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On August 6, 1945, US forces dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. It was the most devistating bomb that had been used yet. Japan forces still refused to surrender after the destructian of the city.
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On August 9, 1945, the US delivered the second atomic bomb strike in just three days after Hiroshima. This bomb was a plutonium bomb, unlike the uranium bomb that was tested on Hiroshima. Although it was different, it caused just as much destruction.
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The Cold War officially starts. The Soviet Union and the United States get wound into a great rivalry after the end of WWll.
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In 1949, The Soviet Union (Russia) tested their first fission bomb. It was almost a complete replica of the US's Fat Man. On September 3rd, a US spy plane found hints of radiation in the atmosphere. The US government concluded that the Soviets have already tested their first bomb.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_atomic_bomb_project -
After the first nuclear test of the USSR, Americans and the Soviets were stuck in a race. This race however had no winner. The two countries were locked in a battle for who could mass produce more nukes. The nukes kept on getting stronger and stronger, and there was more of them.
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The US made a deal with Turkey enabling them to place warheads in Turkey. The US felt this was necessary to have more strike power on the Soviet Union just in case they attacked.
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The USSR and the US were in a battle of trying to scare the other. The US had nuclear weapons in Turkey and Western Europe pointing at the Soviets. The Soviets, trying to up their strike capability and protect Cuba, placed warheads on Cuba, just 50 miles away from US shores.
http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis/timeline.htm -
A U2 spy plane making a high altitude pass over Cuba, discovers the nuclear weapons. The spy plane photographed the warhead site and brought the photos to Kennedy.
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Once Kennedy knew there were missiles in Cuba, he ordered a blockade to be made around Cuba. The naval blockade ensured that no more Soviet troops or weapons made it to Cuba. Both the US and the USSR were waiting for the other to make their move. Kennedy didn't know if America was on the brink of a war with the Soviets. Kennedy thought of invading Cuba to get rid of the missiles, but the Soviets would be sure to let them off. The intense standoff only lasted thirteen days.
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President Kennedy and the Soviet Union were exchanging letters and communications during the standoff. Their final agreement was the USSR would take the missiles off of Cuba if the US didn't invade Cuba, and the US would have to remove their missile installations in Turkey. Kennedy accepted these terms and the Cuban Missile Crisis drew to a close.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis
