Cold War Vs Communism

The Cold War is considered one of the longest conflicts the world has endured to this day, lasting from 1947 to 1991, a long 44 years. Even though considered a war, the Cold War was actually a conflict between democracy in the United States and communism in the Soviet Union, in which they fought over which form of government is better through series of political and military tensions. Both nations were considered world superpowers, nations that are stronger than any other nation. After World War II came to an end in 1945, the world was in complete devastation, and over-sea empires that existed before, were forced to come to an end. The United States and Soviet Union were the only two nations left standing with enough resources to support themselves.

During this time, the world was split into two blocs, or regional groups. The region from Western Europe to the United States was considered the democratic west held together by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Their goal was to enforce the policy of containment and prevent further spread of communism, and ultimately convince the world to adopt democratic ideals and beliefs. On the other hand, the region from Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union was considered the communist east, where all the countries were forced together under the Warsaw pack. Their ultimate goal was to spread communism worldwide, and eventually destroy the concept of capitalism and democracy all together. With such tensions, the world endured a lot of change, as the Cold War had a huge impact on the world socially, economically, and politically. Knowing this, the question becomes: how did these tensions that started such a long, destructive conflict form in the first place? The primary cause of the Cold War, was the tensions that were created during the unsettling agreements at the Yalta

The most terrifying aspect of the Cold War would have to be the nuclear arms race that started between the United States and the Soviet Union, which included the creation of the hydrogen bomb and the Titan missile, far stronger than the atomic bomb used in World War II. This became known as the “balance of terror”, as it truly spread terror throughout the world. Due to the fact that these weapons had the power to bring an end to humanity itself, civilians lived in fear that a nuclear war could spark at any moment. Every country built fallout shelters underground in order to protect themselves from the radioactive particles that would be released. Another direct cause of this fear, was the development of the Red Scare in the United States, which was basically the fear of communism forming in the United States. It got to the point where Americans were being arrested due to the suspicion of being supportive towards the communist cause. This became known as McCarthyism since Senator Joseph McCarthy was the most famous politician for hunting down Soviet Americans in the