n the time period following World War 2, the beginning of the Cold War, Americans mainly feared three things: the spreading of communism in the United States, the communist investigators supposedly in America, and nuclear war between America and the Soviet Union.
Communism was covering Asia and Europe, striking fear in individuals as country after country fell into communism. As American politicians strengthened the idea of containment, and cabinet members such as John Foster Dulles spread the idea that "if world communism...will increase the danger to the entire free world," Americans were greatly fearing communism. Citizens began believing others when they announced that communism was "endangering the peace of America" (Document B) and when they addressed the problem they had created by making statements such as "we fear the men in the Kremlin." American citizens highly feared this horrific government of communism, and the Eisenhower Administration did nothing to little to prevent these fears. Even though they acknowledged these fears, they used this fear as support for spending on military defense. The Americans fear during this time period was also displayed
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McCarthy of Wisconsin, spent years trying to expose communists in the government. During the Cold War, few cases of disloyalty convinced many Americans that the U.S. government was ran by traitors and spies. His thought of anyone being a communist ended up in prison or alienation. Americans were always "fearing what unwise investigators will do to us here at home" (Document A) and what their "hysterical reactions" could end up in. This fear was given insufficient attention to by the Eisenhower Administration, as the communist investigators were backed by the government. A great example of the fears Americans suffered from in the Cold War, American fear of communist investigators in the nation, and the Eisenhower Administration did not attend to
This made Americans fear losing their jobs and maybe even becoming enemies of the state, even though most of them had never involved themselves with communist groups. The Cold War lead to a society where every man is against another, it divided the nation over a fight against society, and it caused a fear of a possible war.
Many of the policies implemented during Truman’s administration were provoking in the minds of the Soviets. And Americans would have probably been less fearful if President Truman hadn’t emphasized Communism as such a big threat. He installed fear in the minds of the citizens and other officials. Maybe not a fear of any tangible threat communism posed but the simple idea of being taken over, from abroad and
A war does not necessarily require a physical weapon to fight. From 1947 to 1991, military tension and ideological conflicts held place. Cold War is defined as a state of political hostility existing between countries, characterized by threats, violent propaganda, subversive activities, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular. The causes of the cold war between United States and the Soviet Union were the mutual distrust that had taken place in World War II, intense rivalry between the two super powers, and conflicting ideologies. The two superpowers differed in views of political and economic principles and were eager to spread their ideologies to many countries. United States were in favor of democracy and capitalism while
1) After the Cold War Communism was the only thing America was afraid of. From 1950s to 1980s there was a theory called domino theory used by US during Cold War. The Domino Theory which means if any country comes under the influence of communism then the closest countries would follow in a domino effect.
The Cold War started with the end of WWII 1945 and finally ended in 1991. It was against the Soviet Union and the United States. This “war” was fought through nuclears threats and actions. Soviets and US remain the two last superpowers. Tensions grew between the soviet union and the United States which led to world changing technologies like nuclear bombs on both sides of the war.
American fears in the Cold War originated not only from Communism, but what it represented in American culture. After World War II, the popular culture demonizing the fascist regimes, the built-up aggression surrounding the system, began to move against Communism as tension between the USSR and America rose. Communism became viewed as a corruption; an infection that ruined the rugged individualism that Americans defined themselves by. Communism also, though its declaration of the evils of capitalism, decried Americans as living in an unequal society, that the United States lived in hypocrisy through its statements of liberty for all while it existed in a capitalist and segregated society. Americans saw the Soviet Union as the evil its heroic
Right after the Second World War ended, the prolonged Cold War between communism and capitalism began. This war lasted about 45 years between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the fall of the common enemy, Nazism, these two nations became instant global rivals. They fought over human rights, democratic elections, individual liberties, and religious freedom. America wanted every nation to be free like itself. This push for the Soviet Union to be the same started the Cold War. Just like any other war, after it was over it brought many different new challenges to America, like great lost from war, the Red Scare, and new threats.
By 1945, the end of World War II was soon arriving and the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union had grew stronger(Britannica). Because of the hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Soviets had created a “left-wing” government, in which politicians support social equality in contrast to social hierarchy. Americans and British had feared Soviet’s dominating all eastern European. In contrast, the Soviets wanted to maintain their control of eastern Europe to keep them safe from any threats from Germany and to spread communism worldwide. However, the main difference between the United States and the Soviet Union was how they chose to govern their states. While the United States held a democratic
Conflict is what starts crucial wars, especially the Cold War. A conflict between United states and the Soviet Union sparked a major role in reshaping our modern world. The Cold War was never a Hot War, though, due to no actual warfare or violence that occured to the two nations. During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies, they fought against Axis powers. Thus, their relationship was tense. Americans were wary about communism as well, which added onto the cold atmosphere of the two nations.
In order to deal with the postwar tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union, President Truman, who had only recently became president and lacked experience, implemented a new foreign policy to deal with the Soviet Union. (pg. 1006) As illustrated in the primary source titled “The Truman Doctrine,” The Truman Doctrine outlined America’s foreign policy related to the Soviet Union around a declaration of “war on communism, [the Soviet Union’s ideology that clashed against the U.S.’s], everywhere.” (pg. 1006, Truman Doctrine) Truman intended to implement “containment,” in which the spread of communism would be stopped. (pg. 1032) This declaration officially began the Cold War, a conflict that despite involving no actual direct warfare, devastated the relationship between the two countries. (pg. 1001) Many Soviet and American beliefs clashed with each other. (pg. 1022) For instance, American and Soviet views on individual liberties, religious freedom, human rights,
The main factors that caused the cold war hysteria was the perceived danger of communism spreading, the space and nuclear race as well as the military engagements America participated in. Communism was the number one reason for tension during the Cold War. The United States felt there had to be containment of communism as they felt once it began to spread it would quickly take over most of the world. That is why America was so involved in the Korean war as North Korea had become a communist country and America did not want it to spread to the rest of southeast Asia especially South Korea. The Space and Nuclear arms race was very tense at this time as well as it was brand new technology and we did not know the true potential of either thing.
The struggle between two ideologies, communism and capitalism, fought an nonviolent, passive-aggressive war. The war consisted of an arms race, the space race, and ultimately having both ways of life compete to control the world. This conflict mostly involved the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It is one of the world’s greatest ironies that the communist state of Russia that was so power-thirsty and desired nothing more than to sink its communist roots into the rest of the world, started this Cold War, and ultimately fell because of it. The USSR was the country who ignited the Cold War with their military expansionism, the totalitarian tendencies of communism as an ideology, and the way that they wrought destruction on European countries, such as Greece. The USSR dude you left off right here, you’re welcome...
Throughout the years of the Cold War there was an eye for an eye relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. If Russia launched sputnik, then America would respond in retaliation with their own space launch.”(Harold Dawson, April 30, 2013 the Cold War 2, Conceptions of the Cold War). Ultimately the frigidness between both nations started to take over other countries as well and it became a war of the Communist vs. the Non-Communist and Democratic nations (Harold Dawson, April 30, 2013 the Cold War 2, Conceptions of the Cold War). Postwar Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans’ fears of a Russian plan to control the world. Meanwhile, the USSR came to resent what they perceived
The origin of the fear of communism in the post-WWII American society actually started during WWI. Being called the "Red Scare," it began when America had developed a fear of communism within the society. Then during the Cold War, Americans really started believing that communism was within their society during the tension between America and the Soviet Union. Even starting to fear that communism was starting to become part of every aspect of their lives. For example, it was exactly what happened when the Twin Towers were hit by terrorists and we went to war after the attacks. Everyone started pointing their fingers and saying that everyone was a terrorist. Making it hard for certain people who had the same religion and cultures as those terrorists
“Cold War History.”History.com A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.) This meaning, the U.S feared about communist because they thought that they might work as Soviet spies that might want to threat the U.S security. Not only was U.S afraid of Soviet spies but also, they were concerned about Joseph Stalin’s the leader of Russia because, he is communist. Having this happen was the impact of the cold war that the U.S had with communism.