Cold War America

746 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Communism and capitalism comparison

After World War II, America and the Soviet Union became two of the most powerful nations in the world. The two superpowers disagreed in their ways of government and economics. The United States was a capitalist country, and with the Soviet being a communist country they ran things almost in the complete opposite direction which lead to a conflict in their relationship. During the time the Soviet Union won control of Eastern Europe and the chaos of the Berlin Airlift the Cold War broke out.
The Cold War was an issue that influenced many aspects in American society for decades. During The Cold War America was going through a rough stage. With a war just ending and communism spreading by the minute it became hard for Americans to trust, but easy …show more content…

The Soviets were fearful of falling behind the Americans hence they created an atomic bomb. The Americans too didn’t want to fall behind the Soviets. Because of this America reduced funding on education to allow them to focus more on science. The budget wasn’t only invested to science but also to make weapons. Cutting the budget on education allowed America to make more weapons to compete with the Soviet Union. Despite the fact it was a Cold War and not a physical battle, the threat of a real war was still around. Home owners took it upon themselves over the fear to build bomb shelters in their backyard’s. A bomb shelter was an enclosed space underground designed to protect from the radioactive fallout of a nuclear bomb. Though there was no war and these bomb shelters most likely didn’t come to use, the fear still drove Americans to take precautions.

The Cold War influenced almost all of the aspects of American Society. The threat of communism built a domestic and foreign fear in Americans to the point where mistrust began to increase. Along with the arms race, the fight to see who could make the most weapons between the Soviet Union and America which lead to cutting funds from education. The influence of the Cold War impacted nearly half of the 20th century and nearly leading into a world war affected almost all of American Society and Domestic

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Race for the Super Bomb

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    The super bomb in which America and Russia were trying to build was in fact the Hydrogen Bomb. This bomb had an unlimited blast potential and for the country who possessed it unlimited power. The A-bomb’s explosion was based on the principal of fission (the splitting of atoms), however the H-bomb’s explosion was base on fusion (the coming together of atoms). In August of 1945 Russian President Stalin, turns up the nuclear project in Russia. He put Barria whom was in charge of the secret police, to head the Russian Nuclear program. An American scientist named Edward Teller solicited the American government to build the H-bomb. He was born in Hungary and had learned to fear the communists and the Russians. In April of 1946 the Super Conference was held. Klaus Fuchs was a scientist that worked for Teller at Los Alamos, he told the Russians how to build the A-bomb, and also about Tellers ideas of the H-bomb. He was arrested for spying for the Russians. By chance the Americans found out that there were traces of radioactive material in the air over Russia. They pieced together that Russia had the A-bomb they decided to go ahead with plans to build the super bomb. President Truman came to the conclusion that no matter how bad of a weapon the H-bomb was if was better if we had if first. America had lost some of its power and wanted to gain a new edge. General Curtis Lamay was put in charge of Strategic Air Command to protect America from the threat of nuclear war. Lamay was the ranking Air Force General over the Skies of the pacific and was the man for the job. His strategy was to have an abundant amount of bombers ready to strike every major city in the Soviet Union. He wanted everyone in the Army and Air Force to act as if war was not far away.

    Read More

  • The Cold War

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    The terms ‘hawks and doves' were quick labels attached to politicians in order to categorize their views on war and foreign policies, as to make them understandable and accessible for the public. However, these labels were not always accurate and in some cases could be quite misleading; it would have been more accurate not to label individuals as either Hawks or Doves, but instead, what they stood for.

    Read More

  • The Cold War

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    QUESTION 2: The Cold War is an international conflict, a global fight between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in Europe in the wake of World War II but quickly expanded into Asia and the Third World. These international events, however, undoubtedly influenced domestic American politics between 1945 and 1965. How did the international Cold War shape, influence, or change domestic American politics in the first twenty years of the conflict? II. BACKGOUND

    Read More

  • Cold War Dbq Analysis

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • COLD War and the Arms Race

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

    Read More

  • Cold War Dbq

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War was a challenge between the USA and the Soviet Union. It prompted the presence of a large number of atomic weapons, two all inclusive belief systems in conflict, and two diverse views in terms of itself, the United States championing a world made safe for majority rules system. Its adversary, the Soviet Union upheld world Communism.

    Read More

  • Cold War Dbq

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cold War was a conflict between the United States and Russia that began after the conclusion of World War II. Since the birth of the first communist country in the Russian Revolution, Americans were suspicious of the foreign Soviet nation. This tension continued into and after the Second World War despite the fact that both nations fought on the same side. During the war, there were disagreements and miscommunications during conferences that led to misinterpretations of accords. The United States established foreign policies in response to Soviet expansion. To first understand the origins of the Cold War, one must examine the Russian Revolution.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Cold War

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    characterized international relations and dominated the foreign policies of Europe. It affected all of Europe and determined lasting alliances. The Cold War was caused by the social climate and tension in Europe at the end of World War II and by the increasing power struggles between the Soviet Union. Economic separation between the Soviets and the west also heightened tensions, along with the threat of nuclear war.

    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

    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.

    Read More

  • The cold war

    2042 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1945, most of the countries around the world are devastated further to World War II which had stroke the globe for six years. Only the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, also called USSR, seem to be in a stable economic situation despite weighty losses. Both states are considered to be the great winners of the war and this is the beginning of a confrontation between two superpowers but also the confrontation between two distinct ideologies: communism and capitalism.

    Read More

  • Why the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan's imminent defeat, the undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of Europe prove this without question.

    Read More

  • The United States at Fault for the Cold War

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Cold War Essay

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...pons. They both had a large supply of ballistic missiles. The NATO and Warsaw Pact were formed. This war inevitably led to destructive conflicts like the Vietnam War and Korean War. The Soviet Union had collapsed due to its economic weakness. The Berlin was destroyed and the two German nations were unified. The Baltic States and some former Soviet Republics had gained independence. America became the sole superpower of the world. Communism was no more. Communism collapsed worldwide. The Cold War sketched the foreign policies for both the countries through the second half of the twentieth century as both countries fought for accomplices to uphold and widen their own realms of power around the world, but it did not escalate to an apocalyptic World War II. The decade- long standoff between American capitalists and Soviet communists ceased without causing any violence.

    Read More

More about Cold War America

Open Document