AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY LEADING TO THE COLD WAR Janine Douglas CHST 604 Professor Kasprzak 16 July, 2015 The twentieth century was one that was characterized by many years of war, as well as unprecedented economic, political, and technological change for the whole world. As technology, transportation, and communication evolved, the world seemed to be getting smaller, and the need for world powers to interact with each other grew unavoidable. According to Alan Dobson and Steve Marsh in their book US Foreign Policy since 1945, "this is the age of personal summitry, of diplomacy by presidents and prime ministers. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin invented it in wartime and it is radically different from diplomatic experience prior to 1939." This means that the world leaders go directly to each other to discuss internal affairs, making foreign policies into a very personal matter for world leaders. Thus, it was during this time that the complex world of foreign policy became entangled in the three wars that were predominant in this century - the First World War, the Second World War, and the Cold War. At this time, the older, more established powers found it ever more necessary to interact with the powers and countries that were growing and changing across the world, as well as with each other. New countries emerged at the end of both wars, Middle Eastern and African countries played ever more important roles in the global stage, and Asian countries found themselves
“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” This declaration, made by former President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947, is part of the Truman Doctrine, and was the basis for U.S. involvement in Western Europe throughout the Cold War. Although the North Atlantic Treaty, and the resulting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was established during the Cold War “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down,” NATO has persisted since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. This essay will seek to examine the U.S. decision to create and participate in NATO. It will begin by providing a history of NATO and the U.S. decision to participate in NATO before considering how this decision is both an instance of continuity and change in U.S. foreign policy since former President George Washington’s Farewell Address. The essay will conclude by considering the legacy of this decision and its impact on U.S. foreign policy. While this essay will consider the period of time leading up to the formation of NATO and will briefly touch on the present day, greatest consideration will be paid to the time period immediately preceding and following the formation of NATO in 1949.
Ronald Reagan is now one of the most controversial presidents of the past fifty years. Although all have their defenders and detractors, Reagan, though not necessarily a polarizing figure, was engaged in some behavior that has caused questions as people examine his decisions. He is probably best known for his ability to communicate his conservative ideals to the public, and had an innate ability to get people to follow him. Some would say though that his strong arm tactics began the alienation of the United States from the rest of the world, and has led to this moment in time in which the US is reviled by many countries. His chief objective seemed to be to stop the Cold War and end communism as it had stood for the better seven decades, and he did accomplish his task. However, he lacked the delicate diplomatic touch that many wished he would have used. But, he was strong in his convictions ad was not afraid to voice them to any country or individual leader he believed needed to be told how to act properly. This paper looks at the situation with Libya in 1986, examines Reagan's diplomatic doctrine as it applies to this situation, and then determines the immediate and eventual impact of Reagan-led US actions.
The role of America at the end of World War II was where the origins of policing the world originate. America had been engaged in a very costly war in terms of dollars as well as lives. But, despite the expense the United States came out of World War II better than any other nation that was involved. The Second World War was a battle between the Allied and Axis Powers. The Allied Powers consisted of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and France. This war was seen as the fight against Nazi Germany, and therefore resulted in a majority of the battles fought on German and Russian soil. The aftermath left the Soviet Union in bad shape. Close to twenty million Russians
Tensions during the Cold War sparked many changes in American legislation, altering the way many lived their lives. One of the most obvious areas of change is in education, with the fear of Soviet dominance causing transformations across the nation. The severe adjustment of government education changed the way students learned, the information taught in the classroom, and the overall view of education in the eyes of the public in a positive way.
I think that the most effective foreign policy in ending the cold war was Ronald Reagan and his policy of “confrontation” because he funded anti-communist rebellions in other countries, funded billions of dollars on military spending, and invaded and counterattacked troops led by the soviet union in other countries and America.
Beschloss, M. R., & Talbott, S. (1993). The inside story of the end of the Cold War: At the highest levels. Canada: Little, Brown and Company.
The United States from the Cold War and into the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) continues to face challenges in translating military might into political desires due to its obsession with raising an army, electing politicians and assembling a diplomatic corp that continue to gravitate towards State-to-State engagements that if not rectified could lead to substantial delays in fighting terrorism and non-terrorist adversaries or worse total failure of the United States Military’s ability to properly carry out it’s politicians objectives due to being blindsided.
I believe that the United States’ involvement in the Cold War had a significant influence on the debate as well as the Supreme Court decision of the Brown v. Board of Education case.
Over the course of the history of the United States, specific foreign policies have affected the methods in which the U.S. involves itself around the globe. Specifically, certain policies have affected U.S. involvement in Latin America.
When the world famous liberal thinker Francis Fukuyama in his masterpiece declared that we were witnessing the end of the history, he was greeting the new political structure and also the new international environment, which is peaceful[1]. However, developments that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union showed us that the dissolution of the Soviets was unexpected. The international society was not ready for peace and Fukuyama’s optimistic assumptions were far from becoming real. Moreover, the international society currently started to realise that the tension and the potential of mass destructive war during the Cold War era had provided a
During the Cold War, America's basic policy was that of "containment" of the Soviet Union. The policy of containment was based upon several principles. First, the Soviet Union wanted to spread socialism to all areas of the world. However, it was felt that the leadership of the Soviet Union felt no particular rush to accomplish their goal. "The Kremlin is under no ideological compulsion to accomplish its purposes in a hurry. Like the Church, it is dealing in ideological concepts which are of a long-term validity, and it can afford to be patient. (Hook and Spanier, 42)." In other words, the Soviet leadership believed that, since their ideas were the correct ones, they would eventually prevail, and thus, no direct confrontation would be
When Randy picks up Helen and her children, he notices that his niece and nephew are far more accepting of nuclear annihilation then the older generation. He tells Helen, "Maybe one day I 'll get conditioned. I 'll accept things, like the children" (Frank 85). Randy is commenting on the effect that the political climate of the time has on the children. Frank wrote the novel in the 1950 's, a time when the U.S. was engaged in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Most likely, Peyton and Benjamin grew up surrounded by discussion and predictions of nuclear warfare. Today 's children have grown up in a post 9/11 world similarly surrounded by fear mongering. Like Peyton and Benjamin, we have grown up in an era that is shaped by an event. While
The Cold War was a significant time for the United States and the Soviet Union, while the rest of the world watched intently. Although no actual war took place, both of these powerful countries did their best to promote their political and ideological ideas while trying to gain some ground in the seemingly never ending arms race. This war was driven by both fear and the strive to become the strongest and most powerful country. During the time of the Cold War, the United States proved to be a strong influence over Canada. Given its location, it was obvious as to which side Canada was on. While Canada believed in the same ideologies as the US, this nation was still reluctant to fully emerge themselves into the hysteria that had been emerging in the US. However, even though Canada had just received world recognition for its contribution during the Second World War, this large yet acutely populated country had much still to prove. During this time, Canada just recently became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But while Canada was making huge steps in their peacekeeping and military growth, there were still rumours of espionage circling the country.
After World War II, the United States had effectively become the most powerful and influential country in the world both militarily and politically. During America’s rise to power, however, hostilities mounted between America and the Soviet Union, resulting in a fierce rivalry. The Cold War, which never involved direct military confrontations between the two nations, involved of the struggle to contain the spread of communism, extreme anti-communist attitudes in America, and a reemergence of the civil rights issue.
The Cold War took a lot of affect on the United States Domestic Policy and American society. Domestic Policies were changed due to the world affairs, and the American society had a dramatic change from the war. The United States Government became extra secure and protected. Many new political cartoons were created from the fear of Communists and other big events and things that were happening during this time period. War was the leading problem in the US during this time period. Many citizens became upset and protested. Also, many American citizens were scared because they heard many people talking about the war,and what was happening and took as many measures on safety as they possibly knew and could. Later, through science, we have learned that many of their tactics when it came to protecting themselves would not even have worked.The United States spend a lot of extra money during this time period to keep up with the war. (DBQ questions)