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The Cold war and the War on Terror are two things that are being tied together as they are compared and contrasted for their similar and not so similar perspectives. While going through the sources I found, it became clear that some of the points of similarity and difference between two wars were the problems prior to both of these wars that increased and led to more tensions during the wars, how paranoia of the people living during this time, and how they both effect modern day America.
The start of both of these wars and the reason for the growing paranoia of the people were started by things that scared and threatened the population of the United States. One reason for the start of paranoia in the United States before the Cold war was the vast spread of communism throughout Europe and Asia after World War II. Some of the countries that quickly fell under
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Many effects of the Cold war can be seen in almost every foreign policy decisions and I think that it grew the American attitude of wanting freedom and equality because it showed the people of the United States what a communist state would look like and most people feared that because it lacked the qualities and did not align with the attitudes that American is known to hold. (Some of the qualities of America are shown through the 18 amendments and one of the attitudes of American being that you can get to great places and do great things even if you started at the bottom if you work hard.) As the effects of the Cold War can be seen faintly in many aspects of America, the war on terror has changed the life of every American. The War on Terror is yet another war that effect most to all foreign policy decisions, but the war on terror has also forever changed national security on every level and public opinion on a whole religion; those who practice
A war does not necessarily require physical weapons to fight. From 1947 to 1991, military tension and ideological conflicts held place. Cold War is defined as a state of political hostility existing between countries, characterized by threats, violent propaganda, subversive activities, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular. The causes of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union were the mutual distrust that had taken place in World War II, intense rivalry between the two super powers, and conflicting ideologies. The two superpowers differed in views of political and economic principles and were eager to spread their ideologies to other countries.
The Cold War in 1945 to 1953 brought about a period of tension and hostility due to the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period began with the end of the Second World War. The situation acquired the title for there was no physical active war between the two rivals. The probability of the tension got to be the fear of the then rise in nuclear ammunition. Things began to roll when a US based U2 sky plane got to take photos of some USSR intermediate ballistic missiles with the capability of transporting nuclear heads.
The United States had bought Alaska from Russia partly so that the tsar would not be offended by a refusal. This kind of relation between the two became a rarity later on, especially in the twentieth century. The tense ambiance of this period gave no room for a civil affiliation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. After World War II, the two nations battled it out in a conceptual war known as the Cold War. It was characterized by a competition between the nations’ political philosophies- the USSR wanted communism to dominate the world, while the US wanted democracy to prevail. However, the war did not come about suddenly- it was congealed over a period of time by multiple factors. As World War II ended, the
The political ideologies of the USA and of the Soviet Union were of profound significance in the development of the Cold War. Problems between the two power nations arose when America refused to accept the Soviet Union in the international community. The relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union was filled with mutual distrust and hostility. Many historians believe the cold war was “inevitable” between a democratic, capitalist nation and a communist Union. Winston Churchill called the cold war “The balance of terror” (1). Cold war anxieties began to build up with America and the Soviet Union advancing in the arms race for world dominance and supremacy. America feared the spread of Communism
War. Humans have thrived from war for as long as we can remember. The United States has been fighting wars ever since we found the new country in North America that we now call the United States. We fought against our selves for the freedom of others. We fought in several world wars. We have always fought. But in the late 1940's “war” changed forever. This was well known as the Cold War. Why was this so different? “ The world had never experienced anything like it. The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States was a half century of military build-up, political maneuvering for international support (Hanes, Sharon M., and Richard C. Hanes).” This means that the world has always seen war as either hand to hand combat or gun to gun combat. With soldiers and foot patrols, but this was basically an arms race. Who was to blame for this struggle? I believe that the Cold War was caused by both nations.
The cold war era is when America was at its most suspicious and paranoid. The cold war grew out of tensions that were post WWII. Two worldly super powers clashed over rivalry and one wanted to have more influence. This rivalry went for almost half of the 20th century, and led to many international incidents that almost brought both powers to a mutual destruction.
The Cold War was a very complex war. Many ideas, conflicts and emotions were going on. This was a major turning point for the word war. War became a much more powerful word. However, this war did bring the people together to work at solutions like none other. We have learned from this experience.
The effect the Cold War had on the world is astounding. Good things came out of the Cold War, as well as bad things. Economic breakdowns, amazing technological advances (Such as during the Arms Race), political rewiring, proxy wars, millions of lives lost, and a higher interest in security than ever are just a few of the ways countries have been affected. The legacies of the Cold War continue to shape and influence our lives today, and it’s important to not only understand the significance of this war-that wasn’t really a war, hence “Cold War”- but to learn about what caused it, so that we can try our best not to repeat it again in the future. There isn’t a simple cause, or just one reason, because so many events piled up onto one another to cause the clash. Let’s take a step back, and look at the background events going on that ultimately led to a period that changed the world.
The Cold War is a term developed to represent the antagonistic relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union between the mid 1940s until the end of the 1990s. The development of tension between these two countries represented two differentiating perspectives on ideological that also impacted the rest of the world. As a result, I believe the Cold War still has an impact on our world today due to the constant issue of the security dilemma as well as the current relations countries have with each other.
The Cold War was an argument between the Soviet Union and the United States of America after WWII. During WWII the USA and the Soviet Union were allies fighting a common cause: Adolph Hitler who was attempting to overthrow the surrounding countries. Although the USA and the Soviet Union were allies, the relationship between the two countries was very tense (What Was). Neither country trusted the other. After WWII their relationship became even more tense due to the building of new weapons capable of destroying entire countries.
The United States and the Allied Powers faced many challenges at the end of WWII. America's policy was one that contained the spread of communism in Eastern Europe. Russia, under Lenin's rule called for a world revolution and brought the United States into it. It was not until after WWII, that the cold war really began, when the political power of the world shifted from the center of Europe to Moscow and Washington. The Cold War began after the collapse of Germany in May 1945(http://www.coldwar.org/indexrus.html). The creation of the cold war came from the disagreements for postwar Europe and the Far East. Each superpower, the United States, Britain, France and Russia had their own idea of how postwar Europe should look, and many of their ideas clashed. The Cold War arose not from one isolated event, but from the different ideologies and interests between the Soviet Union and the west. Also the Russian government was seeking revenge on the United States because the United States did not enter the war effort soon enough and that caused for more Russian casualties.
According to Elaine Tyler May in her article Security against Democracy: The Legacy of the Cod War at Home, the cold war made an impact on Americans state of mind. During the nuclear arms race, many Americans became paranoid about their own country as well as foreigners . Instead of trying to get rid of this situation and mediating it , America decides to join this race, which only fuels the fire. At the same, American citizens were living their lives in fear everyday. Citizens were preparing themselves in case of an attack, as a result of the government doing nothing to try to protect America. Elaine Tyler May also states that the media back then was only fueling this phobia to grow. For example, the Los Angeles Times showing hypothetical bomb targets if the Soviets were to attack in Los Angeles. Some Americans, who were considering the possibility of a nuclear war, modified their homes into concrete to resist an atomic blast, created backyard bunkers, or even sheltered in their basements. In addition, whether you were for or against the buildup of nuclear weapons, fear would be present.
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.
To conclude, the cold war had an enormous effect on nearly every aspect of American life. With varying results, some were good and others were bad. I sense that the Cold war was helpful to us as a nation. Russian competition pushed the U.S. toward improvements in technology, military, science, and education. In a world with 2 superpowers the U.S. was driven to be better than the competitor. But now we are alone at the top and there is nowhere to go but down. Hopefully the termination of the U.S.S.R. didn’t open up a spot for a new and better world power to emerge in the near future.
From when World War II ended in 1945, all the way up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cold War was the center of attention of international affairs. It was a struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. From an American view the Cold War was a mostly a war on communism. The US caused and maintained the Cold War, the US is to blame for the Cold War for disparish of the communist Soviet Union in support of the political and economic systems.