When World War II ended, the world became chaotic in the struggle between democracy and communism. It is directly connected to the Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union fought over what ideology was the best for the world. The Cold War era was marked by the most significant tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, with both sides competing with each other for global influence. From the world’s perspective, the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union left a great legacy including economic growth, technological advancement, and social stability during the Cold War. However, the Cold War certainly hurt other countries with proxy wars, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The United …show more content…
The first major conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War was the Korean War. The United States entered the Korean War after President Harry Truman declared, “The defense of Korea is part of the worldwide effort of all the free nations to maintain freedom. It has shown free men that if they stand together, and pool their strength, Communist aggression cannot succeed.” However, the involvement did not result in any significant changes. North Korea remained communist, and South Korea remained capitalist, just as they were before the war. Approximately 55,000 American troops lost their lives during the conflict (Document 5). The Vietnam War was another proxy war that the United States joined but ruined democratic values. During the Vietnam War, there were numerous cases of human rights abuses and violations of civil rights, which contradicted the democratic principles that prioritize individual rights and freedoms through the suppression of anti-war protests and the use of controversial tactics. American film director Michelle Manning stated, “In 1956, the President of South Vietnam refused to participate in elections to reunify the