RAPRAP: The Butter Battle Book

• Think about what you know about the Cold War. What parallels can you draw between the Cold War and The Butter Battle Book? What major conflict of the Cold War do you think this story is a symbol of?

Superpower Chess

The Arms Race

In many ways, the competitive/cooperativeactions of the United States and the SovietUnion occurred in the framework of asuperpower chess game. There were movesand counter moves, attempts to outdothe other side, attempts to wear down anddeplete the forces of the opponent, andattempts to outthink, outplan, andoutmaneuver the other side.

Key Terms

Arms Race:

The most visible part of the Cold War was the

arms race. It describes a competition between the

US and the Soviet Union for military supremacy.

Each party competes to produce larger numbers of

weapons, greater armies, and superior military

technology.

Deterrence: The policy of trying to ward off a potential attack of a nuclear weapon from another country by threatening nuclear retaliation.Goal: to always have capability to respond to a nuclear attack with one of its own.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): each side knew that the other side would itself be destroyed if it launched its weapons

This discouraged nuclear war, yet people still lived in constant fear!