America's use of atomic bombs against Japan in 1945 ushered in a new era that posed the danger of nuclear holocaust. During the Cold War (1945–1991), the threat of nuclear warfare increased as a result of the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both nations expanded their nuclear armaments to ensure that they could totally destroy the other's society in the event of war. Yet both also recognized that nuclear weapons had to be controlled if the world was to avoid catastrophe. Throughout this period, American society and culture felt a tension between on the one hand seeking national security through increased nuclear armament and on the other wishing to feel more secure by limiting the number and spread of nuclear arms.

1946 to 1968

The term arms control was coined in the 1950s by scientists and politicians seeking to prevent nuclear war. Unlike...