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The nuclear arms race between the two superpowers had gone on almost unabated since the Americans had developed the first atomic ( fission) weapons in the 1940s, later matched by the Soviets, with both sides also developing hydrogen ( fusion) weapons in the 1950s. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) agreements of the 1970s had provided limits and quotas on the amount of these weapons, but adherence to such limits were generally regarded as unverifiable by conservatives on both sides and the limits were generally considered to be unrealistically high by liberals.

The "nuclear freeze" was proposed as an alternative. The movement really began to gain traction as an issue in the early 1980s with the election of Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan ( February 6, 1911 June 5, 2004) was the 40th ( 1981 1989) President of the United States and the 33rd ( 1967 1975) Governor of California. Reagan was also an actor in films before entering politics. Early life and career Reagan was b, a known "hawk" and "peace through strength" advocate, as United States President in 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He. Reagan stated that he had no desire for a freeze, but rather a verifiable bilateral reduction, in nuclear arms. He also showed little interest in meeting with the aging Soviet leaders. When Leonid BrezhnevLeonid Ilyich Brezhnev ( Russian: ) ( December 19, 1906 November 10, 1982) was effective ruler of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, though at first in partnership with others. He was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964, whom Reagan had never met, died in NovemberNovember is also the letter N in the NATO phonetic alphabet. November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 30 days. From the Latin novem for " nine". It was originally the ninth month of the year in the early Roman calendar, w, 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du, Reagan felt justified, believing that anything that he would or could have negotiated with Breznhev would have died with him. He likewise never met with Breznhev's two immediate successors, Yuri AndropovYuri Vladimirovich Andropov #x301; ́ ́ , ( June 2 ( O. June 15 ( N. 1914 February 9, 1984) was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU from November 12, 1982 until his death. Early life Andropov was the son of a railway official a and Konstantin ChernenkoKonstantin Ustinovich Chernenko #x301; ́ ́ ( September 24, 1911 March 10, 1985) was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU who led the Soviet Union from February 13, 1984 until his death in 1985. Chernenko was also Chairman of th, who were also elderly and in frail health like Breznhev, each dying within about a year after taking office. During this time, the frezze issue was being pressed in the United States. It almost became a litmus test issue, conservatives almost invariably opposed to the idea and liberals in favor of it.

When Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader, Reagan met with him and began work along with him on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which was eventually ratified by both nations' legislative bodies and techically remains in force today, although it is considered by most strategic experts highly doubtful that the post-Soviet Russian miltary is actually capable of operating and sucessfully lanuching anything like the number of ballistic missles and other strategic weapons allowed it under the treaty. As such is assumed to be the case, strategic nuclear weapons, although still deployed in large numbers by the United States, are of somewhat less concern than previously, and the "nuclear freeze" has thus become something of a dead issue, with a more immediate concern being how better to keep the ex-Soviet nuclear stockpile and other sources of potentially fissionable and/or fusionable materials out of the hands of terrorists.