Nuclear Arms Race

     It has been a rough first half of the year for us Americans. From the crisis with North Korea to the bombings in Boston, all hasn't been going to well. One thing that is always on our minds is national security, and that was breached by Tsarnaev brothers in Boston, but something that we should always be on the lookout for is our affairs with foreign nations. In this day and age, any country with Nuclear Weapons is able to fire them at will and kill tens of millions of men, women, and children. Nuclear Arms have played a significant role in WWII. Many countries today, unlike in the 1940s, have their hands on these weapons of mass destruction. From Pakistan, the country of my origins, to the UK have now officially declared themselves as present in the vast group of countries have access to such devices. Nuclear Arms has shaped much of America's foreign affairs since WWII, and has affected its relations with countries abroad. Coming in to this project I had an array of inquires. Through categorizing and simplifying the thoughts and ideas swimming in my mind, I came up with three major questions: what started the race for nuclear arms, what was the Cold War and how did it affect the nuclear power of the US, and what is the present day situation in respect to Nuclear Arms.

Hiroshima
Illinois

    Nuclear Arms is in no way, shape, or form a subject to be played with. A few generations before mine, the United States was involved in WWII. Found on the Rice University website, I saw this war proved to be demolishing for both parties involved in this clash. The US launched the Manhattan Project. This project was America's attempt of researching and developing the first nuclear weapons in history. As found on Energy.gov, on August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein, a scientist of German origins, asked FDR to recognize the significance of researching nuclear weapons as he saw the threat of Germany creating such weapons. Then in June 1942, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR approved the construction of an atomic bomb as it was reported to be able to be created without much difficulty. This task was delegated to the Corps of Engineers as part of the US Army. They set up stations in Oak Ridge, TN, Hanford, WA, and Los Alamos, NM to develop and build a nuclear bomb. Soon after, President Roosevelt passed away, and Harry S. Truman became President. A couple of months later, a "plutonium implosion bomb" was successfully imploded. Less than a month later, a uranium bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, and a few days later another was one was dropped in Nagasaki. Thus, America became the only nation to ever use such weapons. America took a lead in the nuclear arms race as the Soviet Union was unable to create and fire an atomic bomb at the US. About a year later, the activities of the Manhattan Project were transferred to civilian hands, those who were part of the Atomic Energy Commission. Many reactors were made throughout the US, primarily for peaceful purposes. Sooner than later, in mid-1949, Soviet Union was able to successfully detonate an atomic device. In response, President Truman ordered the AEC (Atomic Energy Commission) to speed up the creation of a thermonuclear device. This started a competition for dominance between the US and their allies for the amount of nuclear weapons in their stashes.

Atomic Energies Commission Logo
Forbes

     Through this whole time of the Manhattan Project and such, the Soviet Union was using their spying skills and finding out what our country was up to. I found on JStor how the Soviet Union came into the ring as the second country to obtain nuclear weapons. They saw the building of a nuclear weapon and therefore saw an urgency to do so themselves. Found on the Nuclear Weapon Archive, the Soviet Union weapons program also started during WWII. The Soviet Union kept a low during WWII as they were also fighting Nazi Germany. However, their operations moved into high gear after the end of the war. The Soviets got their hands on the design of the bomb used in Nagasaki in 1945 and within four years, they achieved their very own nuclear device. Soon after the War Ended, the United Nations was created with the purpose of stopping wars with countries. I found on the Atomic Archive that the UN attempted to discomfit the use of nuclear weapons, and in response the US proposed the Baruch Plan. The author there said that this plan put forth an international authority to control atomic activities as well as to carry out inspections. This plan was rejected by the Soviets as it would again be in favor of the Nuclear Weapons of the US. The speeding growth of nuclear knowledge of the Soviet Union was of concern to the US and then in the early 1950s the Cold War began.

Two Main Members of Conflict
United States Naval Institute

      The Cold War is the big thing of the later 20th century. After the Second World War, the US was a monopoly in knowledge and materials required for nuclear arms. Found on America though their exclusivity of nuclear weapons would cause the Soviets to surrender, but as we all see today, that proved the false. In the early 1950s, a spike in the interest of the hydrogen bomb was found. Atomic Archive says that in the hydrogen bomb, "deuterium and tritium are fused into helium, thereby releasing energy." The response to its production was split between the people. Some scientists found it as a necessity to put the US in the forefront of arms production, but some such as I.I. Rabi said it was a danger to humanity. Truman made the final decision to continue production of the Hydrogen Bomb and a production facility was made in South Carolina. This facility was still in business until 1990, shutting down to safety concerns. In late 1952, the US detonated a "10.4-megaton hydrogen device in the Pacific on the Enewetak Atoll in the Marhsall Islands." This operation was code named MIKE. The cloud created by MIKE's detonation was 100 miles wide, and 25 miles high, destroying life all around the area. The results surprised many scientists. Again in 1954, a hydrogen bomb using solid lithim deuteride was detonated, again the scientists had underestimated the size of the explosions. The predicted yield was only 5 tons, but it had a total result of about 15 megatons becoming the largest nuclear test ever exploded. This caused a problem to the people who resided close to the area. About 240 people were living nearby, and had radiation poisoning. Many years later, a majority of the residents had developed tumors in their thyroid. A tuna boat was also effected as a result of this implosion. One on the boat died again due to radiation poisoning, but the US denied responsibility. Still the US sent  2.5 million yen to the widow as "a token of sympathy." At this time, the Soviet Union was also partaking in producing a hydrogen bomb. In mid-1953, the Soviets tried their first hydrogen bomb, but this was no way near the type US had developed nine months earlier. This explosion came in only yielding 400 kilotons. Again in 1955, the Soviet Union exploded their first real hydrogen bomb, again only measuring 1.6 megatons, this was no way in shape or form near to BRAVO, the 15 megaton hydrogen bomb exploded by the US. The US took the early race in this match up. This true hydrogen bomb explosion  by the Soviets started a series of tests. The concluding test here was a 58 megaton explosion. The head of the program boasted that the explosion could be bigger, but it would have broken all the windows in Moscow (4,000 miles away). Oppenheimer, a  leading physicist of the US program was slowly kicked out of the program as he was accused to having associations with the communists and he opposed the development of the Hydrogen bomb. His security clearance was taken back and was never reinstated. He soon won the nation's highest distinction in nuclear science, and died a few years later in 1967. This was a big set back in the US development of nuclear weapons. A lot of Espionage was part of the history of the Cold War. Many involved in the Manhattan Project were accused of helping the communists. TruTV had a very interesting article describing FuchOne of these men was Klaus Fuchs, a theoretical physicist. He alongside David Greenglass passed secrets to the Soviets. This gave the Soviets insight and without this America would have a much larger lead during the 1950s in this race. Fuchs was arrested in 1950, and this led to the arrests of many others. Fuch served nine years of a fourteen year sentence, and then immigrated to East Germany. Soon after, many others started getting their hands on nuclear weapons.

Klaus Fuchs
Univeristy of Missouri Kansas City

     The Federation of American Scientists described the status of the other countries found to have nuclear weapons. Other major countries soon got their personal weapons. Of these countries, one was Great Britain. As the Cold War began, they sought their need to have their very own weapons. In early 1947, they decided to create their very own Nuclear program. About  a year and a half later, they nuclear reactor went critical. They also happened to create areas for plutonium production and enriched uranium. They tested their atomic device off the coast of Australia. This explosion was relatively small, only having a yield of about 25 kilotons. Churchill went forth with the production of the hydrogen bomb. In 1957, they tested over Christmas Island on the Pacific and yielded a result of about 1.8 megatons. The US and Britain decided to start working together in 1961, of which much was made by the US but available to the British. France also happened to embark on a mission to obtain nuclear weapons. Their program started in the late 1950s, and by 1960 they had created a bomb yielding about 60-70 kilotons. This was a very successful first test as it was the most powerful by any nation ever. By 1968, the French had established a thermonuclear device and it yielded a 2.6 megaton result. France continued to have atmospheric tests until 1974. In 1995, in partnering with a global protest the French resumed their testing. Presently, the French have air and sea based forces. France is active in the nuclear community and is the world's third largest nuclear nation in the world.

Kennedy Signing Limited Test Ban Treaty
Atomic Archive

       In the late 50s to early 60s, the Cuban Missile Crisis took place. George Washington University educated me on the specifics of this incident in the Cold War. American spy planes found missiles in Cuba. The options at hand were to take a military conflict or diplomatic relations. The leader of Russia decided to pull the missiles from the area and months later the US decided to pull missiles from Turkey. It was later found that the missiles were active and could have succesfully attacked the US. Atomic Archive continued to show how America's status with Soviet Union continued to worsen. Many negotiations took place like the Limited Test Ban Treaty. This was an agreement between three major countries to limit production of nuclear arms. After that the main concern became stopping attacks made toward the U.S. The theory of mutual assured destruction was created and is still the status quo today. The goal today is to create a situation where a minimum destruction occurs. The tensions began to get higher but the spending was becoming a burden. Both sides of this conflict were spending over $50 million a day. The US Department of State had the specifics on both the Limited Test Ban treaty and the SALT treaties. This came to create talks with the Soviets began. SALT 1 treaty was created to stop the Soviets from pursuing relation in the Nuclear Warhead column. However technological advances continued. In 1974, Ford and Brezhnev agreed to limit the amount of vehicles each could have, to 2400. Atomic Archive continued to say that the Arms race continued as the Soviet Union updated some of their intermediate nuclear arms. This caused the relations to worsen and the SALT II treaty to be signed. This fixed the loopholes found in the SALT I treaty. When Reagan stepped into office, he sought to win the Cold War by outspending the Soviets. He created new programs that were revolutionary in deterring military relations such as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The Cold War ended during Reagan's terms. Gorbachev came into office with the idea of openness and reconstruction. The mid 1980s proved to be crucial in the relations being improved. Much of the Eastern European Bloc began to fall. The most iconic of this was the taking down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This marked the end of the Cold War. Soon the Soviet Union fell and became the Russian Republic. The Cold War was over.
     In my lifetime we see Russia more of an ally than ever. Personally, I have no hard feeling toward Russia and that shows how much the relations have improved between the US and them in the past twenty years. Today many countries serve a threat to the US, but due to the Cold War, the US has a large capacity of nuclear warheads that can take down any of our threats easily: like Iran or North Korea. This project had lots of information, but due to the limits I could only cover so much. You should look more into it if you are more interested.

Atomic Archive
Federation of American Scientists
George Washington University
US Department of State
TRUTV
JSTOR
Rice

WWI: Schenck v. U.S.

Mr. Spencer
Image of Charles Schenck

ICivics
Image of the start of the Constitution

Dipity
Chief Justice, Mr. Oliver Holmes

The Free Dictionary
Image of the Justices

Schenck vs. U.S.

Throughout history many instances have taken place that may appear to be unconstitutional but are they? In 1919, in the midst of World War 1, a case to be remembered for generations to come came to the United States. Charles Schenck was the Secretary of the Socialist Party of America. He was responsible for printing, distributing, and mailing possible leaflets to prospective draftees. In the years of WWI, America had passed many laws that dealt with the freedom of Speech: Espionage, Sedition, and Sabotage. Through these amendments, the government had outlawed the use of speech as an engine against the military matters of the US. However Schenck believed that it was the duty of man to fight and support his rights. Schenck sent 15,000 pamphlets advocating the draftees to go against the war. The question that arose through this scenario was whether or not this was constitutional. How did the outcome of this case affect America during WWI, after WWI, and present day?
The case was pretty heated to say the least. It started in a local court in Philly, sooner than later it ended up in the hands of the Supreme Court. The constitution states that we as citizens/residents of the United States have the freedom to say whatever we want, it doesn't matter when or where. In 1917, the Constitution was slightly bent to say the least. Congress in that year passed the Espionage Act, which made it a crime to cause and attempt insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty in the military forces of the United States. The government what Schenck was doing, he was sending documents to draftees to oppose the draft and not submit to insubordination. Humans have the power of free will and that is something that can't be taken from you. I have the will to break this computer if I want, because it is mine. However are we owned by the government is a valid question. Does the government have the right to control what we do in our every day lives. The answer to that question is yes. We have entrusted officials from our local area to the president to choose things in our best interest. In that day and age, the government saw it efficient that the people be drafted in the military so they can protect the lives of many citizens who were living safe and sound across the country. What Schenck did was cause an obstacle which was against the law. The government saw in order to keep this country safe and running, in needed to pass such an act. What Schenck did was create a blockade between freedom of speech and the rights of officials. The country may have been split on WWI, but it did what it could in order to prevent a national disaster. Many protests took place across the country in retaliation to the conviction of Mr. Schenck. Many had come to the US from Europe in the past 25-30 years feeling the sense they had the freedom of doing whatever they wanted. They found it kind of oxymoronish that this 'God-given' right was taken from them. The national outrage caused by the opinion of the court set many to flames, however whatever the government did was clearly justified.
After World War I many things took place across the country such as the Great Depression, later on World War II, and more recently the Cold War. Freedom of Speech has been a centerpiece of the American ideal. People here believe that they have the right to believe whatever their heart desires, or lack thereof. The Cold War had much effect on Freedom of Speech. As we know that was a time of great struggle and frustration between America and Russia. The opinion of the court in this case was very interesting: "A nation at war is justified in taking steps to insure the success of its effort to defend itself." This is true whether the country is in a time of stress or not. We as humans have a right to think whatever we want, but we should be careful of what we say or publish. The government has rights upon us just like we have rights upon such an organization. Schenck found it safe to think in Socialist ideals, and we shouldn't have a problem, but what he did was put those outrageous ideas in action through using paper and mouth. The United States had a huge depression in the 20's where we saw the trend of the poor getting poorer and rich getting richer. The people who lived below the poverty line had a right to make the rich feel bad but they needed to know the consequences they faced in order to do so. They might have suffered being beaten, tortured, and even killed because they said specific things. Justified? Probably not! But freedom of speech does have limits. Freedom of Speech was forever affected by the Schenck vs. U.S. case. Even though it is a right for you to say whatever the heck you want, sometimes being quiet is the way to roll. Like they say, the scholars keep their mouth shut.
Present day we have to be very controlled of what we put out on social media outlets, the internet, and even by mouth. Schenck showed that in a time of war a government can and should do whatever they want and need in order to be in the best position to succeed. War puts a restriction on freedom of speech, well at least in public. Schenck served six months in prison after he was convicted, because his ideals were outrageous in the eyes of Chief Justice Holmes. We have the right of free speech until or unless there is clear and present danger provided through that speech. Many people today get a little to happy in their ideals and go and speak out against the ideals that the government has set forth. The decision had been made in 1917 in the Espionage Act that if you said or did anything against the army you would suffer the consequences. Present day many laws are being and will be passed that might limit your rights. But Schenck showed the government is the ultimate authority of the land and you will be responsible for your actions. Don't always do what your heart desires, rather do what is in the best interest of man!
Schenck made a mistake and paid the price. Freedom of speech is limited by many things, but you should say what ever you want as long as it does not put out a clear danged. The Schenck case made an immediate affect on WWI, the time after, and present day. Schenck taught some valuable lessons in Freedom of Speech and I hope everyone can learn from them.

Hyperlinks for WWI Project

Library of Congress - gave insight on the Espionage Act and its relation with Colonel Roosevelt and Mr. Hearth, a postmaster (primary source) (The Washington Times, May 20, 1918)
EBSCOHost - Used information to get results from the court case and see what the Justice, Mr. Holmes delievered to the court (primary source) (AVL, Supreme Court of United States, Nos. 437, 438)
The Supreme Court and Individual Rights (Book) - used information from a short section in the book in order to get information regarding why the government did what they did and what was the basis for finding it against "freedom of speech" to up rise against the war (David Savage, 2004)
Anchorage School District - got information on arguments made on either side about what was constitutional and what was not
Northwestern - gave information about the Socialist party and what they wanted the nation to do in the respect of WWI. Gave insight to what rights that people had and what their roles were. It gave more information on Schenck . (Oct 28, 1997, Jean Goodwin)
Huntingdon - brief power-point made by a professor at the university that includes many facts and circumstances about the case

Blogger Hyperlinks & Sources

Library of Congress (Newspaper)
Great White Fleet (.info)
Navy - Great White Fleet
AVL
"The GREAT WHITE FLEET." Military History 24.9 (2007): 44. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
Great White Fleet Battleships
Theodore Roosevelt Center


Pictures:

Japan

Jamestown

Around the Horn

Egypt

California

Honolulu

Postcard Project

Today I continued researching on my postcard project. I found some really interesting articles through using the AVL service. I found some articles wrote by David Winkley describing the events and routes the fleet took on their journey around the world. I have also decided on the pictures on the postcards and I have chosen the places that they will go. I decided the places to be: Jamestown, around the horn of South Africa, Egypt, Japan, Hawaii, California. I have also decided my man to be an average sailor on the ship in his early twenties. He is from Atlanta, Georgia and he has three younger brothers and is from a single mother family. He is collecting souvenirs along the whole trip and he finds some amazing stuff. I look forward to completing this project!

Coca-Cola: Up, Up, & Away - Urbanization

John Pemberton
University of Southern Georgia

Coca-Cola Ad
Michigan State

    Throughout time many changes have taken place to make cities what they are today. One of the most important changes in my opinion was the invention of the soft fountain drink known today as Coca-Cola. John Pemberton, originally a pharmacist, opened the company known as Coca-Cola in 1881 after failing to create successful medications. He did this after moving to Atlanta and seeing advantages in the beverage market. Even though John Pemberton had created a phenomenon, he never got to really see what affect Coca-Cola would have on society, and specifically urban life. Mr. Pemberton had no idea how to advertise, so he gave that task to Frank Robinson. Frank Robinson you could say is what got Coca-cola to what it is today. Robinson not only registered the formula with the patent office and designed a logo that is used to this day, but also he made a slogan that caught many consumer's eyes: "The pause that refreshes."

Asa Griggs Candler
Governor's State

Coca-Cola Factory
Blairsville, PA
Indiana University of Pennsylvania

    After Pemberton's death in 1889, they company seemed it was gone and going to fail. At that point a man named Asa Griggs Chandler took over, buying the company for about $2300, equivalent to about $70,000 today. He was made the sole owner of the company and made some changes that would make Coca-Cola from selling 9 glasses a day to tens of thousands of glasses an hour. Mr. Chandler was very fond of advertising and you can see it if you look around this page, or just Google search Coca-Cola advertisement 1900s. You see these amazing advertisements that were found in everyday newspapers, magazines, calendars, and many other things. Not only making it a successful drink, Chandler tried to put it in the medicine market, saying it removes fatigue and cures headaches. Coca-cola, unfortunately wasn't a successful medication, ending in 1898 after a tax had been put on medications following the Spanish-American War. I have to admit though, I appreciate some coke whenever I am getting tired or my mind is aching.

Coca-Cola Bar
Wilkes Community College

Coca Cola Urn/Dispenser
Smithsonian

     What did coke provide to city life is a question that was raised as I did much research on this project. Coke did something that I believe no one at the time, or now could. It provided a cheap drink that not only pleased but also refreshed the body. People usually see an increase in quality correlates with an increase in price, but that was not the case with Coca-Cola. Coke started bottling in 1894  when a Mississippi salesman  named Joseph Biedenharm suggested the idea. Chandler, the owner of the company, wasn't too fond of it and only wanted to see coke as a fountain drink, but as we see today it proved to be wrong. I honestly like the taste of fountain drinks better, but I have drank probably 10-12 cans of just Coca-Cola in the past week. Two Chattanooga business lawyers bought the idea of bottling coke in 1900 for a sum of $1. In 1900 there were about 20 bottlers of Coca-Cola around the country, by 1920 there were over 1000 bottlers. Coke for 70 years was marked at only 5 cents (changed for inflation obviously). Even though there was a big divide between the working  class and upper class, I found that Coca-cola was a commonality. The rich found Coke good because of its quality, and the poor found it nice because of its price. In this holiday season many go out shopping to find the best quality for the lowest price, and that was what Coke provided. This pleased the hearts of the city goers.

Chronology of Coke Bottle 1894-1915
Retro Planet

     Many places throughout the country were vending Coke, whether it was locally in Atlanta or Coney Island in  NY. This was possible because the amazing advertising that Frank Robinson had started and continued through Asa Griggs Chandler. They had an idea of giving out free coupons for coke. They wanted men and women to try, like, and then buy. This became common in big cities as men and women would appreciate its taste and go on to buy not only once but for a century to come. As I was looking through old newspapers on Chronocling America I found that Coke was advertised in about a 1500 newspapers from San Francisco to NYC from the years of 1886 to 1920. This innumerable advertising eventually catches your attention. I can attest to that since the radio station I listen to coming to school has been advertising this mortgage company and I get a bit annoyed, however it has caught my attention. Once something is on your mind, you want to give it a shot, and if it is free then why not. That's what coke did, it caught people's attention through amazing and in-numerous advertising in many different everyday products. It got people people to try, like, and buy this drink that is my favorite.

Coca-Cola Coupon
Wikipedia

     Coca-cola had small beginnings but became the drink of not only the working man but also the families in the upper class. Coke was successful as it stayed alive through prohibition (even though it contained cocaine for some time). What coke did through generations is stay focused, and as my fathers advises me: If you stay focused the sky is the limit. Coke is the drink of anyone, a child or an adult, a man or a woman, an a rich or a poor.
University of Florida
Arizona State University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Smithsonian
Georgia Encyclopedia
History Student Center
University System of Georgia
WEKU FM 88.9 - NPR

Is it possible to really be an American?

http://mahadamjad.blogspot.com/2012/10/is-it-possible-to-really-be-american.html

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