like World war One were scarred by what they had done and saw; so the possibility that the world could be gearing up for another one was for most am idea that we would stay away from, and that the idea of testing nuclear weapons so soon after the war was an action that would likely evoke a war. What also went for this for many New Zealander's was the sense of pulling away from America being seen as something to be proud of rather than it being a betrayal of trust of our allies. This followed with our anti-Vietnam protests, as well as our involvements with the anti-Nuclear movement that soon followed afterwards.