...The tensions were “cold” between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. Post World War II, the Allies were the United States and Western Europe, and the Axis were the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The Cold War was the fight between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States were the richest country where as the Soviet Union was still recovering from casualties after WWII. Both countries were fighting for global power because they were the world’s superpowers. Militarization lead to the First and Second World Wars and lead to the Cold War as well. Between 1947-1991, the US and the Soviet Union fought without a direct military conflict. Although the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences influenced the Cold War, The Cold War mainly began due to the disagreement in government and was fought with the weapons (a means of gaining an advantage or defending oneself in a conflict) of alliances and militarization threats....
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...history assessment During the cold war the USA and USSR had policies that contributed to the conflict. The policies had an overall affect on the world as it prepared for what seemed like World War III. After World War II the two remaining superpowers were Russia and America, and there was a struggle for political and military superiority from 1947 to 1991. There was no major large scale fighting between the two nations however their ideals and movements were used to support countries and fight each other through proxy wars such as Vietnam and Korea. The world looked as if it was on the brink of thermonuclear destruction as the threat of nuclear missiles became more apparent and as America did its best to stop them without starting a war. Families stockpiled food and waited for the two nations policies to drag them into war and inevitable, to death. Australia, along with many Western countries, feared the communistic spread as if it were an epidemic. Post-war propaganda scared the Australian public, telling them that all safety and way of life was at threat by the communist countries in Asia and as each one fell to communism, Australia was one step closer annihilation. The picture in Source A shows not only the USSR’s policy in creating a buffer of friendly states to protect themselves but also the Western fears that Communism would...
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...After the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were the world’s most powerful nations. However, both nations had different views on economics and government, the clash of their ideas was known as the Cold War. United States is a capitalist country, meaning that they allowed people to control their businesses and their production. On the other hand, the Soviet Union is a communist country, meaning that the government controlled the production of good and resources. Both sides struggled for international power and tried to expand. Both nations exploited every opportunity of expansion anywhere in the world, which led to the Cold War. Asia The Cold War had influenced the split of Korea and Vietnam. Korea had split along...
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...In the Cold War, America wanted to contain the spread of communism and make sure that America is the strongest nation in the world. The Cold War affected the Americans more than any other war. The American domestic policies changed during the Cold War and the Americans became paranoid, also it splits America into two sides. At the beginning of the Cold War, President Truman created the Loyalty Review Board. This made sure that American civil servants were not members of Communists or Subversive groups. Then later on thousands of people's lives were destroyed for being accused of being a communist. The cartoon in document 2 shows a car running into people, and the driver saying “It’s okay-we're hunting Communists.” This show how people...
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...During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were once allies to defeat the axis powers once and for all. After the war had ended there was much tension between the two nations. Their political differences made the world a hostile environment and an overwhelming sense of mutual distrust grew amongst the nations. Historians throughout these years have debated the issue of who was most responsible for what the Cold War. Based on my studies, readings and work I have concluded that Soviet Union was more to blame for the Cold War because they initiated the construction of the Iron Curtain, created an environment that was oppressive and harsh for the people the living in Communist nations and were committed to having the most weapons at their disposal....
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...Famine, war, and ultimate destruction is the theme for the 1950’s and 60’s. The us after world war 2 became aware of the soviet agenda to spread communism. This lead to a policy of containment. Which was the main reason for the cold war. The cold war unlike any other war was not fought with bullets but with word of mouth and how that can change the ideologies of country. The cold war lasted from 1945 till 1991 making it the longest conflict in us history. During the cold war the us tried to contain communism by providing aid , going to war, and political games of chicken. The us combated communism using airdrops full of critical supplies. In document B it describes how the us supported the democratic east berlin by sending supplies. This was done because of the soviet blockade of supplies to east berlin on June 27,1948, because it was completely surrounded by communist neighbors Airdrops were used to bring supplies such as food and coal this gave east berlin the supplies it needed to fight back communism. This combated communism by making it seem less attractive than a capitalist society....
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...Communism DBQ World War II was nearly over with, but now the Cold War had started. The United States’ and Soviet Union’s greatest difference was communism, a belief that private property should be replaced by community ownership. The United States and the Soviet Union fought over communism and capitalism. Capitalism is a system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by a private owner for profits, rather than by the state. Containment was the idea of stopping the Soviet Union and communism from spreading. How did the U.S contain communism? The U.S contained communism by Berlin airlifts, supporting the non-communists Korean war, and the U.S quarantine of Cuba. The U.S had contained communism by Berlin airlifts. “West Berlin is completely surrounded by communism and may have had to surrender if not for the U.S and its allies” (Document B). America and its allies had decided to help support the West Berliners by flying in supplies for more than 2 million people for nearly a year....
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...The Atomic Bomb by Alexander Vaughn Alexander Vaughn Professor Marshall Hist–2110–356 The Atomic Bomb: The Beginning of the Cold War Era By Alexander Vaughn ‘Total Annihilation’ was the farthest concept going through the mind of President Harry S. Truman during his discussions with USSR leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference, in July of 1945. As quoted from Truman’s Diary at Potsdam, “I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use [the atomic bomb] so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children...” (1) However, as the days grew closer, the President was under continuous scrutiny from both sides: from senators wanting vengeance for the attack...
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...The Cold War, by John Lewis Gaddis, is an extremely researched, and stunningly written historical account of the Cold War. Gaddis is the Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University. Gaddis is best known for his work on the Cold War. John Lewis Gaddis was born in 1941 in Cotulla, Texas. Gaddis received his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, and has since taught and at multiple universities and has received numerous awards and distinctions. Gaddis won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his biography of George F. Kennan. John Gaddis was born during World War II and grew up experiencing the Cold War first hand in America. Gaddis’ perspective is that of an American historian that has drawn from other Cold War historians as well....
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... June 2010 A) How far did ‘peaceful coexistence’ ease Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the USA in the years 1953–61? Mark Scheme: Candidates should have knowledge about the main features of ‘peaceful coexistence’ in the period 1953-61. Developments which helped to ease Cold War tensions might include: the end of the Korean War (1953); Soviet settlement of border disputes with Turkey and Iran (1953) and recognition of Israel (1953); Austrian independence and improved Soviet-Yugoslav relations (1955); the ‘Geneva spirit’ based on east-west summit diplomacy and Khrushchev’s visit to the USA in 1959. Developments which sustained Cold War tensions during the period might include: US attitudes towards communism in the 1950s (domino theory, ‘roll back’, Eisenhower doctrine); Soviet concept of peaceful coexistence based on long-term victory of communism; the impact of the Hungarian Rising (1956) and the launch of Sputnik (1957); the U2 spy plane incident (1960) and the issue of Germany (1958-1961). At Levels 1 and 2 simple or more developed statements will provide either only simple or more developed statements about peaceful coexistence with either only implicit reference to the extent tensions were eased or argument based on insufficient evidence. At Level 3, students should provide some sustained analysis related to the extent tensions were eased but the detail may be hazy in places and/or...
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...The Cold War Era and the Impact on America Imelda Bravo SS310-14: Exploring the 1960’s: An Interdisciplinary Approach Professor Erica Wyche Kaplan University June 19, 2012 Although historians have not come to an agreement as to when the Cold War took place, some say it happened between 1945-1960 (Poon, 1979) and others say it happened between 1945-1991 (ThinkQuest, n.d.). The Cold War was “conflict between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union and the democratic nations led by the United States (Poon, 1979).” According to the historical analysis, The Cold War was one of the most important events of the twentieth century which shaped America in different ways like: • Foreign policy • Political ideology • Domestic economy • The presidency • Affected the personal lives of Americans (Naranjo, 2003). Some of the threats to Americans was the sense of fear and insecurity during the years between 1945 through 1962 (Kelly, 2007), but also threat of a nuclear crisis. Another threat to the citizens of America was an inconsistent lifestyle that would keep them at edge. If I had to protect my family and prepare them from an attack or a nuclear war, I would build a bomb shelter to keep extra supplies like: clothes, food, water, toiletries and other things like batteries and a radio for the news, but also to have somewhere to go and take my loved ones in case of an immediate threat. I would also brief them of the consequences, the dangers, and what to do if...
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...This study begins with the premise that Iran and Iraq were, following the end of the Cold War, seen as the two obstacles to American hegemony in the Middle East. America has always had strong strategic interest in the area. During the Cold War, the Middle East was one of the battlegrounds from which to contain the Soviet Union, and therefore all policy was generally in line with preventing Soviet domination of the area through containment and deterrence, thereby protecting American strategic interests. With the Soviet threat confined to history, America found itself without a global competitor in what has been called The Unipolar Moment (Krauthammer 1990). This dissertation seeks to understand and analyse how the administrations in power in America during the unipolar moment have adapted their thinking towards the Middle East beyond Cold War paradigms, chiefly in reference to the rise of Iran as a possible regional hegemon bolstered by its nuclear ambitions. In order to understand this question, the analysis will examine changing ideological perspectives and the effects of those perspectives on the exercise of foreign policy. The study will focus primarily on the policies of the William J. Clinton (Clinton) and George W. Bush (Bush II) administrations. The reasoning for this is one of context, as these are the two administrations that campaigned for and gained office after the end of the Cold War and therefore from the outset were faced with a need for a new approach to international...
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...politics and the possibility of the peaceful change and the Marxist critics (Paul and Mark, 1987:1-3). International Relations According to Johari (2009:1-39) the international relations are the study of the political and social interaction of state, non-state and individuals. In the recent years the increasing interaction among these actors, coupled with advances in informational technology and the spread of human rights, have raised many new questions for international relations scholars, practitioners, and students. International relations as a discipline is chiefly concerned with what state do on the world stage and in turn, how their actions affect other states, correspondingly states are a common unit of analysis in theories of international relation, many analysis focus on states and their interactions to explain observed patterns of world politics. The state is fundamental to neorealism and neoliberal institutionalism, international relations is largely about states, it enables us to conclude that the changing relations among the nation-state of the world many range from cooperation on the one side to conflict on the opposite side with the intermediary level of limitedcooperation or they may assume any form ranging...
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...issues in the Development of the Cold War A: Plan of Investigation: To simplify the causes of the Cold War the many issues that were contributing factors can be grouped into three major realms political ideological disputes, economic motives, and the struggle each country had to become the most dominant super power. At first glance it may not seem likely that a war, even a relatively calm and bloodless one such as the Cold War, could possibly be fueled by economic motives, but unfortunately money and trade are often the leading forces in determining whether or not to enter a war with a rival nation. In the case of the Cold War economic incentives were clearing present. The Soviets and the United States differ in their even in their economic ideology, the Soviets were looking to expand their totalitarian regime and needed an economic policy to fit that and closed trade open trade for fear that idea of democracy would spread through commerce from the west; while the United States was known for supporting free and open trade among all nations. The most important question being, what were the economics issues that lead to Cold War and to completely answer this question one must look at primary and secondary sources of evidence that show economic differences of each country which may have lead to the Cold War. The policies taken and economic ideologies of each of the Soviets and the United States depict the economic quarrels that sparked the Cold War. B: Summary of Evidence: Although...
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...the Origins of the Cold War In the second half of 20th century, one conflict, the Cold War, stands unchallenged as the preeminent organizing principle for U.S. foreign policy. A central question in the historiography of the Cold War is simply, whose fault was it? During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies against the fascist Axis powers. In the waning years of that always uneasy alliance, greater signs of strain began to show, and soon a complete break would follow. Was this unavoidable? If not, who carries the greater blame for creating this division, which after all, repeatedly threatened nuclear holocaust and created the ideological justification for a series of horrendously destructive interventions into the so-called “Third World.” While there remains a great diversity of opinion regarding these questions, it has become commonplace in many academic discussions to refer to three broad “schools” of thought regarding the origins of the Cold War: “orthodox” explanations, “revisionism,” and “post-revisionism.” Of course, this categorization is not nearly as “neat and tidy” as one might be inclined to believe; it tends to mask the depth and diversity of the efforts of many historians. What follows will be a discussion of these three main perspectives, an evaluation of their arguments, and thoughts regarding the future of the field of Cold War historiography. For the first ten to twenty years after the end of World War II, the “orthodox”...
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