The Battle Of The Cold War

Much of the Cold War fear and turbulence that resonated throughout the late 20th century was the result of post-WW2 ideologies as well as reactions founded in those ideologies. One notable reaction to these ideologies was the US’ involvement in the Korean War beginning in 1950. Its involvement was the result of the post-WW2 fear of the spread of communism and its subsequent need to halt the North Korean invasion of South Korea. This was the first military action of the US during the Cold War and yet, although being a salient event for the US, it became overshadowed and forgotten. In The Bridges of Toko-Ri, James Mitchner details the struggles of Navy fighter pilots in the Korean War. As he cultivates the encounters of these young, unprepared men, he highlights the persisting idea of “why are we here” as well as the horror that nobody in America cares about the war. Mitchner’s insight into this transitionary era in American warfare reveals how the Korean War became eclipsed by both the unity of World War 2 and the hopelessness of Vietnam. Although it was overshadowed by WW2 and Vietnam and became widely known as the Forgotten War, the Korean War played a pivotal role in shaping US policies for the rest of the Cold War.

The forty-five years from the dropping of the atom bombs to the end of the Soviet Union, can be seen as the era of the new conflict between two major states: United States of America (USA) and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). According to Hobsbawm, ‘cold war’ was the constant confrontation of the two super powers which emerged from the Second World War. At that time the entire generation was under constant fear of global nuclear battles. It was widely believed that it could break out at any moment. (Hobsbawm, 1994) The consequences of the ‘power vacuum’ in central Europe, created by the defeat of Germany, gave rise to these two super powers (Dunbabin, 1994). The world was divided into

Households from the domestic scene were severely impacted by military technology and industrialization during the period of the Cold War, resulting in the ‘Do-it-yourself Security’ scheme.

Skilt took a deep breath, pulled back the arrow in his bow, aimed, and prayed to the great spirit that he would hit his target as he released his breath, and the arrow.

Who could imagine that a wall only four feet thick could separate freedom from oppression? Or who could imagine that different groups of men would threaten to demolish parts of countries using nuclear weaponry to gain world power. Former United States President Ronald Reagan displayed the trait of leadership heavily in the ending of the Cold War, which significantly ended any nuclear threats that the Soviet Union had shown, and by helping the Soviet Union in throes of their revolution and the freedom promises he influenced, contributed to Reagan’s legacy as an intellectual, persuasive, and important leader to the end of the Cold War.

The scene was set for a nation to change. Fresh off of the economic and political victory that was World War II for the United States, The Soviet Union sent a challenge to the U.S that set up one of the biggest, and potentially apocalyptic stand-offs in history. The Cold War, the great stand off between the Americans and the Soviets lasted from 1947 to about 1991 according to Major Problems in American History Since 1945. This Cold War would change the culture in the United States forever, stamping it’s air of alertness and terror not only on the citizens of the U.S but on the politicians that ran the country as well. After the second world war, there was a brief sense of ultimate security within the country. The United States was the lone wolf, the top dog in the terms of defense and especially, in regards to the A-Bomb which the Soviets first tested successfully in 1949 (Brands, H.W). That all changed with the Cold War, the Soviet Union stepped into the arena, thus sending shockwaves throughout the country. These two countries also shared differences ideologically especially in the years immediately following WW II. The American government, specifically foreign policy officials, took it their mission to successfully spread capitalism and democracy across the globe, this was a very drastic difference to the Soviet’s desire to overthrow capitalism. The Cold War shaped 1950s American society and culture by creating the containment mentality that would follow the United

The cold war was from 1947- 1991. During that time, the world was on the brink of a nuclear war, where the whole human population was in mere seconds of extinction. The cold war was called the cold war because it was an indirect war, not physical(hot) but non physica(cold). It was a war of two types of governments. Socialism and Capitalism. It was a dreaded time for both countries, and their people. There is evidence that the USSR started it, but there are many advocates for that now. So, it is up to our dear reader to decide for himself/herself who was really to be pointed to.

The Cold War was not a bloody war, but rather a political war between the United States and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Although war usually ends up in bloodshed, this particular war brought beneficial changes into todays society. The Cold War, in a nutshell, was the fight for communism vs. capitalism. With this, I contend, that there are various contributions from this war, that created the society that we live in today.

The allied victory over Nazism did little to improve world peace. Countries that fought side by side against Hitler turned around and saw each other as enemies after the war. It was not the first time that the Soviets and the Americans found themselves on opposite sides. The communist revolution led by Lenin and Trotsky was the first instance of belligerence between communism and capitalism, and it started when the United States dispatched troops to Siberia with the mission of fighting Bolshevik revolutionaries (Borch 1998, 181). Ideological differences have been at the center of many conflicts throughout history, and the Cold War was no exemption. The nuclear standoff between the Soviets and the Americans after WWII was not inevitable, but it required the understanding of men unwilling and unable to change.

As one war ends, another returns. After the end of World War II in 1945, a new conflict arose. Known as the Cold War, this conflict had threatened the globe for over 45 years. The Cold War put its two greatest powers-the Democratic United States and the Soviet Union- against each other. Each countries ' military power, scientific knowledge, and technology were put to the test in the Cold War. Even though there was few military wars, the Cold War still remains a mark on our history.

Following the alliance that was seen during World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union came a time period full of mistrust and deceit. By the end of the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union became increasingly suspicious of one another, and their relations resulted in being unstable. This evident yet rising political and military tension between the two world powers has come to be known as the Cold War. Both the Yalta Conference, which saw a rise in disagreements between the two, and the Korean War, the first military conflict of the Cold War, greatly impacted the American-Soviet relations in a negative way in the decade following the war.

During the year 1945, there were quite a few reasons for the start of the Cold War. Hysteria was one of the major catalysts towards the start of the Cold War. Many American citizens shared the extensive fear of communist attacks against America, while the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) feared the same from the Americans. Another reason being that the United States wouldn’t share their advances in the study of nuclear fission due to the USSR’s aim of spreading world communism. The USSR had a deep hatred for capitalism. This feeling of suspicion lead to a mutual distrust between the two countries, therefore deepened the quarrel between the world’s two superpowers.

The first Cold War was, occurred during 1947 to 1953, political and military tension after World War II between power of Eastern Bloc and Western Bloc. People felt tired from fighting, started to recover their emotional feelings, and society and economic was trying to recover from the war. During this period, artists started thinking about society that increasingly turned their attention to defining identities of national and globally. They also focused for a renewed attention in art and design. The relationship between nationalism and globalism in design and how cultural influenced countries contributing to product form and function were the topics during the cold war.

With the end of the “Cold War”, the hypothesis of war between states declined and created opportunities for peace and security. However, new types of conflicts, new challenges for maintaining international security and new threats to peace emerged. The U.S. attacks on September 11, 2001, marked a before and after in international relations, security concepts, and the emergence of new threats. Governments have had the necessity to change and to design new strategies to address these new threats. Furthermore, it has been necessary to modify the roles of the Armed Forces.

The Second World War was to be the last war ever fought. A war to end all other wars that would ever take place. The men, women, and children of the war would have lasting scares from the events that took place. The consequences of the war would help shape the world for the next century in ways many would have never of though. The many reasons for the war in the beginning look dim in comparison to how the war turned out in the end. The cold war, the Korean, and the atomic age are only a few of many consequences of world war two.