During the Cold War was based on two different types of beliefs called Communism and Capitalism and both the U.S. with its own allies and the U.S.S.R. Its Communist allies are equally to blame for starting the war. When the Iron curtain was around the East European government adopted a communist system and fell under the control of the U.S.S.R. The Iron Curtain, political, military, and mysterious barrier raised by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependant Eastern and Western European allies from open contact with the West and other non-Communist countries. (Document 1)
The Korean War was a proxy war fought between the United States and the USSR, for the purpose of gaining power and political influence in other parts of the world. Since the end of WWII, the USSR and the United States became very hostile against one another, creating what came to be called “The Cold War“ coined by Bernard Baruch in 1947 from the lack of there ever being direct battles against one another. From the result of the bitter and cold rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union came a large chain of indirect battling over political influence in developing or war-torn countries. As this feud occurred the people of the United States mainly wanted there to be a change in Korea out of this war [Doc E], but what was occurring
Although the United States and the Soviet's relationship had been strained before the war. During World War II, they collectively became allies when Hitler broke the Non-Aggression Pact. This was unlikely for the two countries because (refer to the issues they had prior to WWII). Even though this occurred they stayed allies through WWII until Stalin wanted a Western Front. What were the leading causes and factors that caused the Cold War?
In WW2 the United States and the Soviet Union were allies. So what caused all this tension and rivalry between them in the first place? That eventually led to the Cold War. There were three main reasons that I believe were the stepping stones to this, difference in government, distrust and anger. At the time Russia was a Communist country meaning that no one owns land, or their own property, and instead of like the US where some people are more wealthy than others, everyone is at the same level.
The United States has established itself as a superior nation that is concerned with struggling minorities subjected to oppressive and tyrannical forms of government often associated with the death of individuality. Throughout the twentieth century, widespread fears of communism contributed to a prominent desire to protect weaker nations from this destructive form of leadership that could ultimately defer trade and spark national tensions. From this fear arose the controversial containment policy, which granted the United States the ability to intervene in foreign nations if it would potentially assuage communist revolutions. The underlying futility of these attempts was exposed as miscalculations of opposing power caused great monetary loss
“It is perfectly obvious that when nations compete to increase their military might, the danger of war becomes greater, not lesser” (Doc. 5). This quote was said by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cold War. Much of the Cold War resulted from the United States and the Soviet Union competing to build a nuclear bomb, which is what Khrushchev is referring to. However, to understand the Cold War, it is important to first understand what it was in definitive terms. The Cold War was a forty five year long struggle between the United States and Union, the world’s superpowers of the time.
The Cold War began around the time the wartime confederation between the United States and the Soviet Union broke down, during the years 1945 - 1950. The battle between the two dominions, communism and capitalism, battle for more than 40 years. The Cold War essentially began with empty threats about bombing each other with weapons including nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles resulting in nothing but a game of I guess you can say “one on one basketball”. There were two sides to this war the entire time but the main countries that were battling was the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States, along with Canada and ten other nations of Western Europe, signed a treaty known as the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) in 1948.
Book Review 2: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Cold War Crises by Richard Betts Summary: Betts starts off his book by recognizing the ambiguity around the advocacy of the use of force in a crisis by military leaders even though there is a prevalent assumption that military professionals are more aggressive than diplomats and politicians. He states he writes the book in order to provide a comprehensive survey of the postwar role of American military men in decisions on their most essential function, their use of force in combat. Betts acknowledges the vast availability of literature on military participation in decisions on defense budgets and weapons procurement, but feels there is a void when looking at decision-making from the perspective of military leadership versus civilian leadership.
The Cold War lasted decades and tensions continued to heightened. Trepidation spread among American citizens about the future of their country and world. Would communism take over or would the United States stand their ground and push for democracy? Following the Second World War, the Cold War caused the American people to fear the growth Communism, an economic depression, and a possible nuclear war, yet the Eisenhower Administration successfully addressed these concerns and implemented ways to reduce these fears. First and foremost, the American people feared that communism would spread and take over governments in other nations beyond the Kremlin.
“Mankind must put an end to world war or war will put an end to mankind.” (John F. Kennedy). Before the Cold War, the world was in the second world war of the century, soldiers not only killing soldiers, but also civilians. After World War II countries tried to get freedom from the countries that colonized them. Before the Cold War only one country had and dropped a nuclear bomb, but that would not be the case during the Cold War.
A conflict is a serious disagreement between individuals, a group of people, or a nation. The enduring conflict occurred throughout the Cold War. Even though there was no physical fighting, both the United States and its allies and the Soviets and their allies used political and economic propaganda to “fight” the opposite side. Conflict was obvious when the United States published a poster that said “How and What to tell a Communist”. This poster was used to target the Soviet Union because they were communist and this was the way of “fighting” (Doc 3).
While exploring this book I was able to get a better understanding of how exactly the Cold War shaped the world I live in today. The book The Global Cold War by Odd Arne Westad covers a wide assortment of topics, the most prominent being how the Cold war was shaped, and how it has shaped the places we call home today. Overall, this book allowed the readers to get a better understanding of the Cold War in a more in-depth and global way. Within this book, the reader can see that the chapters are divided by topics instead of when the events took place.
he first chapter of The Cold War: A New History begins by comparing the United States to the U.S.S.R. and talking about the similarities between the two. It also talks about Communism and how Marx deemed it necessary in order to build up the economy. Lenin tried to implement Communism in Russia. They were not quite ready for that kind of system, so Stalin tried to modernize the economy. The U.S.S.R. had more casualties in World War II, but things were not necessarily looking great in America either.
Fact and Fiction in the Cold War: John Le Carre; The Spy Who Came in from the Cold Ben Parfitt HIST 2137: The Global Cold War Dr. Gordon Morrell 9 June, 2023 The ‘fictional’ novel written by former British intelligence officer, John Le Carre, titled; The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, is a well established espionage novel that portrays the roles of the intelligence agencies and competition for dominance of Europe between the communist Soviet Union and the capitalist Western allies. After WWII, with the Nazi’s defeated, the rising Russian power began to threaten Western supremacy, forcing the United States to further engage themselves in Western Europe, specifically West Germany. In this circumstance, many had feared another World War was approaching
Sarah Paroya D period I hate MUSH The end of World War II should have marked a period of relief in America but instead, it lead America into a completely different type of war called the Cold War. The Cold War was an ongoing state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. This constant state of tension and fear had been embedded deep in the American public.
