The Cold War wasn’t a physical war fought between two opposing sides. Instead it was the name given to the relationship between Eastern European countries and Western European countries along with the USA. This “Cold” relationship between the USA and the USSR commenced and developed after World War Two. Although, naturally, one would expect these two allies during the war to have a strong, pleasant relationship with one another, this was not the case; there was a growing rivalry between the two instead. My essay will explore the ideas and causes leading up to the Cold War, and will conclude on the main reason for the beginning of the Cold War. The USA and the USSR were two supreme powers after winning the Second World War. Together, …show more content…
Still, some individual rights were taken from people, under this form of communist government, such as the freedom of speech, and though they had the right to vote, there was only one political party they could vote for; communists. The rising suspicion, combined with the differences in their beliefs was a long term cause of the Cold War. Although it had no direct impact which triggered the Cold War, it did affect the relationship between the USA and the USSR to a great extent, and was therefore an underlying cause of the Cold War. The conflicting views of communism and capitalism were just the beginning of the increase in distrust; which could not be resolved as neither would come to a mutual agreement on which system of government was superior. This had a number of bad consequences on all shortly after, one of which was the creation of the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain wasn’t a physical object. It was a division between Eastern Europe (countries under communist rule) and Western Europe as well as the USA (independent/capitalist countries). The imaginary border divided the continent of Europe into two halves. It represented the two opposing sides; Communism led by the USSR and Capitalism, led by the USA; the two sides involved in the Cold War. The term “Iron” Curtain is used, as there would have been a lot of iron on the border physically, in the form of guns and fences. Though the growing division between the East and
The US and the USSR maintained their diplomatic relations, and yet, behaved like enemies. Many historians refer to the war as “diplomatic war”. The Cold War was defined by Fleming as “a war that is fought not in the battle field, but in the minds of men; one tries to control the minds of other.” Unlike a standard war, it was fought in the diplomatic channels and the United Nations forum. As the Cold War progressed, its nature underwent many changes during over four decades, however, three primary characteristics of the Cold War were recognized by the historians C. Kegley and E. Wittkopf, they are the
The Cold War is one of the most controversial debates throughout history. Between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, The Cold War was ideological clash between the two superpowers. The democratic USA and the communist USSR fought for over 50 years over, in competition with one another for control and power and dominance. Tensions between the US and the USSR were prominent before the Cold War because the United States believed that freedom and democracy would meet an inevitable end under Communist rule, but with the beginning of the World War II, starting in 1917 with the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the two superpowers decided to put aside the animosity to battle the German Nazi’s threat. Chris Trueman claimed that, “America had depicted the Soviet Union as almost the devil-incarnate. The Soviet Union had depicted America likewise so their ’friendship’ during the war was simply the result of having a mutual enemy” (Trueman)
• Although allies during World War II, the United States and Soviet Union entered into a period of distrust and competition after the War. Because the two never fought directly, this was known as the Cold War.
During the Cold War the powers of the Eastern and Western Bloc were states of tension after World War II. The war between the United States and the Soviet Union had lasted about half of the second century where there were many stages to finish this war. There are several documents and speeches that help explain and support what had occurred during the Cold War. It had brought heightened tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster. The Cold War brought many effect around the world such as economic depression, divisions, and fear.
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
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
Document Review Regardless of the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II, the cooperation found during a time of war began deteriorating due to the differences of the two nations. Soviet leaders claimed that communism and capitalism were unable to exist peacefully. Tensions grew strong as the USSR began acting out, causing the beginning of the Cold War and eventually the “Red Scare” in America, resulting in a change in foreign policy. Hints of the Cold War began in WWII as the multiple delays in creating another front in Europe made the Soviets suspicious of their Western Allies’ motives.
During World War II, the United States, Britain, and Russia all worked together to take down Hitler. Although after the war, the coordination between the U.S. and Russia became extremely tense which inevitably lead to the Cold War. The U.S. was worried that Russia would spread communism after World War II. Russia was concerned with the U.S. arms increase and intervention in international affairs. The distrust between the two nations resulted in the Cold war which lasted until 1991.
and the Soviet Union after World War II. Between the years of 1948 and 1991 the Cold War
The United States’ view of government was the opposite of communism. Communist government forces all property to be publicly owned, there is no room for social movement, all individuals to be paid accordingly and there to be no rich or poor individuals in society. Because the United States felt threatened by form of government they produced what is known as containment, to reduce the spread of communism. Containment was a policy produced to in a since contain what there is of communism and prevent it from spreading. It wasn’t unknown after World War II that the United States was the greatest world power.
When World War II ended with an Allied victory, a new problem arose; Communism was swiftly spreading to other countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. Communism is a social system where all property is owned by the government in a classless society. The United States believed that communism took away many individual rights of those under its rule. This therefore violated the principles stated in the United States Constitution which gave all people certain natural rights. On the contrary, the Union of Soviet
Within this book, Martin McCauley explains how the tensions between the Soviets and Americans arise and how it escalated into the Cold War. It also includes a timeline of historical events that are important to the unfolding of the Cold War, a list of important people involved during the Cold War’s formative years, and a list of important documents from the formulating years of the Cold War, 1941-1949.
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 ‘Cold War’ is one of the most interesting ‘wars’ fought in world history. The sheer number of countries both directly and indirectly involved is enough to pose the question – To what extent was the Cold War a truly Global War? This essay will examine this idea. It will identify two main areas of argument, focusing on the earlier part of the conflict (1945-1963). Firstly it will examine the growing US and Soviet influence in the world post 1945. Secondly it will examine three main conflicts, the Berlin Blockade, the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that these two super powers were involved in. Overall this essay will argue that the Cold War was no doubt a truly global war.
The end of the cold war signified a new era of history that has changed the entire world. The face of Europe and Asia has changed dramatically. Vast changes have been felt socially, politically, and especially economically. Also the effect the cold war had on foreign policy was paramount. The effect of these changes is not only felt across the ocean but can be felt here in America. The goal of this paper is to define what the cold war specifically was, and reflect upon the various choices throughout the world as a result of the end of the cold war.