The Cold War And The Red Scare Essay

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The end of the Second World War brought dramatic changes to the world, including the role of the United States. In an effort to maintain a global position of dominance, the nation engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. While Americans supported a capitalistic model of society, the Soviets supported a Communist one. These two world powers fought to exchange socioeconomic models for alliance and support from third-world countries. The US was frightened by the spread of Communism, especially to their own nation. In the Cold War era of the 1950s, the US initiated a Red Scare, which was the promotion of fear of Communist ideology through aggressive, and sometimes ridiculous tactics. Under the leadership of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the nation …show more content…

The United States engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union in an attempt to limit the development of the Communist military power and ideological influence. As alliances between the USSR and Western Nations terminated, the United States established a foreign policy that promoted non-communist nations. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman delivered a speech before a joint session of Congress. The speech, later named the Truman Doctrine, declared that the US would “provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces” ( ). Truman specifically called for Congress to support Greeks against Communist uprisings. This speech was eventually interpreted as a doctrine against all people, nations, and items affiliated with the Communist ideology. The Truman Doctrine was a specific request by the leader of the US to prevent the encounter and exchange of Communism in Greece and the rest of the world. Furthermore, the US initiated a containment policy, which sought to prevent the expansion of Communist ideology and Soviet repression, which included direct military engagements. For example, President John F Kennedy entered the Vietnam War with intention defeat the Communist North

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