Us Involvement During The Cold War

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Although the Unites States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II, the two countries had a very tense relationship and did not share mutual ideals. Directly after World War II ended, the Cold War began and lasted until the fall of the Berlin Wall. America was already cautious of communism and its impact on Joseph Stalin’s reign over the Soviet Union. These tensions continued to grow stronger and eventually led to the Cold War, which caused many postwar anxieties for America. The fear of communism and nuclear war rapidly swept the United States and affected American life at home. During the Cold War, the United States foreign policy focused on containment. President Harry Truman issued the Truman Doctrine, which made an effort to prevent the Soviet Union’s influence from growing. In his doctrine, the president explained that “One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion”. His policy held the United States responsible for aiding countries who were more vulnerable to communism, and hoped to create peace within the world. The United States was a leading superpower in foreign policy after World War II. Before, the United States relied on …show more content…

The containment plan encouraged the United States to use the military as a way to prevent the expansion of communism. Due to this, a lethal “arms race” began that authorized the creation of advanced atomic weapons. This fear of nuclear war resided in every American home, causing people to build bomb shelters and practice drills in preparation for possible nuclear annihilation. Rather than seeing an advertisement for your favorite cereal, imagine viewing a commercial explaining what you should do if a bomb were to explode nearby. This is the fear that lived in every person of the midcentury American

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