The Cold War was a different type of war that the world has never seen before. Instead of deploying troops, there was the threat of the deployment of nuclear bombs. This development in technology was an invisible threat which had the potential to wipe out an entire population in mere moments. If the U.S. was unable to harness the power of nuclear weapons first, then they feared that they would be annihilated and life as they knew it would forever change. The United States saw this nuclear arms race as a ticking time bomb. If it were to explode, then not only would the U.S. be wiped off from the face of the Earth, but liberty and freedom would vanish along with it. This fear would sweep across the nation to the point that the word …show more content…
“The security of the United States of America was saved by sea of distances, the Allies, and by errors of a prepared enemy.” (Marshall, 211) If we were to rely on others as we did before, it could prove to be a devastating mistake. We must be self reliant and independent, like during the Second World War. It was through aggressive and proactive acts that the U.S. had claimed victory over Japan. “The existence of the complex and fearful instruments of destruction now available make this a simple truth which is, in my opinion, undebatable.” (Marshall, 210) Because of the development of the atomic bomb, it would be a catastrophically poor decision to dismantle our greatest weapon and leave ourselves vulnerable. Instead, it should be used as a tool to ensure global peace. A similar claim would be made by President Harry S. Truman.
In NSC-68: U.S. objectives and Programs for National Security, 1950, President Truman believes that in order for there to be peace, the United States must maintain its military strength. By doing so, some rights must be given up by the people for the sake of national security. “With the development of increasingly terrifying weapons of mass destruction, every individual faces the ever-present possibility of annihilation should the conflict enter the phase of total war.” (Truman, 218) Military might cannot be built by the U.S. alone. The burden must be shared among the other free countries for a defeat of free institution anywhere is a
Despite the name being a “cold war”, the possibility and threat of a real war was always looming over the heads of Americans. The Russians had now built weapons that could wipe everything of the face of the earth. What affected Americans the most was The Cuban Missile crisis. The fact that the war could start with a single press of a button really frightened the Americans. People were trembling at the sound of war, they even began to build bomb shelters in their homes that they can run to, in case of a bombing. (Document 3) Moreover, these bomb shelters became very popular during these times, I believe this displays how much this war scarred the Americans; even though, it wasn’t technically a physical war they were scarred of what it could bring to them if it progressed to the next level.
The Cold War, which was considered the “years of maximum danger,” lasted from 1949-1962. This period brought an increasing sense of danger to America because the Soviet Union came into possession of an atomic bomb in 1949; an idea many Americans thought to be impossible unless the Soviet Union had a spy in the United States, which they did. Because the Soviet Union had an atomic bomb, a nuclear war became a reality. In Kenneth Rose’s “One Nation Underground” he told of rising issues associated with the Cold War and the threat of nuclear bombings. The Cold War, in conjunction with the inventions of (total destructive) bombs, generated new dangers, fears, and morality issues among Americans, which led to further increased fears.
The Cold War was a state of political hostility, lasting from 1946 to 1991, between Communists Soviet Union and Capitalist Western powers. Two generations worth of tension was filled with propaganda, hot wars, threat of nuclear attacks, and developments in missiles and space technology. Domestic policy and American society changed in the years of the Cold War: more money was being allotted to the defense budget, committees were being created to root out any communists working in Hollywood or the government and Americans were living their life around the fact that they could enter into a nuclear war at any moment.
The Cold War represents the disputes between the Soviet Union and the United States, and may be the most noteworthy political issue of the late 20th Century. The Cold War was a very political issue because it influenced foreign policies, impacted our economy, and even affected Presidential elections. The United States was worried that the Soviet Union would extend communism throughout Europe with its power and control over smaller and weaker countries. At the beginning of the Cold War the struggles between the United States and the Soviet Union were more political than military. The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949 which alarmed the United
The Cold War was a time where the U.S. was transitioning into the world’s greatest power. There was so much political unrest in Russia that it was no surprise when the two most powerful countries came to a head.
The Cold War was just that cold. The Cold War was never a declared war. It was a war of ideologies between the capitalist West led by the United States of America and the communist East led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Soviet Union wanted to spread and support communism while the United States and its allies wanted to prevent the spread of communism and keep communism in the borders of the nations that are already communist. This idea caused the United States to adopt a policy of containment, and also support anyone against communism.
In addition, when one country obtains nuclear weapons, it’s neighboring country argues for their right to protect their citizens with their own nuclear arsenal. The decision of dropping the bomb in 1945 accelerated a rising fear and led to further conflict as countries chased in the pursuit of dangerous nuclear weapons. In addition, it drastically weakened the United States. According to Truman, even though the Japanese leadership was ruthless and merciless, the United States being known as the “leader of the world for common welfare” (Truman) should not have dropped the bomb in the first place. The use of nuclear weapons diminished the trust between the United States and other nations and it could ultimately create an environment that may lead to many irrational decisions with extreme consequences. “If we use the weapons now our position in future negotiations will be prejudiced” (J.R. Oppenheimer). Having the reputation of using nuclear weapons and bombs put the United States in an uncompromising and very vulnerable
The Cold War had a huge impact on America and it eventually caused Americans to live in complete fear or danger of war due to the arms race. For example, the Cuban missile crisis caused tension within the United States because the missiles were able to reach Americans at any given time. Unfortunately, the Cuban missiles threatened the United States' security, which caused several Americans to live in fear that the war would begin. Additionally, the Cold War instigated strong anti-Communism within the United States and eventually led to McCarthyis. Americans wanted to remove all Communists from American society after identifying the Communists. Overall, the entire situation was created by the Cold War and had a lasting impact on the
The Cold War began during World War II when the U.S. were allied with the Soviet Union to fight against the Axis powers. During that time distrust grew between these two nations. America had always been wary of the communism that was present in Russia and also were “concerned about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical, blood-thirsty rule of his own country” (History.com). On the other side, “the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II”, which caused many Russia deaths (History.com). The United States thought that the best defense against the Soviets was containment.
Following the end of World War Two (WWII), the United States as well as much of the western world was thrust into the escalating crisis which came to be known as the Cold War. As this new threat emerged looming over the United States and its NATO
Shortly after the end of World War II in 1945, the Cold War began. This war was between the major powers of the United States and Russia. The Cold War was not a traditional war which involved direct use of military. Instead, this war was an indirect war between the two nations to build the largest atomic weapons. America, a free capitalistic country, main goal was to stop the spread of communism and totalitarian which defined the Soviet Union government. Tensions between America and Russia were already high because of past conflicts between the nations. The Red Scare had occurred in America in the 1920s, evoking fear in the hearts of domestic business leaders who feared an economy controlled by a political workers organization. Many of these
The “Cold War” was a unique time period were paranoia ran high and the world was at a stalemate as it watch the competition between the two world superpowers,(U.S. and the U.S.S.R.).
The Cold War was a nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States. Many people didn’t realize it was a war until around 1953 when the Soviets had come out with their own Hydrogen bomb. Once this was found out the race to have the most bombs began. Yes it sounds kind of ridiculous now seeing that we could and still can annihilate ourselves hundreds of times over. Nonetheless both sides carried on building bomb after bomb. To win this
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
What was the cold war that and why was did it strike so much fear into people. The cold war is a war where there is no heat of battle in the war but its on the line of starting full blown war and the biggest situation related to this is the cold war in between the US and the USSR. In this cold war the biggest threat was the fact that they both had a weapon that could cause mass destruction and many deaths. This is what mainly kept them from going at each other.