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The Cold War And The Soviet Union

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The Cold War from 1945 to 1960 exemplified the consequences of having two world superpowers. Following the conclusion of World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the top nations around the world. The two nations were polar opposites. The United States was a flourishing democracy and an ideology of freedom for citizens. The Soviet Union under the control of the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin was a strict totalitarian government with communist ideals. The Cold War period would represent the tension, controversy, and differences between the two nations attempting to be considered the top power militarily, socially, economically and politically. The origins of the Cold War can be explained by the vast number of …show more content…

Economically, the United States believed in a capitalist approach and a free-market while the Soviets practiced the path of socialism and state-planning. For both countries, their opponent during the Cold War seemed to call into question the fundamentals to their society. These differences seemed like attacks to the other and would cause the tension among the two nations to grow very deep and can be considered one of the greatest origins of the Cold War.
Another origin of the Cold War can be attributed to the conflicting desires of the two superpowers. Both nations wanted to have global influences around the world in order for them to achieve distinct goals. The United States had economic desires. The nation wished to establish trade partnerships, new resources and make money for the country. The American economy was already flourishing, and that would continue if the United States expanded into global markets. However, the Soviet Union had desires along the ideological path. Their leader, Joseph Stalin hoped to spread Communism and establish satellite nations. This origin of the cold war also appeared to be a goal for the Soviet Unions. By establishing these satellite nations, the Soviet Union would have a broader sphere of influence as the top communist nation around the world. In contrast with this goal, the United States developed the containment policy which will be a key objective for the U.S. during the Cold War. The containment policy outlined the

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