On this day in 1989 President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev declare the COLD WAR OVER. What started as an allied relationship between the U.S. and Russia during World War II, albeit, a tense one, turned hostile once the war was over. Eventually American officials agreed to a strategy of “containment” to deal with the Soviet threat. This strategy is responsible for the unprecedented arms buildup in the U.S.
Atomic weapons, the hydrogen bomb, and nuclear weaponry all were further developed or expanded during the Cold War. And then the “Race to Space” was born, it was America’s commitment to beat the Russians to outerspace. While we did not accomplish that, we did put the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong.
Read more about what came about during the 40 years of the Cold War.