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Origins of the Cold War flashcards
World War 2
Origins of the Cold War flashcards
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During the Second World War, the United States allied itself with the Soviet Union, Britain and France to defeat the Axis forces made up by the fascist countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The United States and the Soviet Union, however, only allied because it benefited them both to defeat the fascist nations, not because they trusted each other; they had conflicting ideas that did not allow them to agree on an action. At first, the result of World War II seemed to favor the Axis powers, but the outcome was a victory for the Allied powers because of their two-front war strategy on Germany and the bombing of Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During the war, the Allied powers met in conferences and discussed plans for postwar Europe. These meetings and the actions of both the United States and the Soviet Union after the war increased the tension between them and ultimately led to the Cold War.
World War II began when fascist dictators gained control of their countries, Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy and Hideki Tojo in Japan. These dictators after establishing their fascist regimes began to invade their neighboring countries in order to impose their ideas on them. After World War I, the United States became wary of communism and fascism and believed them to be dangerous and when the fascist countries began their mission of world domination the United States immediately classified them as threats. Britain and France at the Munich Conference made an agreement with Hitler in which he pledged to stop attaining more territory and Stalin to ensure that the Soviet Union would not be invaded signed a Nonaggression Pact with Hitler. Hitler broke the first when he launched a blitzkrieg and later broke his pact with Stal...
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...ument E). Stalin then invaded Czechoslovakia.
When Stalin began to invade his neighboring countries, many Americans believed that he truly was just trying to protect himself from future attacks (Document H), but it soon became evident that he just wanted the power. The United States and the Soviet Union had an alliance during World War II because they had a mutual enemy, but in truth, they were foes. As they fought against the fascist countries, their differences created more and more tension and suspicion. They worked together and defeated the fascist threat, then returned to the rocky relationship that they had initially, only that it had more animosity. Once they did not have to tolerate each other when World War II ended, they both committed actions that the other opposed with until eventually all they had was antagonism, antagonism that led to the Cold War.
The alliance formed between the US and USSR during the second world war was not strong enough to overcome the decades of uneasiness which existed between the two ideologically polar opposite countries. With their German enemy defeated, the two emerging nuclear superpowers no longer had any common ground on which to base a political, economical, or any other type of relationship. Tensions ran high as the USSR sought to expand Soviet influence throughout Europe while the US and other Western European nations made their opposition to such actions well known. The Eastern countries already under Soviet rule yearned for their independence, while the Western countries were willing to go to great lengths to limit Soviet expansion. "Containment of 'world revolution' became the watchword of American foreign policy throughout the 1950s a...
“The distinct differences in the political systems of the two countries often prevented them from reaching a mutual understanding on key policy issues and even, as in the case of the Cuban missile crisis, brought them to the brink of war” (Library of Congress). The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The United States was a democracy whereas The Soviet Union was a dictatorship. This only began their differences though, their economies, beliefs, goals, and even their fears, everything about them made them different except for their enemy. The
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.
World War II began on September 1, 1939. It all started when Hitler wanted to expand his territory, and he had planned to invade Poland on this day. Then two years later in 1941 Japan bombed America in which is known as Pearl Harbor and General Eisenhower entered America into World War II. America then joined the Allied powers and helped fight against the Axis powers. The major countries that took part as the Allied Powers in World War II was the United States of America, Great Britain, France, and Russia.Their main goal was to stick together and to defend each other from the attacks of the Axis Powers. The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan.General EIsenhower had been planning an attack on the beaches of Normandy in France.
The political ideologies of the USA and of the Soviet Union were of profound significance in the development of the Cold War. Problems between the two power nations arose when America refused to accept the Soviet Union in the international community. The relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union was filled with mutual distrust and hostility. Many historians believe the cold war was “inevitable” between a democratic, capitalist nation and a communist Union. Winston Churchill called the cold war “The balance of terror” (1). Cold war anxieties began to build up with America and the Soviet Union advancing in the arms race for world dominance and supremacy. America feared the spread of Communism
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. During the late 1940's and the 1950's, the Cold War became increasingly tense. Each side accused the other of wanting to rule the world (Walker 388).
World War II broke out in Europe on September 1st, 1939, when Germany, led by Hitler, declared war on Poland. Together, Germany, Japan, and Italy were the three major countries that formed the Axis Powers, who fought against The Allies. The Allies consisted of Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The Axis Powers and The Allies fought against one another by land, sea, and air creating the largest and bloodiest war in all of history with a total fatality count of 40 to 50 million people. At first, the United States tried to remain neutral. A majority of the public had the attitude of isolationists. Many citizens tried to dissuade Congress from providing succor and supplies to Britain and France, but that attitude quickly changed when a surprise attack occurred directly on American soil.
World War II began in 1939 when the German armies decided to invade parts of Europe, therefore causing Europeans to retaliate against the Germans (World War 1). World War II began because those countries which were defeated in World War I (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were greatly devastated by the loss. Their countries were suffering from economical problems and were also left in bad conditions after World War I. They had lost much territory and now were practically in debt for the damages which they had done during the war (1). These countries figured that the only way for them to get out of economic depression and revive their country was to take land from other countries, which was one of the reasons why the war began.
The Soviet Union and the United States served as Allies during World War II. At the end of the war however each side wanted to deal with the aftermath differently. The United States was in favor of a peaceful and cooperative relationship with Germany and their Allies. The Soviet Union wanted revenge on the crimes and atrocities that were committed against them. The United States wanted to push democracy in Eastern Europe yet the Soviets countered this by saying the United States was hypocritical, since at that time the United States supported the Latin countries that were governed by dictatorships. The Soviets were under the impression that this was an effort to boost the UNITED STATES economy.
For the time of WWII the United States and the Soviet fought side by side as allies. Although they were allies with the same cause their partnership was a tense and rocky one. “The United States was always very concerned about the tyranny of Soviet communism and most importantly the blood thirsty ways of its leader Joseph Stalin.” (Taylor 2001) On the Soviet side, the Soviets had always resented the fact that America never really recognized them as legitimate part of the international community and because America delayed its entry into WWII, it resulted in millions of Russians dead. When WWII was over these accusations turned into both sides having a mutual sense of distrust for one another.
World War II was not only started by Adolf Hitler and Germany, but had a lot to do with the humiliation that Germany felt when the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were laid down. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles may be indirectly related to the cause of World War II, but nonetheless was a huge factor in starting the war.
"When a power vacuum separates great powers, as one did the United States and the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, they are unlikely to fill it without bumping up against and bruising each other" (Gaddis). This 'bumping' and 'bruising' caused the tensions and hostilities that surfaced in the years following WWII.
Benito Mussolini wanted to try and delay a major war in Europe until at least 1942, but Germany invaded Poland in 1939. This means declarations of war by France and the UK and the start of WWII. Mussolini created the Fascist Party in Italy in 1919. He eventually made himself dictator after World War
Around the world, many countries did choose to ally themselves with the United States, but it was soon clear that the USSR would not be among them. The Soviets were developing their own nuclear program at the same time as the Manhattan Project was underway, and Soviet espionage provided them with crucial information from the Manhattan Project that helped their progress (Walker, 67). When the United States used the atomic bombs on Japan, the USSR believed that the United States would seek to threaten Soviet interests. Instead of simplifying the growing conflict between the United States and the USSR, the use of atomic weapons on Japan only made the situation more complex.
Warfare between two parties has always been a major catalyst of world history today. Specifically, Word War I had many dictators and world leaders that were not satisfied with the way things had played out, including Hitler, dictator of Germany. World War I began during 1914, and was between the Allied Forces and Axis Forces. It was the result of tension building up in the European front for decades prior to WWI. However, although Germany was punished terribly for WWI, it did not stop her from joining forces with Italy and Japan. These three powerful countries took action against the rest of the world, beginning in 1939, and initiated WWII. The League of Nations, designed to keep peace between the European fronts, failed to do its job. Therefore, the main reason world was plunged into World War II in 1939 was because of the League of Nations’ failure to act promptly. This brings to light that the effective response to aggression is collective security, and not appeasement.