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Other factors that have led the United States to take foreign policy decisions that favor it were the desire for control, power, and capitalist diffusion during the Cold War. In Latin America, as previously explained, the “School of the Americas” and other policies were imposed in order to have access to local power, which would favor the US in the Cold War. According to Terrence Dillon the US couldn’t afford to lose against communism in America. Therefore, the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine were imposed and this reoriented US foreign policy to possible interventions in far away conflicts. Specific examples lie in in Latino dictators like Pinochet and Batista (Source 5). In this case, Dillon makes the audience realize how The United States, at the expense of “not losing to communism in America” amplified the scope of conflicts in different countries in Latin America. …show more content…
This is evident in Colombia’s Violencia period: “But instead of improving the prospects for peace, the United States “is about to put Colombia´s fragile democracy at greater risk by escalating the new Violencia… It is the people of Colombia who will pay the price for the inability of the United States to face the fact that its ´war´ on drugs can only be won at home”(Source 1). It is clear with this example that the US pushed the limits, forcing violence in Colombia and nurturing it, leaving Colombia in a whole political mess. Colombia, by that time was really lost. Its way had been destroyed by the US; nothing was clear for Colombia anymore. Looking at a general scope, The United States played the role of “Father” to countries in Latin America with the purpose of gaining control of capitalism over communism in this area at the expense of making some countries politically and socially
After the end of WW2, two major governmental institutions, the USA and the USSR, with conflicting political ideologies and agendas, set forth to dominate each other in international politics. This period of time, also known as the Cold War, initiated an era of crazed hysteria in the United States as these two governments frequently clashed and bitterly fought. As a result, the frightened public grew delirious as the world grew dangerously close to a calamitous nuclear war, which ultimately prompted the Eisenhower administration to hinder the spread of communism and encourage the U.S. population to rapidly pursue higher education for the future welfare of this nation.
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 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 United States were in favor of democracy and capitalism while the Soviet Union sought for the chances of influencing communism. Cold War did not involve the use of physical arms but was intensely fought. Propaganda, economic aids, Arms Race, and the creation of alliances were the main methods to fight the war. The use of propaganda played a crucial role in containment by criticizing the other power and raised the morale and spirit of their nation. The economic support for nations helped them recover from the desperate situation after World War II, which prevented the nations from falling under communism. Also, the Arms Race and forming alliances between the two main powers were important weapons for competition and rivalry in Cold War.
Throughout the Cold War the United States considered the installation in Latin America of radical regimes-socialist, Marxist-Leninist, or “leftist” in any way- to be utterly intolerable. Any such development would represent an advance for the communist cause and a vital loss for the West. Acceptance of this outcome could weaken the credibility of the United States as the leader of the west and as a rival for the USSR. In the eyes of Cold Warriors, the consolidation of any left-wing regime in the Western Hemisphere would have dire and perilous implications for U.S. national security and for the global distribution of power. It was therefore crucial to resist this possibility by any means necessary in countries such as Grenada, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
Prior to his Chilean President Salvador Allende’s election, who ran on a ticket of socialist economic reforms, the US government spent millions of dollars in Anti-Allende propaganda and attempted to reason with military forces to stage a coup against him, not even caring of the ramifications of the destabilization of Chile and the ripple effect it would have on other Southern Cone countries. Considering the military dictator Augusto Pinochet’s ascension to power being riddled with gross violations of human rights including state sponsored torture against its citizens the connotations were that because the US prioritized its own security over an entire continent, “there is no doubt that Condor's ruthless operations against political opposition advanced the security agenda of the U.S. national security establishment in its war against communism and revolution in Latin America.” (Mcsherry, 41)
After fighting along the United States against Nazi Germany in World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States soon became enemies, locked in the grip of the Cold War with the fear of a nuclear holocaust. Fear was a constant emotion throughout the entirety of the United States, no one knew exactly what was going to happen. The Soviet Union’s leader, Joseph Stalin, believed in communism, in fact the reader can concur that Americans were taught that communism was a bad thing, which worried most Americans. Textbooks should emphasize the Soviet society and economy versus the United States, as well as including the Great Terror, and military strength.
David Painter’s, The Cold War: An International History and Greg Grandin’s, The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War exemplify the differences that authors have on the conversation regarding the Cold War. Both authors approach the retelling of the conflict differently. Painter provides readers with a broad overview of the war, narrating it’s early beginnings to its end. Grendin approaches the conflict through a much narrow focus on Latin America, particularly Guatemala. They are interested in arguing two drastically different perspectives. Painter argues that the ever-evolving world at large affected the actions of the United States and the Soviet Union and Grendin argues that the actions of the United States lead to deadly
After World War 2, two opposing powers emerged, both holding viewpoints which dramatically opposed the other. The US was in favor of capitalism, while the USSR had been in favor of communism since the Russian Revolution. Capitalism provided its’ followers a sense of independence and freedom to compete with other businesses, while communism proposed equal pay for all citizens, regardless of their education or job occupation. This limited the capabilities of those who abided by communist governments, which is why the US decided to start a new policy of containment. The United States’ policy of containment was to stop the spread of communism because of the USSR’s beliefs, actions on impressionable countries, and the direct and indirect threats they posed upon the world.
In 69 years as a country, the Soviet Union accomplished many great things, military spending, spaces race, and soviet economics; should be included in their textbooks to remember this time in history. Many things went through the history of the Soviet Union like with Czar he was the monarchy rule from Russia about four centuries. All the Czars were killed, every single one off them. After everything was finished with the Czars, then came Vladimir Lenin which lasted from 1870-1924, then they replaced him with Bolshevik. Karl Marx loved to read and especially from history which he societies moved through certain stages like capitalism, then socialism, then communism.
Immediately after World War II, Americans were as happy as ever; the unemployment rate was cut, families were expanding, and America became the most powerful country. However, after just a short time period, this all changed. With the outbreak of the Cold War, Americans began to grow paranoid and apprehensive, convinced that Soviets would eventually invade. It redefined what it meant to be an American because people started to worry that Communists lurked behind every corner, waiting to bounce. Even worse, people could no longer trust others, even their neighbors, because “it was not always easy to determine just who is a Communist” (Document 4). It simply became a way of life. However, shortly after, magazines such as LOOK were published, providing descriptive characteristics that Americans can use to identify communists.
The fear of the spread of communism in western world, especially Latin American countries with weak democratic control, lead to a huge shift in the political and day to day life of the world. The United States could not risk communism spreading and went to many extremes to ensure so. They began backing political leaders in Latin America in hopes to keep democracy alive and strong but ended up doing quite the opposite. America supported leaders like Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, the Somoza family in Nicaragua, and...
Klein, throughout various accounts of U.S. involvement overseas, explains that the U.S. commonly engages in a practice of ‘shock therapy.’ The U.S. brings bloodshed and warfare to foreign nations in order to restructure their economies and governments to serve U.S. interests. In the case of Chile, Klein argues that the U.S., in the midst of Cold War paranoia, wanted to maintain its political and economic hegemony in South America. Washington accordingly whipped the Chilean army into an anti-Allende, anti-communist frenzy, bringing about the bloodshed of ‘the Caravan of Death’ as well as the years of tyrannical military dictatorship. Also significant was the fact that the neoliberal economics implemented in Chile were taught to Chilean economists of the junta by Americans at the University of Chicago.
Immediately following the war with Spain, the United States had both the political will to pursue imperial policies and the geopolitical circumstances conducive to doing so. But the way in which these policies would manifest was an open question; was the impulse to actively remake the world in America’s Anglo-Saxon image justified? Hence, there were several models of American imperialism at the turn of the twentieth century. In the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Samoa, the United States asserted unwavering political control. In Cuba, and later throughout most of the Caribbean basin, the economic and political domination of customarily sovereign governments became the policy. Ultimately, the United States was able to expand its territory
Communism did pose a threat to the united states, not only did they pose a threat to the U.S. but they had goals for us. “ … In July 1947, George F. Kennan defined the central goal of U.S. foreign policy during the cold war: containment of the Soviet Union in its postwar sphere of influence.” As stated in the text “he perceived the Soviet threat to be more political than military, and he thought that the economic well-being of the west, more than its military might …” During that same year the united states developed a foreign policy based on the idea of containment and on the “domino theory,” a belief that if communism were allowed to take root in one country or region. On January 10, 1963 some communist goals were to do away with all loyal oaths. As well as to capture one or both political parties in the united states, use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. Another goal was to get control of the schools and, use students’ riots to foment public protest against programs and
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.
American foreign policy directed and influenced its activities in Chile. United States although contradicted its firm belief of democr...