How Did The Cold War Affect The Spread Of Communism

One of Reagan’s main concerns was the Soviet Union. Reagan stated, “The march of freedom and democracy...will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history ...”12 All through his term he worked to collapse the Union, to end the Cold War, and to tear down the Berlin Wall. Margaret Thatcher commented that “Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot”.10 Reagan set up the collapse of the Soviet Union in a couple of ways. First, he put more funds into the U.S. military, forcing the Soviets to do the same.11 second, he was confident that the U.S.S.R was crumbling and failing even when those around him believed that Communism was strong. Third, he was not intimidated by the Soviets and, while he respectfully met and listened to Gorbachev, he was not wavering and was determined. Even though many factors contributed to the fall of Communism, Reagan sped the process up and the Union officially fell apart in

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)

Seven American presidents over the course of 44 years engaged the Soviet Union in cold war prior to Reagan’s election in 1980. They used policies such as containment and Détente to contain Soviet aggression and win the Cold War. Ronald Reagan came to power at the pinnacle of the Cold War, following, what he saw, as the failures of Détente. Reagan was a tireless cheerleader of American patriotism in a time when America had lost faith in its national institutions and its position on the world’s stage. An ardent anti-Communist, Reagan often invoked anti-Soviet rhetoric, calling them an “Evil Empire” and challenging Soviet leadership to “tear down” the Berlin Wall. More than any other American president, Ronald Reagan took saber-rattling to a

In addition, he inherited a military that was still struggling to overcome the damage inflicted by the Vietnam War. In spite of these obstacles, Reagan had a vision for America. He said; “It was time for something different” (Tygiel, 2006). He felt that previous administrations such as Nixon, Ford, and Carter had all done a poor job in growing the economy, and building a strong military defense, and he wanted to rectify the problem. He argued that fifty years of misguided policies had shattered the free market of much of its natural vitality by burdening it with too many government taxes, too much government spending, and too much government regulations. He promised to restore prosperity by getting the government off the backs of the American people, and strengthening our defense system. His faith in the free-market principles proved to be contagious, helping to restore confidence in the future of the American economy known as Reaganomics. In addition to igniting the economy, Reagan was focused on the Soviet Union, believing that only by building up American armed forces strong enough to defeat the Soviet Union could the United States deter the Communists from instigating World War

The heart of Reagan 's foreign policy was to prevent the expansion of communism and at the heart of communism was the Soviet Union. Reagan often referred to the Soviet Union as the “evil empire.” Reagan believed that the United States should negotiate with the Soviet Union from a position of strength. The administration embarked on a modernization program which included the production of intercontinental missiles and the Strategic Defense Initiative. He increased military spending and forces, while holding negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev- the General Secretary of the Soviet Union. After a number of meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev, the two men signed an Intermediate

Reagan’s most successful endeavor was his ruthless politicking with Russia during the Cold War. Reagan practiced “peace through strength”, and felt that a strong national defense would ensure the safety of the United States. Reagan initiated a forty percent increase on military spending through out his administration (Supply Side). This in turn lead to a subsequent arms build up in the USSR. Unlike the United States the USSR’s economy was on the verge of collapse.

As tensions grew between South Korea and North Korea American involvement was inevitable. “The political drama surrounding the Korean War permitted an extraordinary escalation in both cold war hysteria and in military spending”. Once the Korean War began spending shot

The spending during the cold war for the united states fluctuated from 1946-1966 its highest year of spending was 1946 at $962.7 billion dollars. The United states was the undisputed leader of the system of trade and investment that amassed much of the globe in the 1950’s and 1960’s. While Washington provided aid to fellow economies in distress the united states dollar was holding invaluable monetary stability. The United States allies followed the United States.

When the war began, Americans were struggling financially and emotionally. They wished for the prosperity of the “roaring 1920s.” After the war, their vision for the world was completely revived (Winkler). World War II successfully ended the Great Depression in a threefold process: starting a period of Keynesian economics, bringing seventeen million jobs to America, and boosting morale within the population. After the Nazi invasion of Poland and the Blitzkrieg (an intense military strategy intended to bring about a quick victory) against Belgium, Holland, and France during the spring of 1940, military spending skyrocketed and reached seventy-five million dollars a day by December 1941. “Within two years

World War II was an influential part of American history. WWII lasted from September 1, 1939- September 2, 1945. America did not join the war until December 7, 1941. The Soviet Union fought with Germany, at the start of the war, but switched sides and helped the Allied Powers and America. The two countries fought together during the war, but after it ended they went back to enemies. They indirectly fought each other for a period of time known as the Cold War. The countries fought each other by joining wars between other countries. One of these wars was the Korean war. America fought of the side of South Korea who had a democratic government. The Soviet Union aided North Korea to support Communism. The Cold War created a sense of fear in the American people with threat of communism and nuclear war.

Communism is an economic ideology and movement whom’s purpose is to structure a society with indivisible ownership, absence of social classes, and equality. The United States communist party was founded in the year 1919 and quickly recruited over 50,000 members within a few months. It’s high member count was in result of people believing that communism would solve problems linked to capitalism such as poverty. In the wake of the russian revolution the Red scare slowly developed leading many americans to fear communist inspired radicalism. The Cold War then produced a second Red Scare that began with the truman doctrine. The truman doctrine began the containment policy in which the US attempted to stop the spread of communism and russian influence

The Cold War had a major impact on people’s lives then, and now. Most people are using technology generated from the cold war today without even knowing it. Even though the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were allies during WWI, their relationship became uneasy after WWII. The fear of communism spreading made it tense for the American people. There were many advancements during this time because each country was trying to determine which country was superior to one another. The medical and environmental achievements were some of the most significant improvements in technology and they helped America prosper then, as well as today.

President Reagan biggest challenge was the Cold War and the Soviet Union. This was Reagan’s biggest achievement for foreign policy during his administration. Early on in his Presidency he denounced the Soviet Union as still a in his first press conference and said “ We win and they lose”. Also said “world revolution and a one-world Socialist-Communist state.” As he wrote in his official autobiography, “I decided we had to send as powerful a message as we could to the Russians that we weren’t going to stand by anymore while they armed and financed terrorists and subverted democratic governments.” Reagan knew that the Soviet Union and their communist economic based economy was starting to fail. He based this on intelligence reports and his life long study on the failure of communism. In May of 1982 when giving a speech at Eureka College He stated that the Soviet empire was “faltering because rigid centralized control has destroyed incentives for innovation, efficiency, and individual achievement.” President Reagan increased military spending and created programs. One of the most famous ones was SDI—the Strategic Defense

after being given autonomy and therefore struggled in the global economy. The United States went to war against communist Soviet Union and other communist supporters for the sake of spreading democracy to the rest of the world. Communism was a terrifying thing for the rich, superpower of America because it meant redistribution, most likely through armed revolution. The Cold War also sparked international competition between the US and Soviet Union through the arms

By the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan was elected as president of the USA. Reagan was described as a consistent person and according to LeFeber (1985, p.302) ‘[His] consistency included hatred for the Soviets (that “evil empire” he called them) and a massive military buildup’. Reagan started an aggressive