The Cold War
When World War II in Europe finally came to an end on May 7, 1945, a new war was just beginning. The Cold War: denoting the open yet restricted rivalry that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, a war fought on political, economic, and propaganda fronts, with limited recourse to weapons, largely because of fear of a nuclear holocaust.1 This term, The Cold War, was first used by presidential advisor Bernard Baruch during a congressional debate in 1947.
Intelligence operations dominating this war have been conducted by the
Soviet State Security Service (KGB) and the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), representing the two power blocs, East and West respectively,
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This organization had fallen into the disfavor of many involved in the federal administration at this time. This included the director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover, who did not like competition from a rival intelligence organization. With the death of
Roosevelt in April of 1945, the OSS was disbanded under Truman and departments were either relocated or completely dissolved. Soviet intelligence began with the formation of the Cheka, secret police, under
Feliks Dzerzhinsky at the time of the revolution. By 1946, this agency had evolved into the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and the Ministry of
State Security (MGB) both ruled by Lavrenti Beria. This man was undoubtedly the most powerful man in the Soviet Union with a vast empire of prison camps, and informants to crush any traces of dissent. Of considerable importance to Beria was the race for the atomic bomb. The Soviet Union and the United States both plundered the German V-2 rocket sites for materials and personnel. In 1946 the MVD was responsible for the rounding up of 6000 scientists from the Soviet zone of Germany and taking them and their dependents to the Soviet Union.2 The political conflicts of the 1930's and
World War II left many educated people with the impression that only communism could combat economic depression and fascism. It was easy for
Soviet agents to recruit men who would
DBQ Outline Intro Paragraph · Background/Context: The Cold War was a state of political tension after World War II between the Eastern bloc countries and Western bloc countries. Cold War took a significant place in between 1947 to 1991 which the two most powerful countries, United States of America and Soviet Union, were competing with each other over spreading the rule and showing off their arms without killing people. After the World War II, people in different countries started to think about who bears more responsibility for starting the Cold War, United States or USSR. · Three-point thesis: The United States of America bears more responsibility for starting the Cold War because it built up military powers and prepared for
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.
There have been various ideologies, events, and origins of the Cold War that have dominated American foreign policy from 1946 to 1989. The Cold War was a time of conflict between between the U.S. and the USSR; the two Superpowers saw each other as a threat. Thus they continued to fight to preserve their positions. Each side became involved in events such as the Korean War. They each stood behind the other nations fighting. Together the rise in communism, a rise of the Soviet influence dominated American foreign policy, and the creation of the Warsaw Pact.
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).”
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.
The hysteria of the Cold War caused for many precautions. Throughout the mid 1900s, the spread of communism was causing concern to the United States. President Dwight D. Eisenhower worked to solve these issues both politically and socially to prevent further fear from the American citizens.
Before the mid twentieth century, wars fought between opposing groups involved the colliding forces of two armies on a designated battlefield. However, the Cold War occuring during the years 1947 and 1991 between the major democratic and communist countries of the world proved monumental, as it spurred a crucial time period marked by a series of non-violent engagements. Due to opposing governmental beliefs and a competition for the most powerful nuclear arsenal, the time period is still categorized in history as a war, despite its lack of military combat. This war began because of the disagreements on how governments should operate and was fought using political advantage such as the Marshall Plan, N.A.T.O, the Warsaw Pact, and a nuclear arms race.
The Cold War has many stories, for example, like Stalin, Khrushchev, Sputnik, republic, satellites, and etc. They even talked about the enigma (a puzzling occurrence), capitalism, communism, and socialism. We have Soviet textbooks that can teach us these things, but are they all really there? In 69 years as a country, the Soviet Union accomplished many great things. The Great Terror, military strength, and Olympic values: should be included in their textbooks to remember this time in history.
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
The USSR could claim a decisive victory in the wider Cold War struggle. This is because they appeared to be the stronger superpower and gained the most from the agreements made between Kennedy and Khrushchev. The USSR came out from the crisis as the stronger superpower in the wider Cold War struggle, which meant they claimed a decisive victory over the USA. The USA’s attempt to prevent the ‘domino theory’ and keep Cuba in their ‘sphere of influence’ by “forbid[ing] [Castro] to make friends with the Soviet Union” (Source B) failed.
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.
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
I think you did a great job of showing both sides of the argument of the USA being the world's policemen. Also, I liked you example of the cold war. I agree that many people are against it because of all the sacrifices. Civilians and troops lives could be lost, but some people are willing to risk this hoping the plan would work
Imagine, you’re a young child living in the middle of a dark war that is cold, depressing and continues on for decades; you are practically growing up with this war by your side. The Cold War was started in 1947 when the Soviet Union shot down a United States military plane that was used for spying on the Soviet Union. The Soviet didn’t trust the United States anymore, and thus began the Cold War. The first president of the Cold War in 1947 was Harry S Truman, who after Franklin D Roosevelt died used an atomic bomb on Japan. Dwight D Eisenhower was the second president of this time and was a five-star general in the Army and a Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II. Finally the third, most effective president, was John F Kennedy who was assassinated during a parade in Dallas, Texas. All three of these presidents had one common goal: contain communism. However, they each tried to achieve that goal differently with Truman using Economic Aid, Eisenhower used Military Use, and Kennedy using Military Aid (Bowes).