The Impact of Revolutions on the Cold War
analytical Essay
2483 words
Revolution was an important theme throughout the Cold War. Revolutions begat, molded and then finally brought an end to the Cold War. In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution forced Vladimir Lenin, the new communist leader, to withdraw from World War I on the side of the Western Allies and to sign a separate peace agreement with Germany. The suspicions that this aroused among the Allies were the seeds of the Cold War. In 1949, the New Democratic Revolution of China ended the Kuomintang (KMT) rule and established a communist government, thus guaranteeing the existence of the Cold War. Throughout its existence, the Cold War appeared to be something that was constantly present and unchanging. However, revolutions in Europe and Asia after 1953 continued to shape the Cold War until revolution inevitably destroyed in 1989.
In 1954, after failing to contain communism in Korea, America involved itself in the Vietnam Conflict. At this time, France had just lost control of its colonial holdings in Vietnam. After the French were defeated by a communist contingent lead by Vo Nguyen Giap at Dien Bien Phu, the French decided that they could no longer retain their Indochinese colonies. In the summer of 1954, France and Vietnam signed the Geneva Peace Accords. It was agreed that Vietnam would be temporarily divided along the 17th parallel such that the north would be communist and the south would not be. As a result of this, the United States decided to intervene in the South Vietnamese affairs in an attempt to contain communism as they had in Korea. It was at this time that the American National Security Council (NSC) published its 68th paper (NSC-68) in which they introduced the policy of rollback. NSC-68 guaranteed the liberation of nations under...
... middle of paper ...
...ika into East Germany, but Honecker refused as he was planning instead to stamp out the dissidents. However, an internal plot in the East German Politburo removed him from office before he had the chance. In October of 1989, Egon Krenz was elected to office, replacing Honecker. He offered more freedoms to the East Germans, but they hungered for more. On November 9, it was announced that the wall was to come down. When people heard this news, they rushed to the wall where they overwhelmed the border guards who simply allowed them to pass. The crowd then proceeded to tear down the wall in a revolution that forever changed the Cold War. What followed was an end to the communist governments in the Soviet Satellites then an end to the Soviet Union and the iron curtain. The Cold War ended and the cycle of revolution that had played such an important role came to a close.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the bolshevik revolution forced vladimir lenin to withdraw from world war i on the side of the western allies and sign a separate peace agreement with germany.
- Explains how the united states intervened in the south vietnamese affairs after failing to contain communism in korea.
- Analyzes how the united states tried to create a democratic alternative to communism in vietnam. they chose ngo dinh diem to lead the artificially created south vietnam with american support.
- Explains that the chinese cultural revolution from 1966 to 1976 was a revolution in asia that shaped the cold war.
- Explains that the hungarian revolution of 1956 occurred in part as a result of the polish revolution, which happened at roughly the same time.
- Explains that the united states' deviation from policy was because the soviet union did not pose a direct threat to the us.
- Explains that mikhail gorbachev's main goal was to revive the stagnant soviet economy and streamline the soviet bureaucracy.
- Analyzes how frances fritsgerald's fire in the lake shows that ngo was unpopular among the people he ruled over.
- Analyzes how the revolutions described in asia and eastern europe served to undermine communism.
Related
- analytical
- explanatory
- comparative
- Origins of the Cold Waranalytical essayThe Cold War, which is said to have lasted from the end of World War II to the dismantling of the Soviet Union in 1991. Intrinsically, this Cold War was a tense political period between the Democratic and Communist blocs, the East and the West, and most importantly, the United States and the Soviet Union. Although this period has now come to an end, many disputes have been raised concerning the initial conference at Yalta near the end of the Second World War, and the actual causes of the Cold War tensions involving Communist and American aggression.
In this essay, the author
- Evaluates the validity of each view. revisionist historians tend to regard the "cold war" as a result of american hostility or diplomatic incompetence, while the more traditional view lays the responsibility squarely at the feet of the soviet union
- Explains that the cold war was a tense political period between the democratic and communist blocs, east and west, and most importantly, the united states and the soviet union.
- Explains that the cold war was a conflict between two superpowers, caused by soviet aggression.
- Analyzes how the cold war tensions stemmed from the fear and paranoia that gripped american society.
- Explains that the cold war was a tacit arrangement between the soviet union and the united states under which the us conducted wars against the third world and controlled its allies in europe.
- Explains that the cold war was sparked by a plethora of events, including soviet aggression and american paranoia.
- Analyzes how the soviet union was on the verge of amassing power, which frightened the united states and brought about the cold war.
- Analyzes how the cold war tensions stemmed from the fear and paranoia that gripped american society.
- Explains that the cold war lasted from the end of world war ii to the dismantling of the soviet union in 1991.
1172 wordsRead More - The Causes Of The Cold War?analytical essayThe Cold War started due to animosity between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during World War II and only grew exponentially after the war. The two countries did not see eye to eye and “At the time Roosevelt and Stalin met at Yalta in the spring of 1945 you had two absolutely opposing views…Stalin felt that unless there were friendly governments around his border in Europe he would be as insecure as he was before and during World War II that was a nightmare he did not want to live through again, that absolutely clashed with the will of the United States.” (Superpowers Collide, n.d.) The initial impression that a democratic government, such as the U.S., and a communist government, such as the Soviet Union, could have a mutual relationship is naïve. The ideological beliefs of the U.S. wanting a free and democratic Europe to decide for itself and the Soviets wanting Europe to be state owned and under total control clashed. This “red scare”, or fear of communism, was not a new concept, as we have learned Americans trepidations of communism stretched back to pre-World War I time frame. Leading up to and following the Berlin crisis the Cold War escalated rapidly. Two contests pursued over the next three decades; one was against the spread of communism, known as containment, and the other was the arms race. The containment of communism was evident with measures in place to support parts of Europe and communist support in Korea and Vietnam resulted in military engagements. None was possibly more feared than the two races coming together directly in America’s backyard, Cuba. The spread of communism and the fear of a nuclear war came within 90 miles of American soil with “This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strate...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the cold war started due to animosity between the u.s. and the soviet union during world war ii and only grew exponentially after the war.
- Analyzes how the spread of communism and the fear of a nuclear war came within 90 miles of american soil. the u.s. could not act innocent and offended.
- Explains that america was not isolated from the effects of the cold war at home, as the sacrifice of 95,160 american’s between the two controversial wars and the changes within the government to root out communist spies trickled down to civilians.
- Cites bowles, m., and kennedy, j. on the cuban crisis.
654 wordsRead More - Causes Of The Cold Waranalytical essayAfter the two non-ending World Wars came another long war known as the Cold War. Two sides fought this war, one of them was the United States of America, and the other side was the Soviet Union. Each one of theses sides had its own way of governing. Although both sides couldn’t manage to lose more people after World War II, they still got into war from 1947-1991. The reason behind the cause of the Cold War was viewed in several different perspectives. Although there are many views, the post-revisionist view provides the best reasoning for the occurrence of the Cold War. The Ally Powers, America and the Soviet Union’s two different ideologies of communism and capitalism after World War II were what caused the occurrence of the Cold War.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that after the two non-ending world wars came another long war known as the cold war. the post-revisionist view provides the best reasoning for the occurrence of the cold war.
- Explains that world war ii was a series of hectic battles that lasted from 1939-1945. these chains of combats took place in asia, north africa, and europe.
- Explains that the cold war arose due to ideological struggles between the two world superpowers.
- Argues that the traditional view blames the soviet union for the cold war while the revisionist views blame the united states of america.
- Explains that the cold war was caused by three views known as the traditional, revisionist, and post-revisionist view.
787 wordsRead More - History of The U.S. Militaryexplanatory essay...burden to the French citizens. After the Ho Chi Minh victory over the French, the United States took this as a threat of communism taking over the rest of Asia. At the Geneva convention the United States attempted to lessen the communist influence in Vietnam but, this attempt was unsuccessful.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the history of the united states military, starting with a simple musket that shot one bullet and needed to be reloaded after that. the only time that atom bombs were dropped on civilian areas were hiroshima and nagasaki.
- Explains that the manhattan project was the thinking of albert einstein, who believed that if you get a research team together they could create nuclear weapons.
- Explains that the korean war was a battle against the chinese and the americans.
- Explains that the korean war is known as the forgotten war, but the soldiers never forgot about it.
1195 wordsRead More - The Cold Warexplanatory essayAfter World War II, the relationship that developed primarily between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was called the Cold War. The Cold War took place during the period from 1947 to 1991. The goal of the Cold war was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises. Examples for these major crises could be the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Korean War, and the Berlin Wall. For many the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue. The Cold War is also said to be the conflict between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union and the democratic nations led by the United States. This war was fought by all means of propaganda, economic war, and occasional military clashes.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the cold war as the relationship between the united states of america and the union of soviet socialist republics.
- Describes the iron curtain as a physical and ideological division that separated the warsaw pact countries from the nato countries.
- Explains that the satellite nations serve as a buffer between an enemy country and the commanding satellite. they were controlled by the soviet union and dominated politically and economically.
- Explains that fidel castro was born in 1926 in biran, and his father was a sugar planter. he studied law at havana university and joined the cuban people's party in 1947.
- Explains that the berlin wall was used to attract the attention of the young american president john f kennedy who was searching for his place in history with the role he played in the cuban missile crisis.
- Explains that the bay of pigs invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by the united states backed by cuban exiles to overthrow the government of fidel castro.
- Explains that the warsaw pact is the nominal counterweight to the north atlantic treaty organization on the european continent.
- Describes president harry s truman's policy of helping any country fighting against communism, followed by the marshall plan, which is the european recovery program.
- Explains that the korean war began when korea was invaded by the soviets and the us at the end of wwii. they decided to divide the peninsula in two-north and south.
- Explains how the demilitarized zone between the north and south korea acted as a buffer to prevent war and the 38th parallel was the focal point for negotiations.
- Explains that the korean war ended by the north korean forces were pushed back to the 38th parallel- the line that was the border before the war started. truman stepped up bombing raids on north korea and hinted at using the nukes again.
1250 wordsRead More - Examples Of Ideology Of The Cold War Ideologyanalytical essayThe Cold War began after World War II. The United States and the Soviet Union had growing tension during World War II. By the end of the war, they had become mortal enemies. The powers between the two were not equal though, as the United States had a flourishing economy and the Soviet Union economy was crashing. It was clear that the United States and the Soviet Union were in a power struggle, which became known as the Cold War. The ideology of the Cold War period can perhaps best be described in May’s words, as an “ ideology of consensus”. ( McDonald )
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the cold war began after world war ii. the united states and the soviet union had growing tension during the war.
- Explains that the cold war was characterized by mutual distrust, suspension and misunderstanding by both the united states.
- Analyzes how the clash of very different beliefs and ideologies, capitalism versus communism, formed the basis of an international power struggle with both sides vying for dominance.
- Explains that the cold war came with both benefits and downfalls, such as an arms race and the development of strategic arms.
- Explains that the cold war's attacks on nuclear weapons and communism led to both sides feeling uneasy. the soviet union’s biggest threat to america was missals stock piled in cuba.
- Explains that the united states strategy was to hold the soviets at bay with the threat of nuclear attack.
- Explains that spies and spying became part of the game during the cold war due to the threats each other faced.
- Explains that information covertly acquired in britain ended up with the kgb during the cold war.
- Argues that the united states had no choice but reverse the expansion of an communist state whose main ambition was the overthrow of capitalism, democracy, and other aspects of western culture.
- Concludes that the end of the cold war saw the emergence of a uni-polar world that had the united states, the only existing power.
702 wordsRead More - Essay On The Cold Waranalytical essayThe Cold War began as two prevailing world powers, the disputation between the Americans and Soviets in Europe (Brands, Breen, Williams, Gross, 2009). It escalated due to the representation of capitalism and democracy in the United States and the communism and dictatorship of the Soviet Union. The Cold War brought many changes to the United States. The War became a central influence on many aspects of American society socially, politically, and economically (Brands et al., 2009).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the cold war escalated due to the representation of capitalism and democracy in the united states and the communism and dictatorship of the soviet union.
- Explains that the americans advocated free market capitalism while the soviets promoted communism. the u.s. is the world's dominant economic power.
- Explains how the cold war impacted many aspects of american society. differing economic viewpoints resulted in contrasting claims of what freedom meant to the united states and the soviets.
- Explains that the cold war impacted the everyday lives of most american civilians. the fear of communism and "in-house" spies caused lives to be ruined based on weak evidence.
- Analyzes how george kennan called for containment of russia's expansive tendencies. the marshall plan was enacted to prevent the spread of communist influence in war-torn western europe.
549 wordsRead More - The Cold Waranalytical essayEssentially, the origins of the Cold War can be traced back to the Russian Revolution of ...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the soviet union and the united states of america attempted to gain military, political, and social advantages over each other in order to preserve their systems of life.
- Explains that the origins of the cold war can be traced back to the russian revolution of 1917, in which the tsarist government of russia was deposed.
- Explains that the first major summit between franklin delano roosevelt, winston churchill, and joseph stalin was the tehran conference, which took place in november 1943.
- Explains that stalin, roosevelt, and churchill collaborated on the united nations charter, which was written at the san francisco conference.
- Analyzes how winston churchill epitomized the universal western and democratic frustration with the soviet union when he said, "an iron curtain has descended across the continent."
966 wordsRead More - The Cold War of 1946-1991analytical essayThe end of World War II did not end the disputed but unexpectedly causing the conflict between allied countries, led to an era known as the “Cold War”. Roughly lasted from the close of Second World War (1946) to the end of 1980s, this is a stage of political conflict, proxy wars and economic competition rather than military combat between the Communist represented by Soviet Union and the powers of Western world primarily United Stated. Although many times it appeared that both military forces would engaged in a major battle, turning the war into “hot”, the two sides just expressed the conflict through military coalition, arms races and technological competitions. Going through four long decades, it casted a shadow in the second half of 20th century and left a scar that still feel today.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that racism was one of the worst embarrassing scars on american culture. the cold war helped people realize that aspects of american society were in contrast to values
- Explains that the united states is free market capitalism while the soviet union is communism. the cold war ended with the fall of the wall of berlin and democratic and market liberalism became the foundation of future global growth.
- Analyzes how the economic policies of the united states were changed to win the cold war, resulting in a feeling of superiority amongst americans.
- Analyzes how the u.s. became the world's dominant economic power and continues to be so today. economy was used as a weapon against the soviet union in cold war.
- Describes foner, eric. give me liberty!: an american history.
- Explains that the end of world war ii did not end the disputed but unexpectedly causing the conflict between allied countries, led to an era known as the cold war.
- Analyzes how the united states and ussr became bitter rivals due to their political and economic differences. the cold war had the decades long impact on american domestic and foreign policy.
- Explains that the united states and the soviet union were opposites during wwii. the cold war led to anti-communist presidents, including harry truman, john f. kennedy, richard nixon, and ronald reagan.
1713 wordsRead More - Comparisioncomparative essayIn conclusion, the Cold War was a conflict between the two major superpowers over political and military power. It is still undecided when the Cold War was finally over but 1940 – 1980s is commonly used. According to the textbook by McCauley it ended in the early 90s. Either way, the cause of the Cold War was that the Soviets were trying to expand their communist beliefs all over the world and the US was against this; that’s what created the tensions. It was called the Cold War because they really didn’t get into an actual war. I discussed some of the major events that happened in each decade of the Cold War from the 1940s through the 1980s. I tried explaining the event, which side was responsible, and the outcome/impact of the event. Hope you enjoyed reading my essay.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the cold war was a continuous battle, which lasted decades, to determine which nation had more political and military power.
- Explains that the berlin blockade initiated the first crisis and the possibility of war between the united states and soviet union.
- Explains that the korean war was the first armed conflict of the cold war and set the standards for conflicts in the cold war.
- Explains that president eisenhower planned the worst debacle of his presidency, which was the u-2 spy plane incident.
- Concludes that the cold war was a conflict between the two major superpowers over political and military power.
1205 wordsRead More