Impact Of SALT I On American-Soviet Relations

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

After World War II, only two world superpowers remained: the United States of America and the Soviet Union. The contradictory political regimes of the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union were believed to be mutually exclusive which increased bitterness between them. Inevitably, the apparent tension between the two superpowers led to the Cold War which lasted about 45 years. It was war without bloodshed or battle, instead it was a metaphorical war where the U.S and the Soviet Union increased their weapons and fought for political influence, one always wanting to excel or maintain within the range of the other. The United States’ desperate need to contain the communist political ideology from spreading any further and meet the Soviet Union’s increased development of nuclear weapons led to the their involvement in the Cold War. The impact the Cold War had on life during the 1950’s and 1960’s can be measured through the creation of the House Un-American

As tensions continued to augment profoundly throughout the latter half of the Cold War period, they brought forth a movement from a previous bipolar conflicting course, to one of a more multipolar nature. These tensions were now not only restricted to the Soviet Union and United states, but amongst multiple other nations of the globe. It became a general consensus that a notion of ‘peace’ was sought globally, hence, the emergence of détente. The nature of this idea in the short term conveyed itself to be an act of change for the conflicting nations, however, in the long term it proved to be a blatant continuity, ultimately acting as a ‘mechanism for domestic fortification’ which prompted a more divisive tone. It became apparent that by the prime 1970’s Cold War countries were now seeking a state of relaxation in political and international tension, détente, through measures of diplomacy and negotiation. Actions, influences and treaties such as the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the establishment of SALT 1, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 and the Shanghai Communique of 1972 evidently help reinforce that the concept of détente brought a period focused on lessening the tensions of international relations and ultimately achieve political relation for the future of the Cold War, although the success and impact of this era is abhorred by many historians who have concluded that détente didn’t activate any positive changes to the cold war, and was conclusively a failure.

From 1890-1990, America as a nation experienced constant, dynamic forces from a multiplicity of men and women. When one recalls these people, impactful Americans such as FDR, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and many others come to mind. However, rarely does one look outside the country for people who created a lasting impact, although certain foreigners molded America during their lives. This particularly applies in the case of Nikita Khrushchev, as despite his status as the leader of another nation, he exerted the greatest influence on America during the time period. Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953-1964 and the Soviet Premier from 1958-1964, rose to power in the chaos after Stalin’s death. During his time as leader, Khrushchev took part in many events that defined the climate of the Cold War. In the Berlin Crisis, where a significant number of people were leaving East Berlin for West Berlin, Khrushchev played a key role by demanding Kennedy attend a meeting to discuss the problem, and subsequently disrespecting the young president. Later on, in the Cuban Missile Crisis, where an American U-2 Spy Plane discovered offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, Khrushchev further complicated the dire situation through his refusal to remove the weaponry. Beyond direct conflicts, Khrushchev sponsored the growth of the U.S.S.R.’s space program, leading to the launch of Sputnik I, and furthering the tense relationship between the Soviet

This was considered his biggest foreign policy crisis, and damaged his presidency, as he was considered to handle the situation inappropriately. Carter also made attempts to improve relations with the Soviet Union, but instead exacerbated the situation, and Carter’s commitment to human rights divided the United States and the Soviet Union further. Matters worsened when Carter tried to pass SALT II, limiting weapons further then set by SALT I.

Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union have always been complicated. Over the entire 20th century they have been close allies to bitter rivals. The stark differences in each of their political systems prevented the USA and the USSR from maintaining a close political friendship and understanding, and even to the very edge of war.

Despite the unsuccessful past during the Cold War years between the United States and the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan and his counterpart the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1980s should have focused on bright future by reducing the nuclear arms, because having a partnership, friendship and the common goal will move two nations toward success. On 1985, in an effort to improve the international situation, the United States and the Soviet Union have decided to hold a meeting in Switzerland, Geneva. It was a first official meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, to discuss reductions in nuclear weapons and talk about future partnerships. Geneva Summit led on to four further meetings in 1986 Reykjavik, in 1987 in Washington, Moscow in 1988, and the last one in New York Harbour in 1988.

The Cold War was a state of political hostility, lasting from 1946 to 1991, between Communists Soviet Union and Capitalist Western powers. Two generations worth of tension was filled with propaganda, hot wars, threat of nuclear attacks, and developments in missiles and space technology. Domestic policy and American society changed in the years of the Cold War: more money was being allotted to the defense budget, committees were being created to root out any communists working in Hollywood or the government and Americans were living their life around the fact that they could enter into a nuclear war at any moment.

The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union was very tense, especially during the Cold War. Prior to this war, during World War II, they worked together as allies. Both of them had different ways of economically thinking. The Soviet Union was communist and the United States was capitalist. However, during this time Russia wanted to spread communism across the world, but the United States aided the cessation of the spread.

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.

After WWII, the USA and the Soviet Union faced a conflict as they competed for global power. Neighboring countries, like Afghanistan, were dragged into the conflict causing millions of people to die. Due in part to the high cost of waging this war the Soviet Union fell only four years after the conflict.

The Cold War was the name given to the time period from 1945 to 1991. After World War II, tensions began between the United States and the Soviet Union. Fighting between the United States and Soviet Union did not happen directly against each other. Instead they fought with arms races, space races, and spying. Both superpowers set aside their differences to defeat Adolf Hitler, even before the war the United States distrusted the Soviet Union. The United States disliked the way the Soviet Union ran government. They believed that the Soviet Union wanted to overthrow the non-communist governments.

In November, 1969, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) begun. This was because of the economic impact brought by the nuclear testing and production. In May, 1972 the SALT I Treaty was signed. SALT I limited the size of the nuclear arsenals though SALT I did not limit the amount of nuclear warheads that could be placed on one missile. These were the Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty) the ABM treaty limited country’s to two Anti-Ballistic Missile sites, while the Interim Agreement halted each country's number of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles. This treaty lowered significantly the cost brought by the production of nuclear arms and also lowered the risk of nuclear war. A new technology, known as multiple-independently targetable re-entry vehicle allowed single missiles to launch multiple nuclear missiles at deferent targets while in mid-air. In the next 10 years, the Soviet Union and United States added 12,000 more nuclear warheads to their already built

Reagan and Jimmy Carter had a debate in the 1980’s, his last debate and Reagan’s whole campaign was dedicated to how the outside world viewed America and he was asking if we were even respected and is their relationship as strong with the world as it was four years ago. Ronald wanted to reevaluate national policy toward the Soviet Union. Like all the presidents before he could sense there was hostility and wanted to reconcile with the Soviets. The SALT II nuclear treaty founded by Jimmy Carter was Reagan’s idea to come together. The SALT II nuclear treaty is basically the beginning of creating nuclear weapons. The point in making these nuclear weapons was so it is for the mutual sharing for the Soviets and United States. Their mutual settlement

There are a multitude of factors and events that contributed towards Cold War tension between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Many of these were explained in detail by Robert J. McMahon in "The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction". Ideologically, the Americans and the Soviets had very different visions and goals when it came to running their respective countries. While the United States' capitalist system gave their citizens many freedoms, Russia's communist ways limited its inhabitants in nearly every way possible, so that the government's officials could have maximum control. These vastly different foundational belief systems were bound to cause tensions in international relations between the two countries. Sociologically,