After WW2 came to an end the world was thrown into a new conflict, the Cold War. This was primarily between the free democratic nations led by the USA and the communist countries led by the USSR, It was a battle between capitalism and communist ideology. An Iron Curtain (As can be seen in the image below) was formed, Winston Churchill labelled this the ‘Iron Curtain’ because of the split in European countries. The split could clearly be seen in east and west Berlin. Germany was split into two countries after their WW2 defeat. Over time, the discrepancy between the two sides was obvious with differences in living standards in West Germany and the living conditions in East Germany. Many tried to avoid communism with the Soviets invading and occupying many European countries such as Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. A lot of people attempted to flee East Germany in the search of a better life in West Germany, but any chances were ceased when a four-metre high and 100km+ long fence was built. Several civilians were mistreated by the leaders of the USSR and without doubt Joseph Stalin was one of those leaders, he sent his own civilians to Gulag camps were most people spent their entire lives working. The capitalist system of government allowed citizens to live a free-flowing life. The capitalist society develops a social hierarchy and allows freedom. An example of the difference in social hierarchy is a rubbish man earning $35000 compared to a doctor earning
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.
As tensions continued to augment profoundly throughout the latter half of the Cold War period, they brought forth a movement from a previous bipolar conflicting course, to one of a more multipolar nature. These tensions were now not only restricted to the Soviet Union and United states, but amongst multiple other nations of the globe. It became a general consensus that a notion of ‘peace’ was sought globally, hence, the emergence of détente. The nature of this idea in the short term conveyed itself to be an act of change for the conflicting nations, however, in the long term it proved to be a blatant continuity, ultimately acting as a ‘mechanism for domestic fortification’ which prompted a more divisive tone. It became apparent that by the prime 1970’s Cold War countries were now seeking a state of relaxation in political and international tension, détente, through measures of diplomacy and negotiation. Actions, influences and treaties such as the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the establishment of SALT 1, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 and the Shanghai Communique of 1972 evidently help reinforce that the concept of détente brought a period focused on lessening the tensions of international relations and ultimately achieve political relation for the future of the Cold War, although the success and impact of this era is abhorred by many historians who have concluded that détente didn’t activate any positive changes to the cold war, and was conclusively a failure.
The Cold War was a “competition” between the Soviet Union and the United States of America, occurring from approximately 1945 through 1991. The Cold War received its name because it did not evolve into armed warfare or physical conflict. The 46-year-long war began immediately after the conclusion of World War II. Some believe it was Joseph Stalin who started it by saying, “He hated westerners in the same way as Hitler hated Jews.” In contrast, others believe that it was America who had started the war, by stating, “Among democratic countries it was only in the USA that presidents were elected against communism.” To others, the bombing of Hiroshima, which took place on August 6, 1945, sent a signal to the Soviets that the USA had used the atomic bomb on Japan, and would not hesitate using it on other countries. The war, characterized by the icy relationship between the two countries, included a number of aspects: the economic impact on both sides, the Space Race, the strong military coalitions, the sophisticated weapons development, and the steep financial costs. The Cold War ended in 1991, during Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure. Gorbachev introduced Glasnost, the allowing of western goods to be imported, and perestroika, the easing of the government’s control on the economy. The reality set in that the Cold War was over when the Soviet Union dissolved into 15 separate and independent countries
For almost 15 years the U.S. has been in a constant state of war. Various terrorist organizations, from al-Quade, to the Taliban, and now Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have maintained our focus so much so that we have almost forgotten about prior threats. Ten years prior to the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the Cold War had officially concluded, ending almost 45 years of server political and military tensions between the U.S. and Russian following WWII. During this period of time, Russia was the central focus of the U.S., although China and North Korea also posed a significant threat. While terrorist threats and activates remain a significant threat, Russia recent annexation of Crimea proves that they are still a very
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 .
The Cold War, which is often dated from 1945 to 1989, was a constant state of political and military tension between powers in the West, dominated by the United States with NATO among its allies, and powers in the East, dominated by the Soviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact. The development of Nuclear Weapons and long range shooting missiles by the United States gave a lot of fear and caused mass destruction. The Cold War came about after World War II when America used their atomic bombs on Japan. America fearing of a communist attack, and Soviet Russia disliking capitalism. The Cold War described a world where the two major powers, each possessing nuclear weapons and threatened with equally assured destruction. The development of a Civil Defense policy in the United States promised citizens survival opportunities in the event of a nuclear attack. This lesson connects this 1950’s policy with today’s national policy regarding survival during a biological or chemical terrorist attack.
At the close of World War Two in 1945, the United States entered another kind of war, the Cold War, which did not involve two adversaries in open battle fields using bullets against the Soviet Union. Throughout the Cold War, incidents fueled feelings of anxiety, mistrust and pride.
World War 2 was both tragic but also a growing period for Canadians. Germany and The Soviet Union were in a non-aggression pact and were trying to take over Europe. Along with their greed for power, Hitler the leader of Germany did not like the Jewish, and sent almost all of them to concentration camps where they were put to work. Those who were too weak to work were put in gas chambers and put to death. Hitler soon broke his pact with Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. Hitler was then faced with a two front war against the Soviet Union and the Canadian, British and later the United States. At home in Canada many things were happening within society. Women became more involved and became more independent and respected. The government
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 Cold War consist of tensions between the Soviets and the U.S. vying for dominance, and expansion throughout the world. Their complete different ideologies and vision of the postwar prevented them from working together. Stalin wants to punish Germany and make them pay outrageous sum of money for reparation. However, Truman has a different plan than Stalin. Truman believes that industrialization and democracy in Germany and throughout the world would ensure postwar stability. Stalin also wanted to spread communism throughout the country so Truman came up with Containment Policy in order to stop the spread of communism. Their different ideologies caused them to become rival.
After World War II, the practices of Communism, a political ideology, quickly spread from the Soviet Union to other countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. The United States, a country that practices democracy, avidly made it known to other nations that it opposed communist practices. In response to the rapid number of nations that were beginning to practice it, the United States set a goal to limit the amount of nations that practiced it. A poorly planned invasion by the United States on Cuba and certain locations of nuclear weapons increased tensions in the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. This brought the world closer to a full out nuclear war than ever before. From choosing sides in the Ogaden War to opposing views on free enterprise, many conflicts arose between the United States and the Soviet Union which helped increase tension levels between the two nations. Ultimately, these contests led to the global awareness of the dangers of nuclear weapons.
The U.S. learned greatly after having been declared the victor of the Cold War. Retired four-star U.S. Army general Colin Powell said, “The long bitter years of the Cold War are over. America and her allies have won; totally, decisively, and overwhelmingly” (Reed 343). The Cold War started after World War II in 1947 and ended in 1991. The U.S. underwent a political war with the Soviet Union in hopes of advancing more rapidly in certain fields, such as nuclear weapons and space crafts. Avoiding nuclear conflicts and managing the economy in order to successfully fund research in order to out-advance the Soviet Union were just two conflicts the U.S. faced during the Cold War. The U.S. consistently stayed ahead of the Soviet Union during the arms race, and had adequate funding to do so, so therefore they were victorious in that area of the war. After the Cold War, the Soviet Union essentially collapsed due to its bad economy and all of its states gradually declared independence from the USSR. Lastly, the U.S. emerged as a superpower because its economy ended up being stronger in the end than in the beginning, as well as being in possession of a stockpile of nuclear weapons, which gave the U.S. a strong strategic position. The United States won the Cold War due to its stable economy, allowing it to stay ahead of the Soviet Union financially, competitively and politically, thus resulting in the U.S. emerging as the victor at the end of war.
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.
By the late years of the 20th century it became clear that the Cold War had ended with the eventual disbandment and collapse of the Soviet Union. This was commonly attributed to several different factors. During the Reagan Administration, it became clear that the Soviet Union could no longer sustain a full scale cold war. Economic troubles within the country as well as the waste of resources on conflict in areas such as Afghanistan ran the Soviet Union dry of expendable resources. There were also many humanitarian issues that had to be dealt with in the USSR. Mikhail Gorbachev cut further into an already dwindling defense budget in favor of social programs to help the people of his country. The relations between the USSR and the US in the mid
During the early parts of the Cold War, American psychologist Charles Osgood noticed that the hegemons of the bipolar world faced many obstacles to cooperation, mainly due to the psychological perception and hostile images that the United States and the Soviet Union had of each other. Because of contrasting ideologies, beliefs, and propaganda, it was near impossible for the competing powers to trust each other. This made even innocent gestures and concessions viewed with doubt and not taken at face value. Osgood therefore developed the GRIT strategy, which aimed at using small but significant unilateral concessions to build mutual trust between the two powers, so that tensions could be reduced and negotiations could be made in good faith (Osgood, 1962). In the years that followed, there were different attempts made by both powers to use concessions in this way, yet a number of them were viewed with extreme skepticism (Kaiser, 1980). In this essay, I argue that, while many components of the GRIT strategy were attempted throughout the cold war, it was not until Mikhail Gorbachev came to power that it was properly applied in the presence of sufficient favorable conditions.