The Cold War: The Iron Curtain

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Recommended: US foreign policy during the Cold War briefly

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.).
In the United States the main concern of the government was maintain the loyalty of their citizens. This was made even more evident by the second red scare that happened post WWII. The reason behind this scare was that information was leaked that there was espionage going on in the US and this caused Americans to fear that this will eventually lead to the overthrow of the government. Another fear was the rapid spread of communism into countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. As concern of the public grew in regards to the spread of communism the government started to adjoin more foreign policy geared towards solving that predicament. The United States believed that it was there responsibility as superpower to protect democracy, and be leading example to other nations of protecting the rights of individuals. As a result the idea of containment was formed. The word “containment” to describe stopping the spread of communism was coined by George Kennen. The Truman Doctrine incorporated the ideology of containment and put it into offensive mode. The Iron Curtain is term used to describe the separation between sovereign countries and the countries under the Soviet Union. As the American agenda shifted more towards the focus of foreign policy; this changed was inconsistent with America policy in the past which was mostly isolationism. The implementation of the Truman Doctrine caused: increase in defense spending, Marshall Plan, proxy wars both Korean and Vietnam, creation of the CIA, and the United Nations was formed. The Marshall Plan was basically money give...

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...ried to contrast their form of government form the Soviet Union. This time allowed an increase in the powers of the American government. So freedom define by most Americans is individual rights that do not infringe on the rights of others. I believe that America dealt with the communist danger in a very eloquent and efficient manner, because communism is no longer a problem for modern day society. The effects of the Cold War is still felt today, and I believe America change for the better from this Cold War, because now the government is better equipped to deal with any totalitarian government that wants to take over the world.
In Conclusion, the Cold War era was a silent war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R on the right of individuals. Eventually, the U.S. triumph over the U.S.S.R. so that’s why other nations look up to America’s democratic and capitalist system

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