How Did The End Of The Cold War Essay

The Cold War was a period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War started March 12, 1947 and ended December 26, 1991. However, many people think that the Cold War never ended even though there are many facts proving that it did end. The Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain and the dissolution of the Soviet Union all play a role in why the Cold War did end in 1991.

First of all, the Berlin Wall was put up to separate East and West Germany. The United States along with Britain and France were in control over West Germany and the Soviet Union was in charge of East Germany. The three counties merged together in order to restore Germany. The differences in political views caused the wall to be put up to separate the country.

The Soviet Union held power over many counties including Eastern Germany. The United States used the act of containment to try and keep communism out of the world. However, the Soviet Union was based on communism. The Soviet Union had frequent shortages of food and supplies which played a part in the dissolution of the Soviets. The article "Soviet Union” says“poverty of Soviet citizens created a backlash from younger people who refused to adopt Communist Party ideology”. The Soviet Union no longer wanted to participate in communist acts. According to The Collapse of the Soviet Union it says “ Gorbachev's decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that eventually destabilized In 1991”. Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union and they were not a threat to other countries. The countries the Soviet Union once had control over formed their own independent nations. According to the primary source Telegram from Nikolai Novikov it states that “the Soviet Union being destroyed during the war or coming out of it so weakened that it was forced to bow to the US for economic aid”. They were forced to surrender because of how weak they had become. The Soviet Union was not strong at the end of the war and could not control other

They may argue this because of the buildup of nuclear weapons or increasing tensions between Russia, China and Western countries. Russia and the United States agreed to cut down on nuclear spending therefore there was not a buildup of weapons. These countries also threatened the United States democratic ideologies. Even though the United States was being threatened they still contained communism and were able to change many countries into a democracy. The article The National Museum of American History says “During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted”.This caused the weakening of the Soviet Union which led to many other things like the Berlin Wall falling, the Iron Curtain being abandoned and communism being disbanded from many counties. This is why the Cold War did not