A History of the Cold War

2802 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of President Reagan on the Cold War

“As crossfire raked his body, the second boy fell back onto the strip of now churning sand. Wounded, moaning for help, he lay only 300 yards from a unit of United States troops. But the American commanding general issued orders: ‘Stand fast. Do nothing.’ Fifty-five minutes later Peter Fetcher was dead, and his body was carried away into the recesses of the city from which he had tried to escape.” This excerpt, from The Cold War: From Yalta To Cuba by Robin W. Winks shows how, despite its name, the Cold War was anything but cold.

World War II is considered by most experts to have ended in 1945, when the Japanese signed an unconditional surrender to Allied powers. Although World War II ended, the Cold War was just warming up. A very big part of the Cold War was the arms race. When the United States of America dropped the first atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we had displayed our power and jumped ahead in the race. This was a huge surprise to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. They grew uneasy and distrustful of the US and other hidden powers we may possess (Trueman). After World War II ended, Europe was left in shambles. The US, not nearly as devastated as the rest of the world, developed the Marshall Plan to try and rebuild Europe. While the main goal of this plan was to help Europe rise from the ashes, a secondary goal was to stop the spread of Communism that Stalin was trying to promote (Marshall). Upset and frightened by the attempt to spread American ideas, the USSR developed the Zhdanov Doctrine. This doctrine “claimed that the United States was seeking global domination through American imperialism, as well as the collapse of democracy. On the other hand, according to this Doctrine, the Sovie...

... middle of paper ...

..., Ambassador. "LOOKING BACK: The 1986 Reykjavik Summit." Arms Control Association. Arms Control Association, Sept. 2006. Web. 05 Sept. 2015.

Il, Theodoros, J.D.-M.A. "How Did the Cold War Start and End?" Today I Found Out RSS. Today I Found Out, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.

LaFeber, Walter. America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-1971. Second ed. New York: Wiley, 1972. Print.

"The Marshall Plan." The Marshall Plan. George C. Marshall Foundation, 2009. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.

"Treaty Between The US And The USSR On The Elimination Of Their Intermediate-Range And Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty)." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.

Trueman, Chris. "The Cold War." The Cold War. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 01 Sept. 2015.

Winks, Robin W. The Cold War: From Yalta To Cuba. New York: Macmillan, 1964. Print.

Show More
Related

  • The History of the Cold War

    4160 Words  | 9 Pages

    The History of the Cold War The Cold War is the term used to describe the intense rivalry between the United States and its allies and the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics and its allies. The Soviet Union and its allies were refereed to as the Eastern Bloc and the United States and its allies were referred to as the Western Bloc. The Cold War period lasted from the mid-1940’s until the late 1980’s. During this period international politics were shaped by this intense rivalry between this two

    Read More

  • Cold War History

    2283 Words  | 5 Pages

    What Was The Cold War? After World War II America and Russia became superpowers. Even thought they fought together against the Nazis they soon became hostile rivals. Between 1945 and 1989 the two countries and their allies were involved in a conflict known as the Cold War. The United States and the USSR never used weapons directly against each other. So how was the Cold War fought? The Cold War was fought through Proxy Wars, the Nuclear Arms Race, spying, strong words and threats, prestige, and the

    Read More

  • Guatemala as Cold War History, by Richard H. Immerman

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    population. Democracy, always a fragile plant anywhere, seemed ready to blossom throughout Latin America. Nowhere was this change more amply illustrated than in Guatemala, where Jorge Ubico ruled as dictator from 1931 until 1944. Ubico, a former minister of war, carried out unprecedented centralization of the state and repression of his opponents. Although he technically ended debt peonage, the 1934 vagrancy law required the carrying of identification cards and improved ... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    of American history was analyzed. The Cold War is rampant with American foreign policy and influential in shaping the modern world. Strategies of Containment outlines American policy from the end of World War II until present day. Gaddis outlines the policies of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, including policies influenced by others such as George Kennan, John Dulles, and Henry Kissinger. The author, John Lewis Gaddis has written many books on the Cold War and is an avid

    Read More

  • "Guatemala as Cold War History” by Richard H. Immerman: An Analysis

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    discovered the plot and adjusted their defenses accordingly. Works Cited Immerman, R. H. Guatemala as Cold War History. Political Science Quarterly, 629. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from https://learn.uconn.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-762624-dt-content-rid-2584240_1/courses/1143-UCONN-LAMS-1190W-SECZ81-24116/guatemala%20cold%20war%281%29.pdf Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Read More

  • Perceptions of the Cold War

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    understand the Cold War. In this essay, I will analyze how people understand the Cold War today. I will explain to what extent their definition or understanding of the Cold War differs from the definition provided. I will explain why the respondents’ understanding of the Cold War is different from the way the Cold War is defined in this course or explain why the respondents’ definition is similar to the way the Cold War is defined in this course. This course defines the Cold War as the geopolitical

    Read More

  • John Lewis Gaddis : The Cold War

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Times, he is considered to be the “dean of Cold War Historians.” Gaddis serves as a professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University. He is well known and renounced for lecturing on the History of the Cold War and grand strategy. The Cold War: A New History is his most recent publication and he has six publications preceding the book. Yale has one of the most renounced, and well-respected History departments in the country. The department of History at Yale has over 70 total professors, allowing

    Read More

  • Cold War Analysis

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his book Cold War: The American Crusade against World Communism, James Warren discusses the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, its causes, its consequences, and its future. Warren also analyzes why the United States was so afraid of communism and how this fear controlled both U.S. domestic and foreign policy. In George Washington’s Farewell Address, he warned future leaders to avoid foreign entanglements. However, the United States strayed away from this policy in 1941 after

    Read More

  • The Cycles of American History by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cycles of American History by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. The book The Cycles of American History by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. is a very interesting book about the history of America. The book was published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. The author Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., graduate and professor of history from Harvard College class of 1938, is the son of the famous historian Arthur Schlesinger Sr. Arthur Jr. is known for his books about U.S. presidents and their policies. He served as Special

    Read More

  • Cold War Thesis

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    Topic: Afghanistan and the Cold War Thesis Statement: The cold war was fought on many fronts but the role that Afghanistan had in it would be one of the most pivotal conflicts that would decide the fate of the Cold War’s reign over the two powerful nations in America and Soviet Union. Primary Sources: Carter, J. (2014). Speech on Afghanistan (January 4, 1980)—Miller Center. [online] Millercenter.org. Available at: http://millercenter.org/president/carter/speeches/speech-3403 [Accessed 15 Sep. 2014]

    Read More

  • Forrest Gump Historical Accuracy

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie, Forrest Gump, covers many decades of American history. The eras covered are also very prominent times in American history. They were very formative times in American history. The accuracy will be analyzed in this paper. The historical topics covered include: The Vietnam War, Watergate, the Hippie Movement, the AIDS epidemic, Integration, and communist China and the effect that had on America. The historical accuracy and depth will be critically viewed in this paper. I will take culture

    Read More

  • The Cold War: An Inspiration for Years to Come

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cold War: An Inspiration for Years to Come All throughout time and history people have been at war with each other at one point or another. War can, truthfully, at times be inescapable and considered by some historians as a natural instinct, an instinct that every human being possess. Throughout history mighty empires and governments have collapsed due to the damages inflicted on by a war, yet in spite of this, some have managed to face the odds and make it through, staggering along as if nothing

    Read More

  • The Effects of the Cold War on the Russian Economy

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Effects of the Cold War on the Russian Economy As we know now the cold war and the race of super- powers certainly had an influence on the Russian economy. Different historians argue a different time period for the cold war. Some of them say that the cold war has its roots in the causes of the first world war. Nevertheless for this essay it will be assumed the most common dates, with the start of the cold war in 1945. There were several reason and parties that caused the cold war to start.

    Read More

  • From the Cold War to Today

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    was referring to the conservatism’s victory of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Chapter 31 revolves around globalization which “transformed” the U.S. as a nation. Although the cold war inhibited the trade between the U.S. and Soviet Union, it also helped America to move toward globalization. The globalization of America emboldened the involvement of the U.S. in foreign affairs. The involvement of America on abroad issues led to war on terror and economic crisis. As usual, different

    Read More

  • Romero The Cold War Summary

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    is the question of how historians define the Cold War, what exactly is it, and how can historians effectively study it without creating convoluted argument with which becomes over complicated. This questions eventually

    Read More

More about A History of the Cold War

Open Document