The Cold War- The War of Words

The Cold War was not a war in the tradition sense, including troops, tanks, and bombs. This war was an economic war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The struggles lasted from 1945 to 1989. The two countries engaged in governmental battles, threatening each other with nuclear weapons, cutting off trade and commerce, and creating strong allies in case of a full-fledged war.

The most important event of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis started on October 16, 1962, and was finally resolved on October 28. Although this crisis only lasted thirteen days, it was the closest event leading to a nuclear war. The crisis began after U.S. reconnaissance reported to President Kennedy that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles on Cuba. The crisis ended when Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, promised to end the installations and take out the missiles already located at Cuba.

The Atomic Bomb Movie

Today in history class we watched an amazing movie about atomic bombs. The movie was interesting, beyond the dramatic music and awesome titles, and I loved watching the videos of the bombs exploding.

The very first atomic bomb was created in Los Alamos. The earlier models created in Los Alamos used uranium. Later models changed from uranium to platonium. The first test caused the creation of the Trinity Crater, causing the temperature of the area to rise to ten million degrees.

The first real atomic bomb activity were the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Hiroshima, the bomb killed 70,000 people and injured many more people. In Nagasaki the death toll was slightly less, the deaths numbering 42,000, but there were also many injuries.

Eleven months after the atomic bombs in Japan, Operation Crossroads took place. This was a test of the magnitude of atomic bombs by detonating one bomb in the middle of the ocean. Ships of various sizes were stationed in the ocean, containing animals so as to test the effects of the bomb. This surprised those who saw the explosion from a distance, finally being able to understand the magnitude. The video was amazing as the mushroom cloud expanded in the cloud and an enormous wave swept through the ocean. Another such operation took place two years later. This operation was known as Operation Sandstone, and the bombs X-Ray and Yonke were exploded.

On August 29, 1949 the Russians exploded their first atomic bomb. They were able to construct their bomb only through stolen information from American researchers.

There was still more to the video, but this was as far as we got today.

Cinco De Mayo- The American Holiday

Well, the Mexico Mission Team got back from Mexico yesterday and we had a blast! We spent Cinco de Mayo in Mexico and I noticed that no one was celebrating at all. So I thought that I would blog about it and explain the reason why it is celebrated more in America than it is in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican victory against the French on May 5, 1862. The battle is now known as the Battle of Puebla, with General Ignacio Zaragoza leading the Mexican army. The history concerning the battle began earlier in 1862 when the Mexicans refused to pay taxes to the governments of other countries ruling over them. As a result, Spain, Britain, and France sent troops to Mexico to enforce their dominion over the people. The elected official of Mexico at the time was able to make agreements with Spain and Britain, but not with the French. The armies of Spain and Britain retreated out of the country, but the French army stayed.

The French prepared themselves to make an attack against Mexico City on May 4, but they were met with strong resistance. A small number of Mexicans had become allies to the French at this time and were planning to help the French armies, but they were unable to reach them as they were attacked by Mexican loyalists. Therefore, the French did lose more men than they had planned, but their army was still decent and ready for combat.

Despite the French army's losses, the army of Zaragoza was still incredibly small in comparison. However, Zaragoza's army entered into combat against the French on May 5 and were victorious.

Cinco de Mayo is not the Day of Independence for the Mexicans, theirs being on September 16. Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory against France, but the Mexicans were more concerned with defeating the Spain, which they succeeded in doing on September 16. Americans tend to celebrate Cinco de Mayo more because it drove French influence out of the Americas, French influences which would have changed many aspects of American culture today.