Why do you think the United States and the Soviet Union were the first to develop Nuclear Weapons?

Question

Does the theory from the book Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond apply to 20th Century Political History?

Answer 1

Nuclear power is but a toy compared to the power of the dark side.

Answer 2

Great question. Diamond's "theory" is that luck (fertile crescent, domesticable animals, etc.) played a big role in why some civilizations succeeded while others didn't. That probably applies.

The talent pool to develop the technology was made possible in the U.S. by the luck (for us) displacement of European scientists who relocated to the U.S. with the rise of Hitler and other dicators in Europe.

Sometimes nice guys do finish first and a very good example of how the dictator model of government isn't effective in connected world.

Answer 3

the Nazi's were ahead in the research for the bomb. However they're chief scientist in the project was against the idea of Hitler having the bomb so he purposely steered the research away from what actaully worked.

by the time the Nazi's figured out what he had done it was too late.

the US manhattan project was the first successful group to build a bomb, the Soviets had spies on the inside of the project and it is said Stalin actualy heard before Roosevelt that the US had tested thier first atomic bomb sucessfully.

the Soviets then stole what they needed to make thier own bombs

Answer 4

In the early forties America was the only nation with the resources and a totally intact infrastructure to do the necessary research. The Soviets developed the weapon after the war was over--they were concerned--and whether they were communists or not-they were concerned about only one nation having that kind of firepower.

Answer 5

The US was the first to explode the atom bomb. The Russians managed to ripe us off for the secrets to make one.
Guns, Germs, and Steel? If this is some kind of wacko alternative to real history, get real.

Answer 6

It's a matter of history: The US nabbed the most brilliant german physicists pre-war, and the Ruskies had spies in the Manhattan Project.

Same reason those two nations made it into space first: They divvied up the brilliant german rocket scientists after the war.

Answer 7

Actually Nazi Germany was ahead of everyone on the way to create Nuclear weapons, we won before they could develop them and took their scientists to finish the product.

The Russians stole the secrets from us and used German scientists also.

Answer 8

because of power, united states and the soviet union always want to compete who has the best army, best marine. that leads to creation of nuclear power.

Answer 9

Because they defeated Germany and "adopted" their scientists

That and Julius And Ethel Rosenburg

Answer 10

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