Cold War

The Cold War which’s believed duration was from the end of World War II till the ultimate destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991 is considered to be one of the most monumental political events of the 20th century. This war was a political battle between the Democratic and Communist parties, the East and the West, but primarily a war of ideology between the United States and the Soviet Union. The national leaders of these countries held greatly dissimilar concepts of postwar security.

The United States with their capitalist way of life and the Soviet Union with their “spreading” communism. After World War II and the defeat of Hitler, Stalin’s determination remained on track, he was to conquer as much territory along the Soviet Union as possible and this was to be the nation’s security. The United States viewed security in institutional terms, assuming that peace would come about as long as there was security organizations which would resolve conflicts bound to rise. Each of the potencies ideologies were another pressing factor for the Cold War. The Soviet Union purposely downplayed their commitment to communism during the war, some Americans even believed that it to be completely dissipated.

The fact that the Soviet Union fought so effectively against Germany increased this feeling. The United States governed by a democratic capitalist policy, this is obviously the opposite of that of the Soviet Union and they held a strong anti-communist approach. This situation of Communist and American aggression was a world threat of nuclear devastation by the United States, Great Britain, and France and by the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China which could end up in a nuclear exchange rendering life on earth impossible.

For these reason many diverse points of view have formed regarding the responsible party for the Cold War. According to a traditional point of view (John Lewis Goddis), the Cold War was a conflict between two great nations with great weapon power caused by Soviet aggression. The conventional point of view (Tomas G. Paterson) claims that the United States tried to contain the Soviet Union and protect the world form it. At the source of the Cold War the Soviet Union; they almost had at their hand a great deal of power; too much power in the U.S.’s eyes. For this reason every Soviet “aggression” had a counter aggression by the United States; this heightened diplomatic tensions.

When the Soviets attempted to gain full control of Berlin by performing a blockade against all Allied forces the U.S. were alarmed. Despite the barrier in 1947 the President Harry S. Truman passed the Truman doctrine in which the immediate objective was to send U.S. aid to anti-communist forces in Greece and Turkey; it was later expanded to justify support for any nation that the U.S. government believed was threatened by communism during the Cold War period. This was the very beginning of the antagonistic relation. The end of the war left Russia with destroyed industries, devastated land and more that twenty million citizens dead. Stalin had hoped to reconstruct his territory with the aid of a Land Lease and a postwar loan from the United States.

He based this plan on his belief that the United States was going to need foreign markets for surplus products in the future due to a postwar depression. This is not what happened however, the United States passed in helping the Soviet Union with the loan and Washington also disapproved the Lend Lease for reconstruction. There actions could have undoubtedly changed the outcome of the Cold War, especially since the feeling of resentment was strong towards the United States.

The U.S. came out of the war with a more advanced industrial plant then they possessed when they commence the war, and they had in their possession the atomic bomb. The Soviet Union avoided concern about the weapon and began the construction of their own bomb. However, neither of the countries had enough faith in the world organization to completely entrust their security to this one device. Another act of aggression that angered the Americans was Stalin's refusal to hold free elections

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