...America as a World Leader Name Institution America as a World Leader Before the Truman Doctrine, the Cold War was rapidly accelerating (Voices of Freedom, n.d.). Additionally, the United States started wars against communism during the confrontations of the Soviet Union and the United States over the Berlin and the Southern and the Eastern Europe, the inauguration of the communist government in China, and the development of an atomic bomb by the Soviet Union (Voices of Freedom, n.d.). As a result, the National Security Council approved America’s global call to bring communism to an end. In 1950, the council approved what was to be called NSC 68 which contained details of what was dubbed as “the free society” (Voices of Freedom, n.d.). The manifesto sought to tell the world that the Soviet Union was pursuing global domination as well as the elimination freedom in the world. NSC 68, albeit it was never made public was to be a struggle between “the idea of freedom” and that of slavery under Kremlin (Voices of Freedom, n.d.). On the other hand, America was also pursuing “the idea of freedom” when it intervened in World War II. This essay aims to show that even though America saw the increase in military spending, its involvement in World War II and Cold War was good in the sense that America became a world leader that pursues global freedom and peace. At the outset, while America was pursuing the idea of freedom as well that of slavery, the wars that it participated in led...
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...evolve with time. Even a single celled organism will grow and change through time. The United States Federal Government is no different. Throughout the history of the United States, the authority of the Federal Government as grown dramatically. Some may argue the necessity of this growth and some may even pursue a smaller Federal Government in their daily lives. This essay will explore four different periods of time that the Federal Government extended its authority. The Cold War In black and white, grainy letters appear on screen that say, “Fallout, When and how to protect yourself from it”. In the background, beautiful snowflakes fall, representing the nuclear ash that falls after an atomic blast. The scene fades to white, then transitions into a blast, accompanied by a black plume of smoke that reaches the clouds (Defense, 1955). Images like this could sum up the fears and emotions after World War II; the beginning of the Cold War. At the end of World War II, America was the most powerful country in the World. America’s intervention in the war effectively ended it. A major turning point of the war was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This marked the end of the Japanese Empire and the beginning of a new age in the history of Planet Earth. It was the age of the Atomic Bomb. In 1965, American Theoretical Physicist Robert Oppenheimer was quoted on national television saying, “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried...
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...destruction and deterioration on human health. |emitted in a nuclear explosion and what effect do they have on human | |Not a thesis statement but a statement of fact. |beings? | |Try: Why is it best for nuclear attack victims to be right at Ground |http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway_pre_2011| |Zero? |/living_future/4_nuclear_radiation1.shtml | |Working Thesis Statement: Countries may use the nuclear weapons in |Oral Presentation Thesis Statement (must be based on PART of the | |future because of the possibility of religious war and the other |research project): The time between 1946 and 2012, no atomic bomb had| |reasons. |been used even as an overt thread threat in any warpolitical crisis, | |I will argue that there is a strong possibility that nuclear weapons |the reasons … (I will find by researching.) | |will be used in the near future. | | |Will the Bomb Be Used in the Future? | | |Keep it...
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...With direct reference to at least two films, how did Hollywood address the paranoid, hysterical political climate of the 50s? The Cold War began in 1947 between the USSR and the USA. After World War II, both countries began to distrust each other, as they knew the amount of power each country had in terms of nuclear weapons. Not only did they distrust each other, but they lacked a mutual understanding of each other’s culture. The USA believed in capitalism and the USSR believed in communism. This lack of mutual understanding caused mass paranoia within America as they feared that communists would infiltrate their society. This hysteria was known as the Red Scare which lead to “a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society.” (Red Scare, 2013). During World War II “moviegoers learned to appreciate cinema for what it was: a powerful delivery system of ideology” (Doherty, 2003, p. 19) and after World War II “Soviet Communism and American Democracy, found its domestic expression in fierce debates over the subversive influence of the popular media.” (Doherty, 2003, p. 21). Hollywood was scrutinized first for allegedly using the film industry to influence the public about communism. The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938, and it’s investigations were “frequently focused on exposing communists working inside the federal government or subversive elements working in the Hollywood film industry” (Red Scare,...
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...Do economic or security interests play a greater role in shaping the foreign policy of the United States? Has this changed since the end of the Cold War? Attempting to separate economic and security interests in terms of American foreign policy is no easy feat as both play, and have always played, a major role in the decisions made by the government at different times over recent years. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, security interests appear to be of the utmost importance, but prior to that, since the end of the Cold War, economic interests seemed to be the priority. Over the past seventy five years or so, the interests of the United States has fluctuated between security and economy, but all of this has relied upon the world situation at the time. For example, during the Cold War, the U.S. had the worry that they would be the target of missile attacks, making security the number one priority; as is to be expected. However, prior to this, during the depression, the economy was clearly the number one concern. In an attempt to distinguish between the two, the following essay will cover a number of separate occasions where the interests of the United States have swayed between their economy and national security, and how foreign policy was affected by this; those cases being the Great Depression, the Cold War, America’s support for Israel, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the very recent Global Financial Crisis, or GFC. With this evidence a conclusion will be made which...
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...essay on cold war ‘Account for the phenomenon, known as the cold war, which dominated world politics between 1945 - 1989. Evaluate the extent to which the principal nations involved fought proxy wars as a substitute for armed conflict with each other. In this essay I will discuss the extent to which the principal nations, mainly the USA and the Soviet Union fought proxy wars as a substitute for armed conflict with each other during the Cold War between 1945 – 1989. As the Second World War ended in 1945 with the victory of the allies, a new war was launched. It was a battle predominantly between the USA and the Soviet Union, between two conflicting ideologies: America’s capitalism versus and the Soviet Union’s communism. Ranging from two of the most devastating wars; the Korean War (1950) and the Vietnam war in the 60s, to the smaller conflicts in the Middle East and Africa in terms of the scale of the battle, every corner of the globe was involved in the Cold War. (Dunbabin 1994) The USA and the Soviet Union were the sole super powers at the end of the Second World War. There are a number of views regarding why the Cold war was unavoidable, and one of the reasons is that both countries were expansionist. The USA in particular was afraid of the Soviet sphere of influence over Europe in particular, believing that it needed to be contained. (Mowry, 1962) But on the part of the Soviet Union, it was also afraid of the USA’s power and its ideology which it believed to...
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...History Leaving Cert American Essay Notes By James Esses Mocks.ie History Leaving Cert Revision Notes James Esses Page 1 Contents 1.0 Essay 1: Changes in the US Economy from 1945-1989 ..................................................................... 3 1.1 Boom (1945-1968) .................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Bust (1968-1989)..................................................................................................................... 4 2.0 Essay 2 Consumer Society post 1945 ................................................................................................ 6 3.0 Essay 3 Foreign Policy 1945-1972 ..................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Berlin ....................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Korea ....................................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Berlin Wall ............................................................................................................................. 10 3.4 Cuba ...................................................................................................................................... 10 4.0 Essay 4: How did the US become involved in Vietnam and why did it escalate in...
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...1. Discuss when, why and how the Cold War began. Then cite at least one factor that perpetuated the Cold War in each decade from the 1950s-1980s and discuss how the item you selected affected America at home as well. Last, discuss when and why the Cold War ended. 2. Discuss the origins of the Vietnam War, the course of the war over thirty years in the 1940s, and wars' impact on the United States, both at home and in terms of foreign policy. 3. Write an essay on the civil rights movement since 1953 in which you discuss the major factors that have contributed to its success and its major gains. Be sure to discuss more than one group and to cite examples from each decade of the 1950s through the 1990s. 4. Discuss the reasons for America's economic growth or decline in each decade from the 1950s through the 1990s. Then explain how various presidents have dealt with economic problems and why they succeeded or failed. 5. Write an essay about the impact of television on the history of the United States over the past fifty years in which you describe in detail at least one historical event of national importance from each decade of the 1950s - 1990s that was affected by TV. Civil Right: The WWII can be recognized at the origin of the period when United States started it political and economical dominant compare to other nations. WWII reshaped Americans’ understanding of themselves as a people. The struggle against Nazi tyranny and its theory of a master race discredited...
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...James Bennett Professor George J. Prokopiak HIS-114-OL010 Written Assignment 5 16 February 2015 Vietnam War and a New World Order with the End of Cold War Written Assignment 5 Question #1: As far as Vietnam is concerned, how did President Johnson "Americanize" the war? What was Nixon's policy of Vietnamization? Was anything achieved at the peace talks? What are the legacies of the Vietnam defeat? President Johnson “Americanized” the Vietnam War by many different avenues of approach taking a more aggressive posture. The president first started by supplying the South Vietnamese army with American military and economic assistance (Roark, 976-981). He significantly increased the American troop presence from 16,000 in 1964 to over 553,000 by 1969 displaying a much larger American presence (Roark, 976-981). America had stepped up bombing throughout Vietnam and neighboring countries (Roark, 976-981). In hopes of getting the backing of the American people and government, he strategically thought out who and where the bombs would be dropped (Roark, p. 980-981). He did not bomb near the northern border of Vietnam (Roark, p. 980-981). President Johnson did not want to provoke China or the Soviet Union into the war (Roark, p. 980-981). He did not want to make the same mistakes as Korea with the Chinese. He also thought about collateral damage. He tried to focus the bombings to low populated areas to minimize civilian casualties (Roark, p. 980-981). The bombing campaign was known...
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...HISTORY 1500 WINTER 2014 RESEARCH ESSAY TOPICS 1. Select a crusade and discuss the extent to which it accomplished its objectives. Why did it succeed or fail? Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History; Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives; Christopher Tyerman, God’s War: A New History of the Crusades 2. How did anti-Semitism manifest itself in medieval Europe? Kenneth R. Stow, Alienated Minority: The Jews of Medieval Latin Europe; Mark R. Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages; Solomon Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the Thirteenth Century 3. What was the position of prostitutes in medieval society? Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women; Leah Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 4. Why did the French choose to follow Joan of Arc during the the Hundred Years War? Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader; Bonnie Wheeler, ed., Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 5. Discuss the significance of siege warfare during the crusades. You may narrow this question down to a single crusade if you wish. Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege; Randall Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century; John France, Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade 6. Why did the persecution...
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...The development of the cold war between the USA and the Soviet Union between 1945-53 was primarily due to traditional great power rivalry The USA and the Soviet Union worked together to defeat Hitler in WW2. Towards the end of the war relationships between them began to break down, although in 1945 there remained possibility of continued cooperation. By 1947, this prospect had disappeared and tensions between the two powers continued to increase for the rest of this period. Some historians, including those belonging to the economic revisionist school of thought, argue that traditional great power rivalry was primarily responsible for this development. This is defined as developing power through trade in order to achieve financial dominance. Undoubtedly, this factor was a major contributor to cold war tensions, however other factors such as ideology, individuals and WW2- many of which are invariably linked to economic influence- also played a large part. Great power rivalry can be seen as the main cause of increased cold war tensions between 1945 and 1953 as both powers sought to increase their relationships with other countries to obtain economic dominance. America, although benefitting economically from the war, feared the possibility of a recession, both as demand for arms fell and poverty in Europe threatened an insufficient international demand for US goods. They believed free trade would prevent this from happening, as well as increasing interdependence between countries...
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...fiction shows on the air, some shows have used the science fiction genre to tackle serious social issues as well. This essay will take a look at two shows 54 years apart and will analyze how both use social concerns of the time period and create memorable narratives that speculate about human behavior and interactions. The first show this essay will look at is the generation defining classic The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), and the second show is a modern cult hit from the United Kingdom Utopia (2013-2014). //Through a comparative analysis of the episode “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” from The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) and “Episode 5” of the British cult hit, Utopia (2013-2014) this essay illustrates how the science fiction genre can be and has been used generation after generation to highlight certain social issues. Whereas The Twilight Zone uses America’s anxieties of communism and consumer culture to cause paranoia in the early sixties, Utopia uses big business, government conspiracies, and overpopulation in a plot that stirs up concern for the environment. Ultimately this essay will illustrate how social issues lay the foundation for a compelling science fiction narrative. \\ Shortly after WWII ended US soldiers returned home to a country very different than the one they had left. Jobs and wages were plentiful and young adults were eager to spend. After WWII people were not just buying things out of necessity, they were buying things for material desire. Televisions,...
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...in Peace and Conflict > The Cold War 1945-1991 > Overview of US-Soviet relations and the Cold War The Cold War 1945-1991 Overview of US-Soviet relations and the Cold War David Mclean Charles Sturt University Principal Focus: Students investigate key features and issues in the history of the Cold War 1945 - 1991 Outcomes Students: H1.1 describe the role of key features, issues, individuals, groups and events of select twentieth-century studies (Extract from Modern History Stage 6 Syllabus Board of Studies NSW 2004.) Key features and issues: • origins and development of the Cold War • influence of ideologies on the Cold War • impact of crises on changing superpower relations • the arms race • reasons for the end of the Cold War This is the transcript of a talk given at a seminar co-sponsored by the History Teachers’ Association of New South Wales and the US Information Service in Sydney on 2 September 1995. From this tutorial you will learn about: • influence of ideologies that led resulted in the division of the world into two opposed camps from 1945 • emerging differences between the superpowers Contents 1. US – Soviet relations were not synonymous with the Cold War 2. Chronology of the Cold War 3. Influence of ideologies of communism and capitalism on the Cold War 4. Soviet Objectives 5. American objectives 6. The Arms Race 7. The Third World was important for the Cold War 8. Why did the Cold War not end earlier? 9. Did the...
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...The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy: The Truman Doctrine Mark Newsome Strayer University Politics 300 Dr. Sussie Okoro 16 March 2014 The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy: The Truman Doctrine Harry S. Truman was President of the United States from 1945-1953. President Truman presidency was marked throughout by important foreign policy initiatives. Central to almost everything Truman undertook in his foreign policy was the desire to prevent the expansion of influence of the Soviet Union. At the end of World War II it was immediately apparent that Russia was trying to draw as many countries as it could into its influence, if not total control. The United States became extremely alarmed as country after country did indeed fall under Russia’s communist influences. At the time, the United States Government was under suspicion that Russia was supporting the Greek Communist was effort and worried that if Communists won in the Greek civil war, the Soviets would eventually influence Greek policy (state.gov, p1). In light of the appearance of Soviet meddling in Greek and Turkish affairs, and the withdrawal of British assistance to Greece provided the motivation for the Truman Administration to reorient American foreign policy. The Truman Doctrine was the name given to a policy announced by then United States President Harry Truman on March 12th 1947. The Truman Doctrine was a very simple warning clearly made to the Soviet Union, though the country was not mentioned by name. The United...
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...the Cold War? The forty-five years from the dropping of the atom bombs to the end of the Soviet Union, can be seen as the era of the new conflict between two major states: United States of America (USA) and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). According to Hobsbawm, ‘cold war’ was the constant confrontation of the two super powers which emerged from the Second World War. At that time the entire generation was under constant fear of global nuclear battles. It was widely believed that it could break out at any moment. (Hobsbawm, 1994) The consequences of the ‘power vacuum’ in central Europe, created by the defeat of Germany, gave rise to these two super powers (Dunbabin, 1994). The world was divided into two parts. The USSR controlled the zone occupied by her Red Army or other communist armed forces. On the other hand, USA exercised control and dominance over the rest of the capitalist world as well as the western hemisphere and the oceans. (Hobsbawm, 1994) It is rather very difficult to argue that a particular country like the USA has won the cold war completely. Cold war gave birth to lots of problems in the world. During the cold war period, various events occurred subsequently. So the whole period was a combination of different issues and various factors related to it. Yet, evaluating the climax and the aftermath situation of the cold war, it can be argued that USA and its allies have succeeded to a great extent. On the other hand, as a consequence of the cold war...
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