The Reasons behind the Cold War Essay - 1326 Words

The Cold war was a sustained state of military and political tension between powers of two dominating powers from opposite sides of the globe. One from the Western Bloc, or Capitalist Bloc, dominated by the United States (U.S) and the other from the Eastern Block, or Communist Bloc, powered by the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R). Obviously both very different, the opposing ideas of the superpowers supported the spread of their respective and economic systems and strengthened their military powers. As a result, the two sides developed new weapon systems, stockpiled nuclear weapons, and competed in space exploration. But what actually caused these tensions between the two? How come their differences in ideology made it impossible to cooperate? It†¦show more content†¦Put in effect in June 1947, the Marshall Plan was to stop the Soviet Union from influencing any of the weakened powers in the west. During that time, the United States had sent billions of dollars in aid to European democracies in order for them to rebuild after the war. Stalin did not understand and saw Truman’s actions as insensitive to the Russians who had many deaths and war damages. As a result, Stalin refused to aid in the Marshall Plan. He also defied these plans with setting up Pro-Communist governments in Poland and other countries all over Eastern countries making the â€Å"Iron Curtain† separating the East and West in Europe. This lack of rebuilding from the Communists side showed even after the reunification of the Iron Curtain. The economy in Germany took a massive hit, since it had to repay for all the damages done that the Communists never paid. In 1948, the Truman Doctrine was introduced for all the states going through a struggle for freedom against their oppressors. President Truman said, I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. The Truman Doctrine presented a policy of Containment; Communism would be limited only toShow MoreRelatedWeakness Of The American Foreign Policy Essay1733 Words   |  7 Pagestheir aggressive invasion of Afghanistan. In 1979, the Soviet Union made a fateful decision of invading Afghanistan. To put at risk this easing of strained relations which began in 1971 with the Soviet invasion, USSR must have had a valid enough reason. For the purpose of this essay, aggressive expansionism will be defined as â€Å"characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight† (Vocabulary.com, 2016) in order to try exerting â€Å"influence over another country†, or actually invading it. (Vocabulary, sRead MoreThe Cold War: The Iron Curtain Essay780 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"Cold War† was a unique time period were paranoia ran high and the world was at a stalemate as it watch the competition between the two world superpowers,(U.S. and the U.S.S.R.). In the United States the main concern of the government was maintain the loyalty of their citizens. This was made even more evident by the second red scare that happened post WWII. The reason behind this scare was that information was leaked that there was espionage going on in the US and this caused Americans to fearRead MoreRethinking Cold War History, By John Lewis Gaddis1340 Words   |  6 PagesGaddis, John L. We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press1997. We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History, is a book about the Cold War. This book was written by John Lewis Gaddis. John L. Gaddis is a Cold War historian. He portrays the Cold War in English and through the dialect of others. The thesis of this book is, I seek to situate this book at a particular point in time, not to claim timelessness for it. This is what I think we know now but did not knowRead MoreThe, State, And War918 Words   |  4 Pagesto what exactly causes war to happen. International Relations scholars theorize about war in an attempt to explain the causes they think are correlated with war. Political Scientists compiled a non-exhaustive list of the conscious reasons why governments have decided to go to war. The two reasons I found to be related to the Cold War were the following: to preserve or restore a balance of power and to thwart the hegemonic aims of another power. Additionally, to fight small war now against a growingRead MoreAnalysis of the Poem Winter Piece b y Charles Tomlinson Essay545 Words   |  3 Pagesand possibly rain and snow. The fierce wind closes the gates ‘like gunshot’. 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The research paper mainly focused on various reasons of opposition of two great power of the world Soviets and United States of AmericaRead MoreThe Cold War1120 Words   |  4 Pages Cold War In 1945 after WWII the United States and the Soviet Union became divided as far as how they felt Europe should be divided. This began the period of conflict called the Cold War. The Cold War was â€Å"a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare†(dictionary.com).The USSR believed in communism, where the US believed in democracy. The US was between two potentially hostile nations, the US designed a BufferRead MoreDemocracy : The Cause For International Peace Or For Global War?1718 Words   |  7 PagesRoeder Democracy: The Cause for International Peace or for Global War? In just over 100 years, the world has seen two major global wars along with a cold war. 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Other reasons why Cold War had developed by was because of the different ideology to begin with, the Marshal l Plan and TrumanRead MoreThe Cold War During World War II970 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a period of 44 years of both military and political tension after World War II. There were many ideals and events that lead to the Cold War. Nationalism, poor economic conditions, and a strong desire for democracy and human rights are the primary reasons that many believe the Cold War started. However, these are just a few of the reasons for the Cold War. Events such as the Yalta Conference, Truman Doctrine, Potsdam Conference, and the Marshall Plan also greatly influenced the start