Cold War Essay

DBQ Outline Intro Paragraph · Background/Context: The Cold War was a state of political tension after World War II between the Eastern bloc countries and Western bloc countries. Cold War took a significant place in between 1947 to 1991 which the two most powerful countries, United States of America and Soviet Union, were competing with each other over spreading the rule and showing off their arms without killing people. After the World War II, people in different countries started to think about who bears more responsibility for starting the Cold War, United States or USSR. · Three-point thesis: The United States of America bears more responsibility for starting the Cold War because it built up military powers and prepared for

The early Cold War impacted the United States on the American home front in a number of ways. Many Americans lived in constant fear that they would be bombed at any moment and the paranoia that communism would take over the U.S. government. Yet, the Cold War also brought about positive transformation to the nation economically, politically, and socially. These changes helped calm people's fear and trust was regained in each other, and in the United States government.

The Cold War forced America to change its economy from a nineteenth century, industrialized economy to a modern, mobilized economy in order to keep the United States ready for any conflict and for intervention. Through the battles between communism and capitalism, a military-industrial complex was created, meaning the government's role in keeping America in a constant state of alert and readiness was put into place.

There have been various ideologies, events, and origins of the Cold War that have dominated American foreign policy from 1946 to 1989. The Cold War was a time of conflict between between the U.S. and the USSR; the two Superpowers saw each other as a threat. Thus they continued to fight to preserve their positions. Each side became involved in events such as the Korean War. They each stood behind the other nations fighting. Together the rise in communism, a rise of the Soviet influence dominated American foreign policy, and the creation of the Warsaw Pact.

Offner, Arnold, "Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman’s Responsibility" in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II.

In 1947, the Cold War had started, named after how both of the disputing sides did not fight but only threatened each other with new technologies. The U.S and Soviet Union disagreements on political systems and also questioned war reparation, show how they cause the Cold War with their mistrust and technological issues.

In comparison to during WWII, the cold war played a major part in changing the basics of the economy and the government. The economy boomed due to the baby boom and the change in transportation in society. The government of the cold war was affected by events such as the civil rights movement and the red scare. The economy in WWII was solely booming due to the war, but during the cold war, it was pushed by poth post war industry and other reasons.

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)

1.     How NSC-68 influenced America’s response to Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950 and to Communist expansion in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The NSC-68 called for military assistance programs that would meet the requirements of our allies. Since South Korea was an ally, we assisted them in repelling the invasion of another communist nation. This help for South Korea meant that a communist nation would be weakened and therefore possibly cripple a potential ally for the Soviet Union. Also, South Korea would then respond to a call for aid if the Soviet Union ever attacked

The Cold War began with Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain, giving a speech of imposing an, “iron curtain,” separating East and West Germany. The Soviet Union having control over East Germany, and the United States controlling West Germany. Berlin, the capital of Germany, was also separated, the Soviet Union took over East Berlin and Germany took over West Berlin. The countries had different government systems, the U.S. was Democratic and the Soviet Union was Communist. Tension started to build around the two world powers. Soon enough, a cold war broke out, the countries fought economically, politically and competed in an arms race against one another.

In 1961 President John F Kennedy put together a doctrine, which altered from President Eisenhower’s one. It was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare.” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58) It was a time when the Cold War was at its height and nuclear weapons a mass threat and source of power. This doctrine was aimed at using alternative means before opening into combat. This, in light of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it succeeded in doing.

After World War II the U.S. faced many hardships while struggling to keep communism from spreading. We faced budget issues during the Korean and Vietnam wars. The presidents expanded nuclear testing, to challenge the Soviet Union. Stalin used his captured territories from WWII to expand communism further. The Cold War affected the U.S. both financially and politically while stopping the Soviet Union from spreading communism throughout Europe and Asia.

After the end of World War II, Europe was in ruins. Between bomb damage, economic downturn, and natural disasters such as droughts and blizzards it seemed nearly impossible to restore Europe to its prior greatness. America facilitated the recovery of Europe with military and financial aid and helped prevent the spread of communism, which is proven to overtake even the strongest countries in times of distress. This aid crushed the Soviet dream of a communist Europe, which set off the Cold War. Over the next 45 years, the United States and the Soviet Union would resemble two angry women, avoiding each other at all costs and exploding into a furious rage at the first sight of the other. Many events contributed to and were derived from the Cold War such as the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, the Civil Rights movement, the Space Race, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Assassination, and the hippie movement. Some of the most important questions that could be asked of these events are these: of what significance were they to the Cold War and where would the world be today if they had never happened? Lessons learned from the past affect everything about the future, and without these events, America, and even the world, would not be where it is today.

The Cold War is closely connected to the Potsdam Conference. The true intention of the meeting was to discuss the realignment of post-war Europe. The discussions turned into threats and fights because of all the disagreements. The U.S and the Soviet Union agreed upon the division of Berlin. However the Soviets wanted to acquire Poland as a buffer against future attacks because at this time they were still under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II. This resulted in deaths of tons of millions of Russians. Reagan did not want to spread communism anywhere, for the believed that it threatens freedom everywhere. That is why he worked on providing financial and military aid to anti communist governments and insurgencies around the world. Cold War affected many things, such as, a policy known as the “Truman Doctrine”. It promised countries that the U.S would help them if they are struggling against Communism. The U.S helped Greece and Turkey economically. This way they could fight against Communism. The Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin, but after the Western allies performed an airlift, the Soviet Union took the blockade down and West Berlin was the one its on. By 1991, the Soviet Union had fallen apart, ending the Cold

The Cold War was a response to the perceived threat by the United States that Communism would interfere with national security and economic stakes in the world. It was a perceived threat by communist countries that the United States would take to the world. During the Cold War, the United States, Russia, and other countries made efforts to avoid another world war, while warring in proxy in other lands. The devastation caused by the hydrogen bombs exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the next technological advancements became only deterrents to the public. Governments had their own agenda which would result in worsening the strain between nations. The United States hid behind a curtain of nationalism resulting in increased