Cold War Influences on American Culture, Politics, and Economics

The Cold War had a significant impact on American foreign policy, changing it substantially in both attitudes to social and economic factors. The heavy influence of a difference in political standing between the Soviet Union and the United States, in conjunction with the high tensions that followed in the post war period, set the foundations for American foreign policy to adapt and change to better suit the developing political agender of the time. Socially, the two sides were heavily split, with the Soviet Union seeking communist support and allies whilst the US sought to counter their progress in a similar manner. Economically these relations with foreign countries that either joined the eastern or western blocs helped to further the

On March 12th, 1947, Truman addressed a joint session of Congress, in this meeting, Truman asked for $400,000,000 that he would need to aid both Greece and Turkey, to prevent Soviet influence. This money given to both Greece and Turkey would assist these countries to rebuild their governments. Truman called this plan the “Truman Doctrine.” In order to fulfill Truman’s request, the newly appointed Republican members of the house would have to contradict what they had been elected to do; focus on domestic policy. This request also completely shifted the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from one of friendship to one of containment. The U.S. had to contain the Soviet Union so that its “sphere of influence” could not grow. Congress approved the Truman Doctrine and granted Greece and Turkey $400,000,000 to rebuild their

1947: Truman Doctrine: The Truman Doctrine was one of the policies under President Truman’s “Containment Policy.” In the Doctrine, he requested $400 million to bolster forces in eastern Europe to defend against Communism. Congress agrees and passes the doctrine. Dean Acheson, who was the Secretary of State at the time, argued that the fall of a Communist country will have a “domino” effect on the neighboring countries, and they need to be properly prepared for such a situation. As result of this policy, the US became the “global

As stated before the Truman Doctrine was a pivotal point in United States foreign policy. Such a policy has its advantages and disadvantages. The major advantage of that time was that the United States stepped in and help an economically strapped Europe and not let them fall under the domination of a single, hostile state. With Britain withdrawing aid to Greece and Turkey if the United States did not implement the Truman Doctrine, Stalin could have easily became a communist influence on those countries. Another advantage of the Truman Doctrine was that is transform America from being isolationist. Getting involved in the affairs of other countries to contain communism had a major

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 Truman Doctrine was a major cause for NATO because of its financial support to different countries. It was established on March 12, 1947, after president Truman told Congress “It must be the policy of the United States of America to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities, or by outside pressure” (NATO Information Service, 1976, p.17). After Truman said that, the Congress of the United States gave $400 million to help Greece and Turkey after the Soviet Union had got to them (NATO Information Service, 1976, p.17). The Truman Doctrine was specifically made to help Greece and Turkey but Western Europe needed just as much help. Western Europe still had shortages from the war and the economy was not good at all. Once General George C. Marshall saw this on June 5, 1927, he decided the United States should make a program to help Europeans recover. Marshall thought all the European countries should have to agree on the program. He wanted the program to be efficient in helping all the European countries and not just some of them. When Marshall talks about the program he states “directed not against any country or doctrine but against, hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos” (NATO Information Service, 1976, p.17). Marshall is implying that the bigger picture is not about the different countries, but that none of them should have to deal with hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. The Truman Doctrine was not made to help just one person or

The Cold War propelled the United States of America into a seat of previously unattained power in the world . American citizens spearheaded the push toward advancement in their search for the epitome of happiness: the “American Dream”. Post-war paranoia was driven by the supposed threat of the spread of communism, which Americans feared could interfere with the freedoms and liberties the founding fathers fought to achieve. This paranoia eventually controlled the thoughts and actions of citizens everywhere. The Second Red Scare spread across America like a virus, leaving a trail of dread and despair in its wake. The fear of the growing communist regime, a lack of trust between citizens and the government, and a zealous streak of American pride drove the U.S. toward internal conflict and potential devastation.

The Truman Doctrine was a United States foreign policy established by President Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) in 1947. The policy stated that the US would provide military and financial support to Greece and Turkey to prevent them from falling to communism. This started a policy of “containment” which would persist for many years to come. After World War II left most of the world devastated, the US and the Soviet Union emerged as the two global superpowers and despite being allies during the war, the two became adversaries when their goals for Europe after the war conflicted. Greece had been embroiled in a Civil War between it’s standing government and a communist party vying for power, and Great Britain, who had long supported Greece, was unable to support them any further, and asked the US for it’s support. In Turkey, Soviet leader Josef Stalin demanded partial control of the Dardanelles, a strait in Turkey connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean which possessed significant strategic value. The policy makers of the Truman Doctrine decided that support must go to both Greece and Turkey, as support given to just one of the two would be futile as if one nation fell, the other would fall soon. This idea of one nation’s fall to communism leading to another’s fall to communism became known as the “Domino Theory”. The Truman Doctrine was a significant change in US foreign policy, and set the tone for US relations in Europe and the rest of the world for most of the Cold War.

The threat of nuclear war in the 1950's was real and was one that was on the mind nearly every person in both the United States and the United Kingdom. After the end of the Second World War the world can be seen to be split into two sides, the East and the West, Communism and Democracy. After the Second World War the Soviet Union became paranoid with the West as well as the United States become paranoid of the Communist East, and after the Soviets had made their first nuclear bomb this created massive friction between the NATO alliance and the Soviet Union and the eastern bloc. Only after the soviet union had obtained the hydrogen bomb and began to stockpile nuclear warheads in the 1950's did the real fear of nuclear annihilation begin to

As World War 2 came to a close an “Anti-Democratic Iron Curtain” had descended across Europe according to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Britain and most of the other countries in Europe's’ forces were worn out, and their wealth all but depleted from the challenges of World War 2. Because of this it was almost impossible to stop the spread of communism all throughout Europe. The Truman Doctrine emerged from a speech given by President Truman before a joint session of congress on March 12, 1947. The speech was given because of a recent announcement by

An economic aspect of Truman’s policy of Containment was the capitalistic vs communistic governments. The communistic government believed no private person should profit. All money should go to the government and everybody gets the same. This made everybody equal by making everybody poor. The capitalistic government is largely or entirely privately owned (by individuals or companies) and operated for profit. A cultural aspect was that many democratic countries feared the spread and uprising of communism. There was a Bi-Polarization of Europe due to this and it created a bi-polar world.

After the end of the World War II the allies disagreed on how to realign the borders in Europe.They had disagreeing opinions on how to take care of the countries how they should be ran.The major country that had an issue was the Soviet Union.The western allies wanted a democratic system widespread in Europe because what has happened prior in the last two world wars.The Soviet Union wanted to dominate the internal affairs that boarded them.This lead to the culmination of the Cold War that started in 1947.The first major step in this was the Truman doctrine that stated that the United States would support any government that would support foreign governments resisting “armed minorities” or “outside pressures "that is, Communist revolutionaries or the Soviet Union.He then convinced congress to give 400 million dollars towards Greece and Turkey to stop communist invasions.This shows how these countries are being imperialistic in a way that has never been seen before, instead of invading and taking over countries they are trying to implement there governing styles in country because they believe that it is what is best for there country and the ones they are

The battle in ideologies between communism and capitalism lead to one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The concept that freedom and democracy would not survive under communist rule triggered a battle that could endure for decades. American media significantly impacted the attitudes of Americans, creating a hatred of communism to spread throughout the nation. The political relations in Europe, during and directly after World War II, played a large part in laying the foundation for the Cold War. Wartime seminars, like Yalta and Tehran, only harshened the relationship involving the communists and the capitalists. By the end of World War II, American policy towards the Soviets had transformed drastically, along with the change of president in 1945, which further caused relations with Russia to worsen. Additional contributions to the Cold War included the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The section of Europe, between the west and east, drew on physical borders outlining that the war of misinformation had formally commenced.

The Cold War had a great influence on the American economy, society, and politics from 1945 to 1992. The Soviet Union and United States had different values and could not put their differences aside and eventually the tension turned into an outbreak of war. Each president of United States had a different approach to handling the Soviet Union but, ultimately each thought it was their duty to protect not only America but the rest of the world from the Soviets and communism. America and the Soviet Union being two great world powers, it turned into a global conflict. This war can be compared to the Vietnam war but, it did not last for decades or have much as an impact on America’s society.

The beginning of the Cold War took place on January 1 of 1947. The Cold War was a period of global political tension that occurred after World War II. Because of regional differences, territorial disputes, and domestic problems occurring after World War II, there was bound to be conflict after the war. In 1947, President of the United States, Harry Truman, created the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine was a foreign policy put in place by the United States to counter Soviet expansion during the Cold War. It called for military aid to Greece and Turkey in order to block Communist expansion into the Mediterranean. This general plan was applied to Western Europe. The Marshall Plan was also able to help in the recovery of Western Europe. In Southeast Asia, the Association of South East Asian Nations was able to help Asia to increase the cooperation between nations. During the Cold War, both Western Europe and Southeast Asia were negatively and positively impacted and they also both shared similarities and differences of how the Cold War effected their nations.