During World War II, the United States and Soviet Union fought together as allies against the Axis powers. However, the relationship between the two was increasingly tense. The US had been concerned about Soviet communism and of Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical rule of Russia. The Soviets did not like the Americans refusal to treat the USSR as a part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which costed thousands of deaths of Russians. After the war ended, these grievances turned into a sense of mutual distrust between the two. The Soviets expansion in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans’ fears of a possible Russian plan to try to take over. Although many people believe that the Cold War began off of no one …show more content…
Both the US and Soviet Union developed technology and used these new nuclear powerz to build many weapons. The charts presented in document 7 depict the build up of long range bombers during the early stages before the war. As years went on, the US and Soviet Union both had an increasing number of weapons such as ballistic missiles and long range bombers. In document 8, President John Kennedy states that there is, “unmistakable evidence that a series of offensive missile sites are now being built” (Doc 8). This increase of nuclear development forced both the US and Soviets to become prepared and angry at what was possible to come. Along with offensive purposes, these nuclear weapons were made as a defensive tactic, according to Document 9. If one side had weapons, the other had to make more in order to be more …show more content…
Other nations may have been angered at the growing alliances. For example, the US was hoping to become friendly with Greece and Turkey, aiming to give them 400 million dollars in aid. The United States wanted to give this money to try and help free them from Soviet rule. The Soviets, being on the other end, became angered. An example of an alliance was the North Atlantic Treaty. This was signed by the United States, Canada, and ten nations of Western Europe in 1948. This document stated that if a nation were to attack one of the nations aligned with the treaty, then it would be considered an attack against them all. Each would take action to protect, and if necessary, use armed forces. In Document 5, there is a clear showing of the alliances involving the Soviets. The Soviets took part in the Warsaw Pact, which included the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact consisted of mainly countries surrounding Russia, which prevented the invasion of Russia. These alliances were key components into the start of the Cold War, angering both
The United States and The Soviet Union were originally joined together by the want to defeat The Nazi army, in 1941-1945. The alliance remained, and strengthened, among the two until the end of World War II. At the end of World War II, a rupture between the two occurred. The differences began earlier, but there was a straw that broke the camels back. The reason The United States and The Soviet Union’s alliance did not work out is because The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The Soviet Union proved to be faulty, and they were never truly allies.
Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began with mutual distrust in World War II, intense rivalry, and conflicting ideologies. Cold War was fought with four major weapons. The weapons were propaganda, economic and military aid to devastated nations after World War II, arms race, and the alliances. Propagandas were used for containment and to raise the people’s morale and patriotism. Economic aid of the devastated nations was also used as a method of containment, as it prevented the desperate nations from falling under communism. Arms race was one way of representing the nation’s military pride and the ability to retaliate when attacked, although the arms were not developed to dominate world power. Finally, alliances were created and its scale was compared to verify the superior side of the Cold War.
...ills and built bomb shelters in preparation for possible nuclear warfare. The U.S. also built up its army and its air force, just to be prepared. Overseas, the U.S. enforced the Eisenhower Doctrine, which was a threat warning communist countries not to attack the Middle East, lest they wanted to begin and all out war. The United States also engaged in an Arms Race with the Soviet Union to see who could build the most powerful and destructive weapons and technologies. Brinkmanship was effective in preventing war because neither the United States or the Soviet Union was really prepared to fight yet another war.
The USSR responded with a similar military alliance The Warsaw Pact. Cuba was an island near America. A loss of influences in business and colonies in Cuba caused the USA to become angry. When Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, the USA ha... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Cold War was a post-World War II struggle between the United States. and its allies and the group of nations led by the Soviet Union. Direct military conflict did not occur between the two superpowers, but intense economic and diplomatic struggles erupted in the country. Different interests led to mutual suspicion and hostility in a rising philosophy. The United States played a major role in the ending of the Cold War.
The Soviet Union believed the United States had a lead in nuclear weapons and would have a monopoly if controls were approved. The Soviet Union pictured itself as a defender of peace and accused the United States of planning a third world war. During the late 1940's and the 1950's, the Cold War became increasingly tense. Each side accused the other of wanting to rule the world (Walker 388).
The Soviet Union and the United States served as Allies during World War II. At the end of the war however each side wanted to deal with the aftermath differently. The United States was in favor of a peaceful and cooperative relationship with Germany and their Allies. The Soviet Union wanted revenge on the crimes and atrocities that were committed against them. The United States wanted to push democracy in Eastern Europe yet the Soviets countered this by saying the United States was hypocritical, since at that time the United States supported the Latin countries that were governed by dictatorships. The Soviets were under the impression that this was an effort to boost the UNITED STATES economy.
After the Korean War, it was believed that the United States’ nuclear build-up had played a key role in achieving armistice. At this time, early in President Eisenhower's term in office, he had announced his policy of nuclear superiority. During this time period of nuclear build up, the Soviet Union began to find ways to overcome deficiencies in their strategic technologies2. Not soon after Eisenhower made his policy known, Russia became the first country to successfully test ICBMs, or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. These tactical nuclear weapons are land based rocket propelled vehicles capable of intercontinental range in excess of 4000 nautical miles....
After WWII ended the Soviet Union began to do its expansion into Eastern Europe. This feed the paranoia of America thinking that the Soviet Union wanted to take over the world. The Soviets did not like the Americans interventional approach to foreign relations. They felt that they should be able to rule their country however they saw fit without being slapped on the hands by an outsider. The fact of the matter is that both sides had their reasons of hating the other and both sides were to blame for cold war and in some respect it might have even been inevitable.
What would our world be like if the Soviets and communism took over the world? It would be chaos. Thanks to the U.S effort on what was called “containment”, communism stayed in Russia for the most part. It started after World War II ended, when the U.S, and the Soviet Union were on opposite ends of what they believed society should be like. In the U.S, the government believed capitalism should be the universal government, while the Soviet Union beloved in communism. Communism, was a government where individuals didn’t own property or land, instead the community owned them, and everybody was equal. Germany was also split in half, and the Allied powers controlled West Germany
War is an idea that has existed since the dawn of humanity, and with every war there are goals and motives, the Cold War is no different. The turmoil of the first World War in set the global stage for the future of relations between the United States, Russia, Britain and other countries. As the Russian civil war grew fiercer, allied forces, including U.S. forces, laid foot on Russian soil, at which point things took a turn for the worst. The Cold War was a war of competition, in every sense of the word; and although both the United States and the Soviet Union were teetering-tottering on the brink of war for many years after the first World War, ultimately the United States is to blame for initiation of the Cold War, as the United States adjusted
Since the Russian Revolution in 1905, the world housed suspicions regarding communism. These suspicions grew through both World War I, blossoming into a direct confrontation between Communist Russia and Capitalist America. Following the acts of World War II, the Cold War erupted. During the Cold War, United States foreign policy grew gradually aggressive, reflecting the public sentiment.
The post-war world left the Soviets and the United States in an ideological power struggle. The origin of the cold war is hard to pinpoint. There were several issues and disagreements that led to it. The political differences between the 2 nations were absolute opposites. America was a democracy, a system that allows its citizens to choose the political party in which runs the government. The Communists were led by one of the most vicious dictators in human history, Joseph Stalin.
Around the world, many countries did choose to ally themselves with the United States, but it was soon clear that the USSR would not be among them. The Soviets were developing their own nuclear program at the same time as the Manhattan Project was underway, and Soviet espionage provided them with crucial information from the Manhattan Project that helped their progress (Walker, 67). When the United States used the atomic bombs on Japan, the USSR believed that the United States would seek to threaten Soviet interests. Instead of simplifying the growing conflict between the United States and the USSR, the use of atomic weapons on Japan only made the situation more complex.
When Stalin began to invade his neighboring countries, many Americans believed that he truly was just trying to protect himself from future attacks (Document H), but it soon became evident that he just wanted the power. The United States and the Soviet Union had an alliance during World War II because they had a mutual enemy, but in truth, they were foes. As they fought against the fascist countries, their differences created more and more tension and suspicion. They worked together and defeated the fascist threat, then returned to the rocky relationship that they had initially, only that it had more animosity. Once they did not have to tolerate each other when World War II ended, they both committed actions that the other opposed with until eventually all they had was antagonism, antagonism that led to the Cold War.