The Cold War Essay

896 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Communism and the vietnam war policy of containmrnt

The Cold War was an interesting time period for the world, seeing that it was after one of the biggest and most memorable wars ever. Yet, it was a different type of war. One that no one had ever seen before, it was a war without fighting (kind of). It was a war fought in between the USSR and the United States. Each side also included their allies: the US had NATO and the USSR had the Warsaw pact. The timeframe of this war was from 1947 to 1991. Despite the fact that this war is one of the longest in our history, I have chosen three main points that I think are vital for understanding the Cold War. Before when I said that this war took place without any fighting between the sides, I wasn’t lying. However, instead of directly fighting each other, they supported different sides during other wars that had the same ideals as them. Two examples of this would be the Vietnam War and the Korean War. The Vietnam War was the classic North versus South. North Vietnam was communist and it didn’t agree with the beliefs of South Vietnam who was somewhat capitalistic and had a democracy. Well, eventually, the two clashed and both the US and the USSR saw this as an opportunity to “fight” each other, at least when it came to their ways of government. The story of the Korean War was the same. Two different groups with two different ideologies went to war with each other and again the US and USSR saw it fit to get involved to prove a point to each other and the world. Still today we can see remnants of outcomes from both of these wars. In Korea we can see the south part flourishing while the north part is still seething over the division 50 years ago. In Vietnam we saw resentment as we merged the two into one country. So even though the Cold War has ... ... middle of paper ... ...media and press differ greatly between the two government styles. In America, we have a first amendment that guarantees the freedom of press. This means that the press has the right to put opinions within the media that they produce and distribute without censorship by the government. That is an entirely different story when it comes to the Soviet Union. Their press and media were super censored meaning that nothing got out to the public that the government didn’t approve first. That eliminated the threat of revolt. As I examined the Cold War, interesting stories and facts appeared that fascinate our minds with wonders about what it was like back then. But, by pulling out three main points, I was able to understand the basics of the Cold War and get an insight into what really happened and how it affects the world that we live in today. Works Cited dictionary.com

Show More
Related

  • DBQ: Cold War

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cold War Domestic Policy Essay

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    The foreign and domestic policies during the Cold War lead to both the separation of world powers and the fear of political and social systems throughout the world. After World War 2 had ended, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union heighted. The agreements made at the Yalta Conference between Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt , were not being followed by the Soviets. The Soviet Union kept the land they reconquered in Eastern Europe and did not enforce a democratic government in those countries, as they promised. Instead, the Soviet Union decided to continue spreading communism in their reconquered lands. The United States’ feared the spread of communism and attempted to do anything in its power to stop it. Before the United

    Read More

  • How Did the Cold War Affect the Politics of Germany and Italy?

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cold War was the most important historic event in the 20th century after the Second World War, from 1945 till 1991 between two most powerful countries in that period – Soviet Union and USA. The Cold War invested a lot in world politics. What is the Cold War? This was a war for dominance in the world. In 1945 the USA was the only one country in the world that had the nuclear weapons. But in the 1949 USSR started to learn their nuclear weapons. In further developments forced the USSR was soon created by nuclear, and then thermonuclear weapons. (Isaacs J, 2008) Fight has become very dangerous for all.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cold War was a post-World War II struggle between the United States. and its allies and the group of nations led by the Soviet Union. Direct military conflict did not occur between the two superpowers, but intense economic and diplomatic struggles erupted in the country. Different interests led to mutual suspicion and hostility in a rising philosophy. The United States played a major role in the ending of the Cold War.

    Read More

  • Cold War Dbq Essay

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cold Peace Essay

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this example, the realism peace theories are applied to the West European cold peace after the Second World War. The transition of cold war in 1950s to cold peace was due to the emergence of realist mechanisms where the United States (US) pacifying role as the hegemon and the common threat produced from the Soviet Union to the US and Western Europe. The combined effects of hegemony and balance of power produced the cold peace between the key rivals France and West Germany after the World War Two in 1950-1954. The initial caused of conflict was due to a series of disagreements about the status of Germany (Steans, .et.al, 2005). During the cold war, France tried to control Germany and made the state powerless by drawing it into alliance. The states accepted each other’s existence through formal agreements and maintained diplomatic relations. The US and Soviet Union came forward to dictate the change in French policy and the involvement of US had influence the French-German relationship. Nevertheless, there were unresolved conflicts and high extent of mutual insecurity between the two states. At the same time, the Soviet Union took a precaution to ensure that Germany did not pose a threat.

    Read More

  • Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Censorship Of Censorship In Russia

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    Russian people enjoyed the liberty to express their views in the decade of 1855 to 1865. “The press then enjoyed greater freedom” (Newth, 2002). As the years passed by of non-censorship, the image of the Russian government and leader of Tsar Alexander at first was extremely favorable (Downs, 2014). Still, soon things started to go down in later years. In 1865, the censorship came back with Russian government and Alexander wanted to keep Russian image positive. The people of Russia soon started to lose their small freedom they had with free voice. Still, there was some sort of freedom of media, but it was not entirely true. “Although freedom of the press nominally existed in the Soviet Union, the government reserved the right to prevent the publication of certain materials.” (Kassof, 2004).

    Read More

  • Cold War

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War was an argument between the Soviet Union and the United States of America after WWII. During WWII the USA and the Soviet Union were allies fighting a common cause: Adolph Hitler who was attempting to overthrow the surrounding countries. Although the USA and the Soviet Union were allies, the relationship between the two countries was very tense (What Was). Neither country trusted the other. After WWII their relationship became even more tense due to the building of new weapons capable of destroying entire countries.

    Read More

  • The Cold War: The Lasting Effects Of The Cold War

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • What Was The Tension Between The 1950's And 1960

    231 Words  | 1 Pages

    e were numerous situations that led to the Cold War. It all began after WW2 arose and came to an end in where the post-war conflict between the Soviet Union and the US grew significantly. Due to these nation’s distinctions and visions for a post-war world, tensions between the two nations grew to create an impact in the form of living during the 1950’s and 1960’s, which was caused by the fear that communism imposed; consequently, today we continue to witness the struggle between democracy and communism.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Cold War

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cold war wasn’t literally a war just fought in the cold; it was more of a mental state of battles more than a physical one. A state of political and military tension after the Second World War (World War II) among powers of the Western blocks (The United States & its allies) VS. The powers in the Eastern bloc (Soviet Union and Warsaw pact)

    Read More

  • Spacecraft During The Cold War Essay

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cold War was never a very violent conflict; hence the word ‘cold’. Though the two primary combatants were the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Special Republics (USSR or Russia), countries such as Korea, Afghanistan and Vietnam were far more affected in terms of war; but these conflicts were abetted by the US and USSR. Russia and America were initially rivals as they differed in terms of government methods; USSR was socialist and the US capitalist. During the Cold War, both countries expressed conflict through espionage, coalitions, a nuclear arms race and technological competitions; from one of which the Space Race was born.

    Read More

  • Communism And The Cold War Essay

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Cold War Essay

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Cold War Essay

Open Document