Cyra Mutesi-Kirenho
HI742/HI747- The Cold War, 1941-1991
How Important were individual figures in the origins of the Cold War?
The Cold War refers to a period post World War II characterised by a state of
political tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States both supported by
their allies from the Eastern and Western blocs respectively. Despite this being such
a pivotal point in modern history there is a lack of clarity stemming from much
debate regarding the catalyst for the Cold War and the ‘start’ as it were is instead
referred to as the origins. This is a debate made additionally difficult due to the
inconsistencies that lie between what actually occurred, the perception of the events
and their contemporary historical interpretations. Though there is not general
consensus between historians and scholars over the date of the Cold War, although
1941-1991 is a time span commonly agreed upon. The term was first coined by the
Bernard Baruch in 1947 to justly describe foreign relations at the time between the
Soviet Union and the United States which were in stark contrast with the World War
that had not long before ended1. On face value the origins of this war may appear
relatively simple- a mere conflict between the ideological bipolarities of communism
versus capitalism and their inability to peacefully co-exist. But in delving deeper one
may argue that it was not solely due to the aforementioned reasons but also down to
the
The Cold War was the name given to the political economic, military and ideological contention that occurred between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and their allies after World War II. The two forces never directly engaged in military activity in light of the fact that both had atomic weapons that if utilized, might have had crushing outcomes for both sides. Instead, proxy wars were battled. A proxy war results when contradicting forces utilize outsiders as substitutes for battling each one other and is ordinarily launched by a power that does not itself partake. The Korean and Vietnam wars are two examples of proxy wars on the grounds that the U.S. and the Soviet Union did not directly engage one another however, Soviet endeavors to spread and bring together both Korea and Vietnam under communist rule provoked mediation either by the United States and/or by their allies. These two occasions were simply a few of the impacts of the Cold War in Asia. This paper will examine each war individually and in more detail and endeavor to persuade that the Korean and Vietnam Wars were the immediate aftereffects of Soviet endeavors to expand communist influence in Asia and the United States and their allies' approach of forestalling and holding such endeavors.
The Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition existing after World War II between the Communist World – primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies – and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States and its allies.
The Cold War was a state of political between the Soviet bloc countries and the Western powers characterized by threats propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare. The cold war happened between 1945 to 1990.
In 1945 after WWII the United States and the Soviet Union became divided as far as how they felt Europe should be divided. This began the period of conflict called the Cold War. The Cold War was “a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare”(dictionary.com).The USSR believed in communism, where the US believed in democracy. The US was between two potentially hostile nations, the US designed a Buffer Zone to prevent any overt acts of aggression.At the end of WWI,I almost all of the eastern European countries were occupied by Russia these countries were known as Satellite States. The distrust between the two nations began at the Yalta Conference which included the three big powers: Churchill (Great Britain),Stalin (Soviet Union), and Roosevelt (United States of America). Stalin wanted more control as far how Europe progressed after WWII, where Roosevelt believed Europe should hold free election and determine their political system and rivalry between the two superpowers and began the Cold War. Some might blame the Americans for the causing for the Cold War because of the American’s wanted to occupy the countries, but the Soviet Union bares the responsibility for the Cold War because of their actions in Eastern Europe, by the military expansionism of Stalin and his successors, and the principles presented in the Iron Curtain Speech .
Right after the end of World War II with the Allied forces rejoicing over a marginal victory over Germany, a new and different kind of war was brewing over the tensions of the Western and Eastern blocs, a kind that wouldn’t be fought on the battlefield. The Cold War began in the year of 1945 and lasted all the way until 1991. A cause of the Cold War was the tension between two former allies of World War II, the United States of America and the Soviet Union (also known as the USSR, which stood for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The United States had a democratic government and a capitalist economy, while the Soviet Union had a communist government, each trying to spread their political views and gain world power. Neither of the two
Households from the domestic scene were severely impacted by military technology and industrialization during the period of the Cold War, resulting in the ‘Do-it-yourself Security’ scheme.
The origins of the Cold War started because of how World War II ended. The Yalta Conference in 1945 is when the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed the organization of Europe. The first tension was caused in the Middle East. Soviet troops occupied parts of northern Iran during this time, and they hoped to pressure Iran, so Iran will grant them access to their oil fields. But the British and Americans pressured Stalin to remove their forces. Also during this same time, the Soviets installed pro-communist governments in Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. They spread communism by claiming it was no different than the US dominating Latin American and Britian maintaining it’s own empire. However, Stalin was violating the promise of free elections in Poland that was agreed at the Yalta Conference in 1945. Another huge conflict that arises after the war was the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain was the name of the boundary between the free West and the communist East in Europe. During this postwar reconstruction, Stalin tightened his control, in fear of war with the West. He jailed or murdered millions of Soviet
Clare, J. (2002). Origins of the Cold War 1945-49. Johndclare.net. Retrieved 29 January 2016, from http://www.johndclare.net/cold_warA1.htm
The Cold War was a state of political, military, and economic tensions and hostilities between the Communist World, primarily the Soviet Union, and the Capitalist Western World, the United States and its allies. The Cold War lasted over 40 years because the beginning and ending of it leaves room for some debate. Some sources say it started in the mid to late 40’ after the Second World War while other historians date it back to 1917 with The Bolshevik Revolution and ending in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In that case the Cold War then lasted for over 70 years. The periods when tensions were at the most high were from the late 40s to the 70’s. The international
Parents go through a range of emotions when they find out their child has a diagnosis. Parents take on the responsibility for their child 's condition especially mothers. Parents turned to the medical profession for guidance and often put their child in institutions during the era of the Cold War. Some children diagnoses are from no error of the parents but from a medical incident. Merrill is an example of brain damage from the impact of high fever. A running theme in this book isha families take the blame for their children 's issues.
Despite its name, the Cold War did not actually involve military fighting between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, the Cold War is still an excellent example as to why war can be a result of bargaining failures and explains reasons as to why war occurs. A single person’s rationality can tip the scale between war and peace. The Cold War was essentially a deadlock between the two super powers of that time, the United States and the Soviet Union. Both states expressed desire to maintain and widen their respective spheres of influence around the world. Both states also wanted to prove that their political system is superior; whereas the United States was pro-democracy, the Soviet Union was pro-communism. Although the Cold War was a result of many factor, war can definitely occur due to information problems between two states. Nonetheless, I do believe there is always a range of agreements that is possible between states, as is evidenced by the resolution of the Cuban missile crisis.
There have been many attempts to explain the origins of the Cold War that developed between the capitalist West and the communist East after the Second World War. Indeed, there is great disagreement in explaining the source for the Cold War; some explanations draw on events pre-1945; some draw only on issues of ideology; others look to economics; security concerns dominate some arguments; personalities are seen as the root cause for some historians. So wide is the range of the historiography of the origins of the Cold War that is has been said "the Cold War has also spawned a war among historians, a controversy over how the Cold War got started, whether or not it was inevitable, and
The Origins of the Cold War The Cold War period from 1945 to 1985 was a result of distrust and misunderstanding between the USSR and the United States of America. This distrust never actually resulted any fighting between the two superpowers but they came very close to fighting on several occasions. The Cold War was a result of many different events and factors including the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Potsdam Conference of 1945, the differences between communism and capitalism, the 'Iron curtain' speech and Marshall Aid.
The term “Cold War” refers to the second half of the 20th century, usually from the end of the World War II until 1990, when the Soviet Union collapsed. Since the 1940s and 1950s the scholars have disagreed on the topic of the origins of the Cold War. There are several groups of historians and their interpretations are very different, sometimes even contradictory. The three main schools are the orthodox, the revisionist and the realist. The classification is not completely accurate because we can find several differences in theories of scholars within the same group and often the authors reevaluated their ideas over time.
The Cold War In 1945, the United States and Soviet Union were allies, triumphant in World War II, which ended with total victory for Soviet and American forces over Adolf Hitler's Nazi empire in Europe. Within a few years, yet, wartime allies became mortal enemies, locked in a global struggle—military, political, economic, ideological—to prevail in a new "Cold War. Was it the Soviets, who reneged on their agreements to allow the people of Eastern Europe to determine their own fates by imposing totalitarian rule on territories unlucky enough to fall behind the "Iron Curtain?" Or was it the Americans, who ignored the Soviets' legitimate security concerns, sought to intimidate the world with the atomic bomb, and pushed to expand their own international influence and market dominance? The tensions that would later grow into Cold War became evident as early as 1943, when the "Big Three" allied leaders—American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin—met in Tehran to coordinate strategy. Poland, which sits in an unfortunate position on the map, squeezed between frequent enemies Russia and Germany, became a topic for heated debate. The Poles, then under German occupation, had not one but two governments-in-exile—one Communist, one anticommunist—hoping to take over the country upon its liberation from the Nazis. The Big Three disagreed over which Polish faction should b allowed to take control after the war, with