The Cold War Essay

When the world famous liberal thinker Francis Fukuyama in his masterpiece declared that we were witnessing the end of the history, he was greeting the new political structure and also the new international environment, which is peaceful[1]. However, developments that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union showed us that the dissolution of the Soviets was unexpected. The international society was not ready for peace and Fukuyama’s optimistic assumptions were far from becoming real. Moreover, the international society currently started to realise that the tension and the potential of mass destructive war during the Cold War era had provided a

It is 1945 and some of my generation has already arrived, with more yet to come. The month is June and I just arrived. President Truman is in office. The war in Europe just ended, and the war with Japan is about to end. The Cold War has started but it will be two years before they officially call it the Cold War. In case you were wondering that is me in the carriage, as you can see I am not really too concerned about world events as of yet. I’m pretty sure that the rest of my generation isn’t either. It is also my guess that we won’t be for a while. However, as I said history is relevant and many world events will take place in the next nineteen years that will lead some of us toward war, and others toward what I believe to committing the unforgivable crime of treason.

Democratic localism was also enforced to keep the government at bay, allowing people to make their own economic decisions. Capitalism was renewed due to growth. Americans were enjoying various freedoms in politics, religion and travel. Nixon stated in one of his speeches that the United States had “come closest to the idea of prosperity for all in a classless society (166).”

During the Cold War, America's economy skyrocketed as the U.S. prepared to enter a war. Document 7 shows the increase in military spending and government spending on military bases which allowed the American economy to revert, partially, back to the war-based economy that had helped the U.S. out of the great depression back in

Economic aid for nations, especially Europe, was another weapon used to fight the war. After World War II, most of European countries were in a desperate situation. They suffered in poverty, hunger, and disease. Improved technology and the development of explosives with massive powers led to the devastation of Europe. Approximately 36 million European men have died in World War II. Not only did the population decrease, infrastructure had to be reconstructed and it required tremendous amount of reparation. As the European countries were weakened economically and militarily, they were desperate and more likely to rather fall into and be attracted to the Soviet Union’s communism than United States’ democracy. United

Offner, Arnold, "Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman’s Responsibility" in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II.

In 1947, the Cold War had started, named after how both of the disputing sides did not fight but only threatened each other with new technologies. The U.S and Soviet Union disagreements on political systems and also questioned war reparation, show how they cause the Cold War with their mistrust and technological issues.

1.     How NSC-68 influenced America’s response to Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950 and to Communist expansion in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The NSC-68 called for military assistance programs that would meet the requirements of our allies. Since South Korea was an ally, we assisted them in repelling the invasion of another communist nation. This help for South Korea meant that a communist nation would be weakened and therefore possibly cripple a potential ally for the Soviet Union. Also, South Korea would then respond to a call for aid if the Soviet Union ever attacked

In 1961 President John F Kennedy put together a doctrine, which altered from President Eisenhower’s one. It was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare.” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58) It was a time when the Cold War was at its height and nuclear weapons a mass threat and source of power. This doctrine was aimed at using alternative means before opening into combat. This, in light of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it succeeded in doing.

When discussing Eisenhower, Gaddis details the massive retaliation policy adopted by Eisenhower and John Dulles. “The New Look’ as it is referred to, was instead of building up the military by providing more men, instead it would be cost effective to build up arms, and threaten nuclear attacks if the Soviets attempted to influence other areas across the globe and spread communism. With Kennedy and Johnson both, the return to NSC-68 and Vietnam are covered by Gaddis. With more military and economic support for preventing communism, troops were spread to places in Vietnam specifically and across the globe attempting to resist communist forces in many places. This ‘flexible response’ was in essence reducing the power of the army as a whole. The defeat in Vietnam and the flexible response method used by Kennedy and Johnson was judged harshly by Gaddis. The final administration covered by Gaddis was the Nixon presidency. This period, known as Détente, signals a return to Kennan’s approach to an extent while combining policies from the Kennedy and Johnson diplomacy. Nixon and Kissinger worked towards establishing international rules of conduct in which the Soviets and China would soon follow promptly and the balance of powers in the world would provide for stability.

Throughout the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War the main problem was communism. Although the United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two, during the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union were known as enemies. The Soviet leaders bragged to other nations that communism would “scrape apart” free-enterprise systems around the world. This attitude angered the capitalists which led into the fifty year Cold War. The United States tried creating many tactics and strategies to contain the “bleeding” of communism, but during the cold war, communism spread faster then it could be restrained. The United States used the Marshall Plan , the Trueman Doctrine, and the Berlin Airlift to help lead people to a

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

The Cold War was a response to the perceived threat by the United States that Communism would interfere with national security and economic stakes in the world. It was a perceived threat by communist countries that the United States would take to the world. During the Cold War, the United States, Russia, and other countries made efforts to avoid another world war, while warring in proxy in other lands. The devastation caused by the hydrogen bombs exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the next technological advancements became only deterrents to the public. Governments had their own agenda which would result in worsening the strain between nations. The United States hid behind a curtain of nationalism resulting in increased

With the war looming large at the end of November the first act of hostility was when Soviet Union broke of all diplomatic ties with Finland on November 28th. On November 30th at first light the Soviet troops sent 4 divisions of its army with over 450,000 men over the borders of Finland. The Finns however could only muster around 180,000 men initially against the world's largest army. The Soviets also had the advantage in machinery with Soviet armoured tanks outranking the Finnish 6541 to 32 and aircraft 3880 to 114 (History Learning Site) (Hickman). To make matters worse the majority of the Finnish machinery was severely outdated compared to the Soviets, which were all cutting edge at that time. In Finland bullets were also scarce and soldiers

After Second World War the United States of America was forced to improve the production of