The Cold War On The United States Domestic Policy

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

This made Americans fear losing their jobs and maybe even becoming enemies of the state, even though most of them had never involved themselves with communist groups. The Cold War lead to a society where every man is against another, it divided the nation over a fight against society, and it caused a fear of a possible war.

During this time, Americans focused most of their fears on communist subversion throughout the country and the possible threat of an atomic war with the detonation of the Soviet Union 's first atomic bomb in 1949. There was a constant unease within the people that made it extremely difficult to trust one another without the suspicion that they supported the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) or had some sort of communist ties. The nationwide suspicion led to surveillance and exposure

The early Cold War impacted the United States on the American home front in a number of ways. Many Americans lived in constant fear that they would be bombed at any moment and the paranoia that communism would take over the U.S. government. Yet, the Cold War also brought about positive transformation to the nation economically, politically, and socially. These changes helped calm people's fear and trust was regained in each other, and in the United States government.

“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” This declaration, made by former President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947, is part of the Truman Doctrine, and was the basis for U.S. involvement in Western Europe throughout the Cold War. Although the North Atlantic Treaty, and the resulting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was established during the Cold War “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down,” NATO has persisted since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. This essay will seek to examine the U.S. decision to create and participate in NATO. It will begin by providing a history of NATO and the U.S. decision to participate in NATO before considering how this decision is both an instance of continuity and change in U.S. foreign policy since former President George Washington’s Farewell Address. The essay will conclude by considering the legacy of this decision and its impact on U.S. foreign policy. While this essay will consider the period of time leading up to the formation of NATO and will briefly touch on the present day, greatest consideration will be paid to the time period immediately preceding and following the formation of NATO in 1949.

President Eisenhower called for the intervention in Asia to stop the domino effect of communism from spreading, even though Asia had "lost some 450 million of its peoples to the Communist dictatorship"(doc 4) as to protect the American economy (capitalism) and to avoid communism from spreading to the U.S.. The President showed that not only was the U.S. economy prepared for war, but the political leaders were ready to use the empowered army, brought on by the military-industrial complex, to fight a foreign war such as the Korean War. Conflict in the United States arose based on "hostility toward… specific nations, races, and religious groups"(Doc 2), and while the U.S. was helping it's foreign capitalist allies with it's mobilized economy, fears of communism influencing America created a large witch hunt. In court, citizens who loved the united states could be accused of being "a member of the communist party"(doc 3) which could end their careers and lives, however the mobilized industry being used to fight communism had to be clear of Communist Infiltration. The need for foreign intervention to contain and fight communism as well as domestic scares from communist influence and attacks led to the mobilization of the United States economy to fight any war and protect against any foreign influence.

The last way that we were affected by the Cold War was the fear of losing. When the Soviet satellite, Sputnik, was launched we poured our education funding into science and math to catch up to Russia in the Space Race. We hoped that this would help us win the Space Race (document 6). When the Vietnam war started, we created a draft to put every eligible man over the age of 18 in a draft. This was to help us assure a win in the war with more manpower (document

As the Soviet Union continued to spread communism throughout the eastern part of the globe, the United States was determined to contain the economic ideology and prevent it from reaching the States by any means possible. The American’s fear of communism prompted changes in domestic policy, most notably with the attempt to remove power from anyone with communist ties and the platform to influence others. Document one, a passage from one of President Truman’s executive order signed in

The Cold War was marked by a seemingly ever continuous rivalry between WWII allies in a geopolitical and ideological war, each nation focused on their own agenda in a clash of political and economic structure and views for the future of the world. For much of the second half of the 20th century the Cold War became a dominant influence on many aspects of American society. Cultural battles ensued between the superpowers had as much if not more

The Cold War affected daily life and culture, brought the country into a state of panic and hysteria, and introduced conformity. The reactions to the cold war were justified because it was immense as it appeared to be.

The cold war has caused many effects to many different countries. Such as Europe, Asia, and Latin America. There has been some good changes and there have been some bad changes.

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.

The Cold War was a very important time in the history of the United States. It was a war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R or otherwise known as the Soviet Union. This was was a fight between capitalism and communism. There were many deaths in crises that were caused by the Cold War. Some of these crises include the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary, and the Berlin Wall. Like all wars go, there are many consequences and sometimes tragic things that can happen to the countries that are participating in the war. Economies could collapse and then after the war one country could just be stuck in a large hole of debt. Some of the areas that were affected by the war were social, economic, domestic or political, and international/

The role of America at the end of World War II was where the origins of policing the world originate. America had been engaged in a very costly war in terms of dollars as well as lives. But, despite the expense the United States came out of World War II better than any other nation that was involved. The Second World War was a battle between the Allied and Axis Powers. The Allied Powers consisted of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and France. This war was seen as the fight against Nazi Germany, and therefore resulted in a majority of the battles fought on German and Russian soil. The aftermath left the Soviet Union in bad shape. Close to twenty million Russians

In the midst of the political and economic discord, tensions were rising in America over the spread of communism at home. This sparked the creation of the House of Un-American Activities Committee, whose duty was to investigate communist influence in labor unions and New Deal organizations. During the “Great Fear,” all