"C" is for the Cold War (1945-1991)

"C" is for the Cold War (1945-1991). The cold war was the period of intense ideological and military competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and had wide-ranging impact on the people, life, and economy of South Carolina. School children practiced emergency drills and radio and television stations announced periodic tests of the civil defense system. Nuclear-powered submarines began plying in and out of Charleston harbor. Increased defense spending led to the assignment of additional units to Shaw Air Force Base; the creation of the Savannah River Site for the manufacture of materiel used in thermonuclear weapons; and the expansion of training facilities at Parris Island and Fort Jackson. The interstate highway system provided easy access to all parts of the state and might have been the most important legacy of the Cold War.