The Cold War And Postmodern Eras

The cold war started in 1945 and ended in 1989. It was a war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This war took place right after WWII and it is called the cold war because there were no real battles such as with tanks and bombs.

As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States grew in the late 1940s and early 1950s, over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare. The Red Scare led to a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society. The climate of fear and repression linked to the Red Scare finally began to ease by the late 1950s.

The novel, The Culture of the Cold War, is the all about the cold war and how that time period effected America in the 1960s. It talks about how the Cold War era haunted America with constant threats, and the talk of communism all across the nation. The author of the book, Stephen J. Whitfield, described that the Cold War gave the nation an identity crisis and that suspicion started to arise. The novel is very descriptive on that topic and elaborates on certain ideologies during that time.

The cold war began in 1947 and continued until 1991 for many reasons, some of which included the weapons that were used during the fighting of the war. The world’s concern with containing communism, increasing technological weapon warfare, and military alliances were all issues that led to tension during the cold war. The United States and other non-communist countries were concerned with the spread of communism. During President Truman’s speech, later known as the Truman Doctrine, he claims that it is the duty of the United States to “ support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures” (2).

Europe after the capitulation of Nazi Germany and the subsequent Allied victory in World War II was in ruins from years of fighting and bombing. Cities and infrastructure lay flattened and shortages of vital consumer products of food and fuel persisted across Europe. The economic situation of Europe was also in tatters; many countries suffered from severe inflation, debt, trade deficits, and depleted gold supplies. The United States having remained virtually untouched by the destruction had emerged from World War II stronger than ever before both an industrial economic, and military powerhouse. The Soviet Union though also suffering from the wounds of the war began to establish pro-Soviet communist governments in the Eastern European countries

During the Cold War, Truman was a major influence in fighting against communism. The Chicago Tribune, published in 1947, mentions President Truman’s speech which anticipated conflicts among the United States and the Soviet Union. He clearly stated that the U.S. was against Russia and that an “outcome will inevitably be war” (Document A). One of Truman’s strategies to prevent the spread was a foreign policy known as Truman’s Doctrine.

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,

Following the Allies’ victory in World War II, and preceding the historical period of the Red Scare, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States were relatively neutral (in spite of the drastically different ideological viewpoints). Contrary to popular belief the Doctrine was originally constructed to quell communist uprisings, it is clear the intention was to establish stability within European nations vital to the economic interests of the United States (Gaddis 11). As domestic tidings began to alter as a result of the Red Scare, the Doctrine would become a stigma for ideological conflict

Soon after the conclusion of World War II in 1945, Communism posed a threat in the United States. This threat, also known as the Red Scare, was triggered because of the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. The tension between the two superpowers led to the beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s. Because the Soviets were a communistic country, many Americans feared Communism because of the influence that it had in America. Many intellectuals supported Communism in the U.S. which led to more concern within the country. The communistic threat presented by the Soviets in the war led to the spread of Communism within the U.S. It was a fear that many Americans spoke out against in attempt to save the American

After world war one peace looked inevitable. Everyone was wrong about this because a few years later world war two erupted. This great war was supposed to be the war to end all wars. In this war it was crystal clear who was the good side and who was the bad side. Almost everyone figured that if the bad side was defeated then peace couldn’t possibly escape us again. We defeated the evil Axis powers, but of course another serpent would rear its ugly head from behind the curtains. This period of a “cold war” after world war two has become one of the most complex and studied eras since America’s birth. This state of paradoxes, paranoia, and public disorientation has only ended a few years ago, but its

Why did none of the three main approaches to world politics (Realism, Pluralism and Structuralism) predict the end of the Cold War? Should they have done so?

In truth, its history dates back as far as the sixteenth century, following the first great expansion of European capitalism, which resulted in slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism (Ezema, 2009). Throughout history, world powers have continually sought to perpetuate their way of life: from the philosophy and mythology of the Greeks, the political ideologies and linguistics of the Romans, and the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance (Daghrir, 2013). Thus, it comes as no surprise that the aftermath of the post-war era, which saw the collapse of Soviet communism and the emergence of the United States as the sole hegemon, saw the aggressive spread of American ideals, values, and beliefs. Indeed, just as American goods flooded world markets in the post-World War II era; American culture now penetrates every continent through the aggressive development of mass communications, trade expansion and information technology.

There have been many attempts to explain the origins of the Cold War that developed between the capitalist West and the communist East after the Second World War. Indeed, there is great disagreement in explaining the source for the Cold War; some explanations draw on events pre-1945; some draw only on issues of ideology; others look to economics; security concerns dominate some arguments; personalities are seen as the root cause for some historians. So wide is the range of the historiography of the origins of the Cold War that is has been said "the Cold War has also spawned a war among historians, a controversy over how the Cold War got started, whether or not it was inevitable, and

The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in major shift in United States foreign policy. For years, the United States supported tyrannical dictators in return for stable anti-communist government receptive to United States interests. The Cold War resulted in a new world order with the United States as the lone global hegemonic power. In Eastern Europe in particular, the end of the Cold War ushered in an era of economic growth and a large increase in the number of liberal democracies. Although the world saw a large increase in liberal democracies, a new regime type referred to as competitive authoritarianism began to emerge. According to Levitsky and Way, “In competitive authoritarian regimes, formal

The historian’s belonging to this school see the Truman doctrine from 1947 as the point when the Cold War started. They put the responsibility for the Cold War on the Soviet Union and its expansionist policy. According to them, this is the reason, why Soviets broke promises from the negotiations during the World War II, especially the Yalta agreement. On the other hand, the U.S. politicians wanted to continue the cooperation between the Allies even after the defeat of the Axis. They put a lot of hope to the newly created organization – United Nations – and the principle of collective security. However, the U.S. needed to react to the Soviet aggression in Europe. They adopted the policy of containment. The orthodox scholars view this policy as necessity because without it “the Soviet Union would have become the master of all Europe, instead of only the eastern Europe” .