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The cold war, who what where when why
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The year is 1947 the world has just gone through its second Great War. This time in life is confusing for all the countries involved in the war. Everyone is trying to rebuild from what they have lost. Vulnerable are the weak ones to a higher super power country that would be hungry to take over. But there is no time to waste! The Cold War was just heating up between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, which is now known as the country of Russia. The United States of America felt a perceived need for protection from fear of the Soviet Union taking over all of Western Europe and perhaps even our own country one day soon. The current president of this day in age was a man named Harry S. Truman. President Truman felt that the country
During the Cold War, the United States engaged in many aggressive policies both at home and abroad, in which to fight communism and the spread of communist ideas. Faced with a new challenge and new global responsibilities, the U.S. needed to retain what it had fought so strongly for in World War II. It needed to contain the communist ideas pouring from the Soviet Union while preventing communist influence at home, without triggering World War III. With the policies of containment, McCarthyism, and brinkmanship, the United States hoped to effectively stop the spread of communism and their newest threat, the Soviet Union. After the war, the United States and the Soviet Union had very different ideas on how to rebuild.
“Was Truman Responsible for the Cold War”, well, according to author Arnold A. Offner, his simplistic answer is an obvious “yes.” “Taking Sides” is a controversial aspect of the author’s interpretation for justifying his position and perception of “Truman’s” actions. This political approach is situated around the “Cold War” era in which the author scrutinizes, delineates, and ridicules his opponents by claiming “I have an ace in the hole and one showing” (SoRelle 313). Both authors provide the readers with intuitive perceptions for their argumentative approaches in justifying whether or not “Truman” contributed to the onset of the “Cold War.” Thus far, it would be hard-pressed to blame one single individual, President or not, for the “Cold War” initiation/s. Information presented shows the implications centered on the issues leading up to the Cold War”, presents different ideologies of two Presidents involving policy making, and a national relationship strained by uncooperative governments.
The United States had bought Alaska from Russia partly so that the tsar would not be offended by a refusal. This kind of relation between the two became a rarity later on, especially in the twentieth century. The tense ambiance of this period gave no room for a civil affiliation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. After World War II, the two nations battled it out in a conceptual war known as the Cold War. It was characterized by a competition between the nations’ political philosophies- the USSR wanted communism to dominate the world, while the US wanted democracy to prevail. However, the war did not come about suddenly- it was congealed over a period of time by multiple factors. As World War II ended, the
Discussions of the causes of the Cold War are often divisive, creating disparate ideological camps that focus the blame in different directions depending on the academic’s political disposition. One popular argument places the blame largely on the American people, whose emphasis of “strength over compromise” and their deployment of the atomic bomb in the Second World War’s Pacific theatre apparently functioned as two key catalysts to the conflict between US and Soviet powers. This revisionist approach minimizes Stalin’s forceful approach and history of violent leadership throughout World War 2, and focusing instead on President Harry Truman’s apparent insensitivity to “reasonable Soviet security anxieties” in his quest to impose “American interests on the world.” Revisionist historians depict President Truman as a “Cold War monger,” whose unjustified political use of the atomic bomb and ornery diplomatic style forced Russia into the Cold War to oppose the spread of a looming capitalist democratic monopoly. In reality, Truman’s responsibility for the Cold War and the atomic bomb drop should be minimized. Criticisms of Truman’s actions fail to consider that he entered a leadership position set on an ideological collision course, being forced to further an established plan for an atomic monopoly, and deal with a legacy of US-Russian tensions mobilized by Roosevelt prior to his death, all while being influenced by an alarmist and aggressive cabinet. Upon reviewing criticisms of Truman’s negotiations with Soviet diplomat Vyacheslav Molotov and his involvement in the atomic bomb drop, the influence of Roosevelt’s legacy and Truman’s cabinet will be discussed in order to minimize his blame for starting the Cold War.
Now that the idea of a global war has been established, it is important to establish the role of the United States (USA). One of the most important documents in establishing this was the ‘Truman Doctrine’. President Harry S. Truman (1945-53) outlined what would become the basis of US foreign policy for the duration of the Cold War. This was the policy of containment – trying to keep communism from spreading to the rest of the world. His speech to Congress in March 19...
On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman defined United States foreign policy in the context of its new role as a world superpower. Many historians consider his speech to Congress as the words that officially started the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine was a major break from U.S. historical trends of isolationist foreign policy. His speech led to the Cold War policy of containment. Moreover, it served as a precedent for future U.S. policy of interventionism. According to Stephen Ambrose, an important quote from Truman’s speech, "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures," stands as "all encompassing" and would "define American policy for the next generation and beyond."1 Faced with strong opposition, Truman was still able to achieve a consensus in Congress aimed at quelling the communist threat through active foreign policy and involvement. The Truman Doctrine not only demonstrated the new foreign policy of the U.S., but also helps to explain American foreign policy since the Doctrine’s inception.
In addition to the prevention of communism, President Truman’s decision was also influenced by the apprehensive environment during The Cold War. The Soviet Union was able to ruin the United States as the monopoly of nuclear bombs in 1949 when they successfully detonated their firs...
Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War OUTLINE: Introduction- 1. Definition of ‘Cold War’ and the Powers involved 2. Perceived definition of ‘start of Cold War’ 3. Iron Curtain Speech, Truman Doctrine and Berlin Blockade as significant events that caused strife between both powers, but which triggering off the start of the Cold War Body- 1. Iron Curtain Speech (1946) - A warning of Soviet influence beyond the acknowledged Eastern Europe - Churchill’s belief that the idea of a balance in power does not appeal to the Soviets - Wants Western democracies to stand together in prevention of further
The primary cause of the Cold War is the exceedingly bipolar systems of government that the USSR and the US were administered under. The US had a democracy and had, in April of 1945, just said farewell to one of the most liberal presidents that ever had been elected. By making many social reforms, President Roosevelt pulled the US out of the crippling depression and into on of the most prosperous decades ever. The aims of the US are evident in the 'Atlantic Charter', which was signed by Churchill and Roosevelt in August of 1914. According to the Charter, the US would "seek no aggrandizement.... respect the rights of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live.... bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations.... [and seek] the abandonment of the use of force" (Doc 4). While still early in the war, the 'Atlantic Charter' was later adopted by the United Nations and remains, to this day, one of the cornerstones of the western world. However, the other power that emerged still 'intact' after the war, the USSR had a very different way of government and dissimilar aims of the war. The USSR was a communist nation and had Stalin its dictator. "From the Soviet perspective, extending the borders of the USSR and dominating the formerly independent states of eastern Europe would provide security and would be proper compensation for the fearful losses the Soviet people had endured in the war" (p.
The last chapter of the book was the best part of Brands' work. He states that the Americans won the Cold War over the USSR. However the true reason being that the USSR basically just wasn’t working anymore so it broke up and then America basically took credit for it and said that they won. Brands stated that American views were spreading nationwide such as TV shows and how Americans dressed and how they acted. It was even spreading to Russia itself which could have been one reason why communism eventually failed
A Cold War is not a war involving physical combat, but rather a war of political aggression between various countries involving threats, military build ups, and spying. After World War two, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union impacted other countries around the world. This conflict eventually became known as the Cold War. During this time, two conflicting political philosophies, communism and capitalism, became global and had long lasting effects on many countries, including Cuba. In general, the Cold War lasted from 1945 to 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, but Cuba remains negatively impacted until this day. Understanding the international tensions of that time period in history is necessary for understanding how Cuba became so affected by the Cold War. Economic sanctions by the United States caused an embargo on products imported into and exported from Cuba. These embargoes limited Cuba’s ability to provide social services such as education and health care. Cuba was adversely impacted by the Cold War because of international tensions, economic sanctions, and a decrease in
The Cold War can be described as a war of words and ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted 45 years. The War on Terrorism can be described as a war of ideas and values. The Cold War began at the end of World War II with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The United States and the Soviet Union clashed over their political and economic differences. The United States preferred a democratic government and capitalistic economy and the Soviet Union preferred of a communist state. The War on Terrorism officially began after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center that took place on September 11, 2001.
The Cold War was a war like no other for the United States of America. For the first time in the nation’s history, the country was engaged in an ideological war with the Soviet Union, and the occurrence of physical battles between the two was nonexistent. Despite the fact that that Cold War was a new type of foreign dispute, the American lifestyle was still directly impacted. Like with World War II, the United States’ economy was directly impacted by the Cold War, as expected from any sort of international quarrels. However, in addition to the impact on the American economy, the Cold War unexpectedly influenced other aspects of American life as well. For example, American culture prevailed and was promoted like never before, and American higher
During the Cold War, many lessons were learned. The United States had to learn these lessons to survive in a rapidly changing world. It learned lessons from the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin and the resolution that followed that lead to the invasion of Vietnam. It learned lessons from the horrors of war in Vietnam. And it learned lessons from The My Lai massacre in Vietnam, one of those very horrors. One lesson that was learned from all these incidents is that in uncertain times, restraint should be exercised. This lesson can be applied to situations like the War in Iraq. that the U.S. finds itself in today.
Following Second World War Stalin began an aggressive expansionist campaign, and United States security policy was soon dominated with Soviet-related issues. Scholars and advisors surrounding the Truman administration maintained that the Soviet republic would either collapse or change if it was could be geographically contained and thus forced...