GBH Openvault

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; One Step Forward; Ratification of SALT Agreements

Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.

10/03/1972

Continuation of President Richard Nixon during the ratification of the SALT agreement.


License Clip
Series
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Program
One Step Forward
Program Number

107

Title

Ratification of SALT Agreements

Series Description

The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.

In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989

Program Description

Soviet and American nuclear forces reach rough nuclear parity in the 1970’s. Each side, pursuing its own interest, negotiates the first successful arms control agreement, SALT I.

In May 1972 President Nixon found himself in Moscow delivering a message of peace and friendship. Nixon announced the first major superpower arms control agreements, SALT I and the Anti-Ballsitic Missile (ABM) treaty. Nixon described his feeling about negotiating with the Soviets. “I didn’t trust the Russians. But I recognized that ... there was no alternative but to have some relationship of ‘live and let live’ between the two superpowers.” Two years after the historic meeting in Moscow, Nixon was forced to resign due to Watergate. ABM silos in the United States were shut down but the production of ballistic missiles armed with multiple nuclear warheads (MIRV’s) contributed to a massive increase in weapons in both the United States and the Soviet Union.

Duration

00:17:23

Asset Type

Stock footage

Media Type

Video

Subjects
Arms control
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Genres
Documentary
Topics
Global Affairs
War and Conflict
Science
History
Contributors
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 (Guest)
Rights Summary

In perpetuity ; Public Domain Rights Holder: Nixon Presidential Library

Citation
Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; One Step Forward; Ratification of SALT Agreements,” 10/03/1972, GBH Archives, accessed March 29, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_88C99AD42C324EF2B880AD88D606B521.
MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; One Step Forward; Ratification of SALT Agreements.” 10/03/1972. GBH Archives. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_88C99AD42C324EF2B880AD88D606B521>.
APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; One Step Forward; Ratification of SALT Agreements. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_88C99AD42C324EF2B880AD88D606B521
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