The Cold War and Its Effect on The History of America

1712 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Bolsheviks in 1917

The Cold War was the ideological conflict between the two superpowers of the world, the democratic United States of America and the communist Soviet Union. For over fifty years the two superpowers fought each other indirectly for power and control of the world. The Cold War started after the end of the Second World War in 1945 when the eyes of both superpowers were no longer looking at Nazi Germany, but instead at each other and the fate of the rest of the world. The Cold War began after the Second World War had ended, although tensions between the two new superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, had been lasting since 1917 with the start of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. With the start of the Second World War, tensions were put aside to combat the Nazi threat in the Second World War.

After the end of the Second World War, the Potsdam Conference was held by Great Britain, Soviet Union, and the United States in July 1945 to discuss the future of Germany and the rest of Europe. The outcome became the issue of who would control Europe for the next two years. By 1947, Europe was separated into half: Democratic Western Europe and Communist Eastern Europe. During the same year in March, President Truman announces the Truman Doctrine that will aid nations to defend themselves against Communism, by granting “four hundred million dollars.” The following year in April 1948, the Marshall Plan is passed, providing financial aid to Western Europe to prevent Communism. Then in 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is created, while the Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb, and China adopts Communism. In February of 1950, Joe McCarthy begins communist witch hunt known as “McCarthyism” in the United States, meanwh...

... middle of paper ...

...learnhistory.org.uk. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. .

Oh, Joyce, and Amanda Latham. "SENATOR JOSEPH MCCARTHY, MCCARTHYISM, AND THE WITCH HUNT." Cold War Museum. The Cold War Museum. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. .

"Space Race Exhibition." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. National Air and Space Museum, 2002. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. .

"Who Was Joseph McCarthy?" Http://www.mtholyoke.edu. Mount Holyoke College. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. .

"World Internet Usage Statistics News and World PopulationStats." Internet World Stats - Usage and Population Statistics. Miniwatts Marketing Group, 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • The Great Fear

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    The leader of this modern day witch-hunt was Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, who was a dishonest and corrupt man. “Although a junior senator, he refused to follow Senate rules and customs, specialized in malicious attacks on his colleagues, and frequently thwarted committee work by trying to inject trivial and extraneous matters into committee discussions,” Oakley says, describing McCarthy’s ethics. McCarthy worked his way up the political ladder not by honestly winning but with deceit.

    Read More

  • DBQ: Cold War

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Reasons For The United States Involvement In The Vietnam War

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    During 1940-1970, the USSR and the USA were the world’s leading superpowers. After WW2, it was the US money that helped rebuild nearly all of Western Europe, putting nearly half a dozen countries into debt. They opened trade and helped Europe’s ravaged economy to get back onto its feet. They did so by creating the ‘Marshall Plan’ on June the 5th, 1947. The plans aim was to reconstruct Western Europe and at the same time to stop Communism spreading to them – the Americans were avid believers in the Domino Theory, and believed that communism would take over all of Europe if they did not intervene. They also created other policies such as the Truman doctrine on March the 12th, 1947 (which is a set of principles that state that the US as the worlds ‘leading country’ will help out other democratic governments worldwide) and NATO, 4th of April 1949.

    Read More

  • How Did the Cold War Affect the Politics of Germany and Italy?

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cold War was the most important historic event in the 20th century after the Second World War, from 1945 till 1991 between two most powerful countries in that period – Soviet Union and USA. The Cold War invested a lot in world politics. What is the Cold War? This was a war for dominance in the world. In 1945 the USA was the only one country in the world that had the nuclear weapons. But in the 1949 USSR started to learn their nuclear weapons. In further developments forced the USSR was soon created by nuclear, and then thermonuclear weapons. (Isaacs J, 2008) Fight has become very dangerous for all.

    Read More

  • Is Ronald Reagan Under or Overrated as a President?

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War began in the mid 1940’s between the United States and the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. The Cold War was clearly marked between two former World War II allies. As the Cold War continued there were many self-serving propaganda. When John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency in 1960, crises between USSR and the Cuban erupted.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Joseph McCarthy and Communism

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    World Book, 2014 -. Web. The Web. The Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Cold War

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    During 1945 and early in 1946, the Soviet Union cut off nearly all contacts between the West and the occupied territories of Eastern Europe. In March 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned that "an iron curtain has descended across the Continent" of Europe. He made popular the phrase Iron Curtain to refer to Soviet barriers against the West (Kennedy 1034). Behind these barriers, the U.S.S.R. steadily expanded its power. In 1946, the U.S.S.R. organized Communist governments in Bulgaria and Romania. In 1947, Communists took control of Hungary and Poland. Communists seized full power in Czechoslovakia early in 1948. These countries became Soviet satellite nations controlled by the U.S.S.R. Albania already had turned to Communism. Yugoslavia also joined the Communist bloc. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia had helped drive out the Germans near the end of the war. Communists led by Josip Broz Tito then took over the government (Cold War). East and West opposed each other in the United Nations. In 1946, the U.S.S.R. rejected a U.S. proposal for an international agency to control nuclear energy production and research. 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.

    Read More

  • The Cold War: Caused by the United States and the Soviet Union

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Cold War and its Impact Throughout the World

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War the main problem was communism. Although the United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two, during the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union were known as enemies. The Soviet leaders bragged to other nations that communism would “scrape apart” free-enterprise systems around the world. This attitude angered the capitalists which led into the fifty year Cold War. The United States tried creating many tactics and strategies to contain the “bleeding” of communism, but during the cold war, communism spread faster then it could be restrained. The United States used the Marshall Plan , the Trueman Doctrine, and the Berlin Airlift to help lead people to a capitalist form of government.

    Read More

  • The Causes Of The Cold War

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    The cold war was a conflict between capitalist’s nations and communist nations following World War 2. The main reason the Cold War was started was over an ideological power struggle between atheistic communism and democratic capitalism. The principle players were the former Soviet Union (Communism) and the United States (Capitalism). The Cold War began in 1948 after Germany was divided between the western allies and the Soviets. What motivates a nation to become involved in world affairs is the idea of wanting other nations to adopt the same form of government.

    Read More

  • Cold War

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cold War's Impact on America Politically, Socially, and Economically

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the Soviet Union approaches Berlin from the East, the allied forces invade from the west. Hitler’s German war-machine was crumbling. The United States had to make an enormous decision. Should they attack the Red Army of the Soviet Union? Should they keep the increasingly shaky alliance with the Russians and end the war in Europe? America chose to remain allies, resulting in a decision that affected the world for the next 46 years. World War 2 had concluded but now there was a new enemy, the Soviet Communist.

    Read More

  • Containment Policy

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the conventional Western view, the Cold War was a conflict between two superpowers, caused by Soviet aggression, in which the U.S. tried to contain the Soviet Union and protect the world from it.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Cold War Essay

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    Opalisime After World War II there was a strong anti-communist movement in America for decades prior to the 1950s. Nuclear weapons also sent a shot at distrust and fear between America and Russia. Information about nuclear weapons is very limited to the public. There are some facts, details, and reasons on why this war happened, the effects of the Cold War, and how society reacted to the War. It began in the 1945-1948 timeframe and ended in 1989, having been a dispute over the division of Europe.

    Read More

More about The Cold War and Its Effect on The History of America

Open Document