The Soviets ' Fault For Causing The Cold War Essay

Conflicts of national interest caused the United States and the Soviet Union to continue tension from World War II onto the Cold War, that lasted from 1947 to 1991. Although there was no direct military conflicts, there were constant nuclear threats. Over the past thirty years historians have divided themselves into different categories including: traditionalists, revisionists, and post-revisionists, and share their perspective on who caused the Cold War, the USSR or the US. Based off of three historians: Michael H Hart believes the USSR is at fault for aggressively wanting Communism to be spreaded, William Appleman Williams stated that the US is to blame for being too focused on their “open door” policy with foreign trade , and John Lewis Gaddis believes that their are at fault due to miscommunication and efforts to remain peaceful at the end of the war.

Following the end of World War II, the United States became increasingly concerned with the perceived threat of Soviet aggression in

Moreover the USSR began to have impact in Eastern Europe. Leaders from the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union met to discuss what to do with Europe. They agreed for the

developed as a series of chain reactions as a struggle for supremacy. It can be

When trying to figure out the factors that lead to the cause of the Cold War, it is best to look at other factors as well. It is best to look at both the Soviet Union and the USSR's policies and plan. For example, the United States held true to their idea of Capitalism while also being cautious of Soviet Communism. When Europe was in desperate need to rebuild after World War II, The United States made monumental moves to prevent the spread of Communism as seen with the passing of the Marshall Plan which had been a reaction to the coup in Czechoslovakia. The Marshall plan was designed to give immediate economic help to Europe. There was a confliction of deciding whether or not to allow the Soviets to join the plan or to exclude them. This aspect was solved by setting down strict criteria to qualify for American economic aid. This incident allowed the United States to investigate the financial records of applicant countries. However, the USSR would never tolerate this condition. The United States wanted to invite the USSR to join the Marshall Plan. The aim of the Marshall Plan was to revive European working economies so that political and social stability could ensue, and the other aim of the Marshall Plan was to safeguard the future of the U.S. economy. The Soviet reaction the the Marshall Plan was not very well. The Soviets rejected the Marshall Plan. The Soviets saw this as a prime example of American ¨dollar imperialism.¨ In other words, the Soviets

One way that the Cold War affected America was the fear of spies. The Truman’s Loyalty Program was a test to make sure no communist spies made it into the government (document 1). The House Committee in Un-American Activities was always on the hunt for spies in America. No matter how much destruction they caused, they captured spies (document 2). In the Rosenbergs and Hiss trials, it caused a massive division in America’s population between the people that feared spies and the sympathizers of these people (document 4).

Although the Soviet Union and the United States fought together during World War II against the Axis Powers, the relationship between the two grew bitter going into the 1950’s Cold War. The Cold War left a dominant impact on the U.S. and American living throughout the 20th century. The fall out between the U.S. and the Soviet Union created various issues that United States dealt with (Suddath). The United States was a capitalistic country, while the Soviet Union, also known as the USSR, was lead by a strong communist influence. The expansion of Soviets into Eastern Europe fueled most of the fear the U.S. had of Russia, that they would attempt to influence many more countries.

The US advocated for capitalism and democracy, as they helped other smaller countries, such as Japan and Puerto Rico, emplaced these policies into their government systems. The Soviet Union enforced their ideals of communism and totalitarianism onto the other countries of their control, such as eastern Germany, Hungary, and Austria. Nikita Khrushchev stated, “[allies] desire to force their will on other countries by economic and political pressure, [by] threats and military provocation prevailed” (Doc 5). He stated that the US, Britain, and France were forcing capitalism onto the smaller countries of western Europe. Additionally, the USSR viewed that these countries were encircling them with capitalism, as perceived in the map in Document 6. This influence that both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to establish within weaker European countries caused further tensions in the Cold

The US and the USSR were both concerned that the other was trying to dominate the world. The US completely distrusted the unlimited power of Stalin, yet had attempted to collaborate with the USSR. While

The USSR was worried about its security and loss of influence. By the ‘iron curtain’ it wanted to control the political structure of Eastern Europe and to prevent the re-establishment of a free and united Germany. USA and its western allies were concerned about this matter. They tried to pressurize USSR to undo the new hegemony; however, it couldn’t regain the control of central Europe except through a war against Soviet Union. The elimination of Soviet political and economic dominance from East and Central Europe was necessary for USA as it was keen to use the potential market. For some revisionists it was the country’s capitalist economy and it’s addiction to overproduction that compelled it to adopt expansionist policies. (Graebner, 1976) Alternative world hegemony might have regarded as a challenge for USA. America has dreamt of

In this paper I will discuss what actions and thoughts added up to cause the cold war. The cold war lasted from September 1, 1945 to about December 25, 1991. That is about forty-five years, which is an extremely long time. The cold war was a global competition basically between two sides, the Free World, which was led by the United States of America, and the Communist World led by the Soviet Union. The struggle took place through indirect military conflict, and direct competition in the areas of economics, diplomacy, culture, space exploration, and political theory. It also involved nuclear stand offs, espionage, and global competition for other nations. The cold war has established the framework for most

other countries to adopt communism. The United States was on a mission to stop communism from spreading. The most distressing part of this conflict is that both countries had nuclear weapons all over the world backing their words. (Vandenberg 518)

This caused the US to believe that Soviets had mainly expansionist aims. The US was “not prepared to see the opportunity for future investment [in Eastern Europe] foreclosed” (Crockatt 67) and this belief sparked the development of the containment policy directed by George Kennan, outlined in the Long Telegram (Lightbody 5). In addition, “the west had to oppose the Soviet Union for its own survival” (Lightbody 5) as the nuclear race between the US and USSR ensued and the USSR strived to equal the already well-established program of the US. This tension did not recede as Soviets sent spies into the US Manhattan Project, the nuclear development program (Lightbody 5). When the Soviets refused to join the Baruch Plan – which controlled nuclear weapon development – the USSR became even more openly viewed as a threat to US security. The growth of communism in Asia within the countries of Korea, Vietnam, and China along with tensions between the “Iron Curtain,” or divide, between Eastern and Western Europe also contributed to increasing threat towards capitalism and the Cold War’s inevitability.

In my opinion ,the US should bear a bigger responsibility for causing the cold war .After the second world war , the ideological difference ,mutual distrust and the disappearance of the common enemy (germany ) , these all are the causes of the cold war .However ,these comflicts were all brought by the US . Many historians believe that the Cold War was inevitable once the common enemy, Germany, was defeated after the end of World War II. Other historians such as John Gaddis stress that neither superpower can be held solely responsible for the ideological war that lasted half a century. These historians believe that the US and the USSR followed a pattern of action and reaction; and that neither nation had a definitive plan of action (Todd,

I think that to some extent, the Soviet Union was to blame for the start of the Cold War. The Soviet Union’s aggressive actions in Eastern Europe meant that the Americans had to step in to stop the Soviet Union from taking over Eastern Europe and making the countries into puppet states of theirs. As stated in the Truman Doctrine, America was supposed to aid all countries under oppression. That is why the Americans tried to stop the Soviet Union and allow democracy in those countries which the Soviets didn’t like at all. That distanced the two countries from each other and made them hate each other even more.