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The conflict in ideologies between capitalism and communism resulted in one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The belief that freedom and democracy would die under communist rule caused the United States to start a conflict that would last for decades. The decisions made by the United States in W.W.II caused tensions to rise between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. Fear of Communism in capitalist nations, caused the United states government to use propaganda to raise Cold War anxieties. Furthermore, the American media influenced the attitudes of Americans, making a hatred of communism spread though the nation. Thus, the United States caused the conflict known as the Cold War, through its political policy and propaganda. The political relations going on in Europe during and directly after World War II had an enormous effect on laying the foundation for the Cold War. War time conferences such as Yalta and Terhran harshened the relationship between the communists and the capitalists. At the end of W.W.II American policy towards the Soviets changed drastically. The change in president in 1945 caused relations with Russia to worsen. Furthermore, other political contributions to the Cold War entailed the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The division of Europe between the west and east drew physical borders which outlined that the war of misinformation that had began. Also treaties of the post war world further separated the two super powers of the world for the decades to follow. The waging of hot wars through other countries also strengthened Cold War hatred.(1) The first of the cold war tensions arose out of W.W.II conferences between the Soviet Union, America and, Great Britain. Tehran, the first major conference which lead America to start the Cold War, included all three of these nations. At this conference the reshaping of post-war Europe was discussed (2) Later in February of 1945, the big three met again at Yalta. At this conference European boundaries, German reparations, and Polish elections were agreed upon.(3) Stalin, the Russian leader, agreed to hold free and fair elections. Later after Roosevelt, who attended these conferences, died Truman became president. He accused the Soviet leader, Stalin, of not holding up to his agreements at Yalta.(4) Stalin wanted to use Poland as a buffer zone to prevent any future invasions from happening through this area. During W.W.II the Soviets had lost 27 million, and Stalin made it clear that in no way would he allow this to happen again.(5) Stalin responded to Truman’s accusation with the following words, "I am ready to fulfill your request and do everything possible to reach a harmonious solution. But you demand too much of me. In other words, you demand that I renounce the interests of security of the Soviet Union, but I cannot turn against my country."(6) On the other hand, American General Lucius Clay, who was stationed in post war Germany commented " we must have the courage to proceed quickly with the establishment of a government for western Germany...42 million Germans in the British and American zones represent today the strongest outpost against Communist penetration that exists anywhere."(7) At this response Truman changed his attitude toward the Soviets with the words, " there isn’t any difference between the totalitarian Russian government and the Hitler government."(8) Furthermore, America decided to keep Stalin out of the loop about the Manhattan project, which furthered distrust, because Stalin learn about the bomb through espionage. Truman’s change in attitude toward Stalin, from that of FDR’s negotiation with "Uncle Joe" to one committed to stopping the Soviet cause, led to the creation of a new American anti-Soviet political policy. The Truman Doctrine, the name given to the policy established by Truman, would soon arise in American foreign policy. This Truman Doctrine came out of a speech the Truman gave to a joint session of congress. It was the response Truman gave to Britain, which delcared that they no longer could give military and economic aid to Greece.(9) In this speech Truman finally gave the Cold War official status, by stating the threat that the Soviet government had on national security. In Truman’s actual words he said, "I believe that 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."(10) Congress, knowing that Great Britain would no longer give aid the Turkey and Greece, realized that these nations would soon turn to communism. Thus, they decided to appropriate four hundred million dollars to help in the aid of Turkey and Greece.(11). To support Truman’s policy Senator Author Vandenburg stated " its time to scare the hell out of the American people with tales of communism on the march."(12) Thus, America was further contributed to cold war issues by committing to stop the spread of communism in areas of the world very remote from them. America’s next political actions further caused the Cold War to escalate. In 1947, George C. Marshall the Secretary of the state at the time gave a speech at Harvard university which reveled his plans for the an after war economy. Marshall asked that all of the countries of Europe communists and capitalists alike to draw up a plan for economic recovery from the war.(13) The Soviets refused to participate, because they saw it as America using money to buy its way into good terms with Europe. In the words of the Soviet foreign minister Molotov, the Marshall plan was "nothing but a vicious American scheme for using dollars to buy its way."(14) In the end, the United States sent 13 billion over to Western Europe to support economic recovery.(15) The Soviet Union saw this as an American attempt to keep any of these countries from turning to communism, which would close them off as US markets. Thus, the Marshall plan further contributed to a Soviet cause to continue waging a Cold War. In 1949 America helped to organize a treaty against communism. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO included the following nations : Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxemberg, Norway, Portugal , the United States. This treaty showed a clear division of Communism verses Capitalism, and it declared that an attack against one of these nations would be an attack on all of them.(16) Thus, the United States used this treaty to escalate the cold War by showing the Soviet Union that all of the NATO countries sided with the US in the Cold War. Finally, the United states waged hot wars through other nations; instead in actually declaring war against the Soviet Union. These hot wars in Korea and again in Vietnam. Both of these wars resulted from the United States trying to contain Communism from spreading throughout the world. (17) Thus, all of the United States’ political actions further contributed to the Cold War cause. The political actions Of the United States from the time of W.W.II onward caused the Cold War conflict. The conferences of W.W.II set the tone for a time period of distrust between the Soviet union and the United States. With a new president in office Cold War policy was officialy began. Furthermore, from that point on the policy of the United States delcared itself as anti-Communist from that point on. Thus, to get the American public to side with the government on the issue of communism, America turned to the use of propaganda. The United States used propaganda and other influences to get the American public scared of communism and in support of the cold war. First congress began to use HUAC to stop films from having to much of a communist appeal to them(18) Furthermore, HUAC investigated people for being communist spies. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenburg and Alger Hiss, people accused of being communist spies suffered conviction. This caused the anti-Communist attitude in the United States to grow tremendously. Thus, the American government used a federal organization to further the public’s hatred of communism. Next an American Senator named Joseph R. McCarthy would lead a series of trials against communists in the United States.(19) Most of the people that Macarthy accused of being communist reached conviction. This happened despite the fact that many of the accused were not in fact communists.(20) This situation has compares to the Salem Witch trials; notably like the witch trial the main outcome of the Macarthy trial srtuck fear into American public. Thus, the McCarthy trial increased anti-Communist hatred in the US and scared anyone out of committing to communist party for fear of their life. Therefore, the McCarthy trials acted as form of US propaganda, which gathered American support for the Cold War against the Soviets. Moreover, with the publication of George Orwell’s book 1984, anti-communist propaganda increased. This book showed the United States under a communist dictatorship. Thus, as propaganda this book increased the general anticommunist attitude of the American public.(20) Moreover, Hollywood began to produce anti-Communist films such as The Red Menace, which increased a fear of communism in the United States.(21) Thus, the actions of the American government, journalist, and media increased the general anti-Communist support for the Cold War. The American media also contributed to the Cold War propaganda in and out of the United States. American journalists would commonly make up stories of communism in the United States in an effort to sell papers and to continue feelings of anti-communism.(22) Also a radio station called Radio One began to broadcast an anti communist message in Europe.(23) These radio broadcasts defamed the Soviet Union and communism and supported democracy and the United States. These broadcasts blatantly attempted to degrade communism, that they were never allowed to be transmitted in America.(24) Therefore, the overall actions of the United States clearly reports propaganda to increase support for the Cold War, which dominated American foreign policy for decades. The United States caused the Cold War by the political decisions that in made and through its use of propaganda. The political decisions made by the United States from W.W.II onward caused the Cold War to start and to continue for decades. Moreover, the government’s use of propaganda at home rallied the American public in an anticommunist attitude, which supported the countries political decisions. Thus, the United States caused the conflict between Democracy and Communism.
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After the closing months of World War II, there still remained much tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as many other countries. The Russians were acting like communists, taking over absolute control of the smaller countries of Poland and Romania, while the United States were trying to force Germans to reimburse the Soviet Union for World War II. Many people have contrasting viewpoints and opinions about who was to blame for the Cold War. Some believe it was mainly because of the United States, while others blame the Soviet Union for the distressing mishap. Others think that maybe it was inevitable and bound to happen, or maybe it was partly both of their faults. In the end, there were many attributes and events that had triggered the Cold War, thus creating more controversy over much of Europe and the United States.
There are many points that may have triggered the Cold War. Firstly, the history of mistrust between the USA and the Soviet Union that formed after their alliance in World War II was a triggering event. The USSR was scared that their Communist system was under threat from the Capitalists, but the Capitalists thought the same thing about the Communists. Both systems believed that they were doing the right thing. The USSR believed that the West was hostile towards them because of many incidents that occurred. To begin with, USA, Britain, and France sent troops across to help the USSR’s opponents in 1919. In later years, Stalin believed that there was an indication of Western support to Hitler after the two European countries, Britain and France, turned down an Anti-Hitler alliance. The USSR believed that the British policy of appeasement was a plan to help Hitler. In 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Afterwards, the USA, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union fought in an alliance. Stalin urged his allies to launch a second front. The other three countries were not ready to launch such an attack until June of 1944 (D-Day). Stalin thought that the other countries were deliberately waiting for Germany to weaken the Soviet Union before the front was launched. Lastly, the Soviets were not invited to the Munich conference, even though it was held right on the Soviet border. The other countries knew that Stalin would never agree to Hitler’s terms. The basic mistrust that the Soviet Union and the USA had for each other made the breakdown of the wartime alliance certain.
The second factor of this argument involves the two different political systems that the Soviets and the Democratic West held. The USSR had a Communist system set up, while the West had a Capitalist system. Communists believed that rights were less important than the good of society as a whole. As a result of this, industry grew rapidly but the general standard of living was a lot lower than that of the USA. The USSR was a one party dictatorship. All candidates belonged to the communist party; many communists were bitterly opposed to the Western Capitalist policies. The Capitalists believed that being free of control is much more important than everyone being equal and alike.
Another factor of this was the Yalta Conference, a meeting about how Europe was to be organized after WW2. Held in February 1945, Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill met at Yalta. It was decided that free elections were to be set up democratic governments to east European countries, freed from the Nazis; a United Nations Organization would be set up to keep peace; and Germany should be divided up into zones of occupation, one controlled by Britain, one controlled by the USA, one by the Soviet Union and one controlled by France, while the capital, Berlin was divided into similar sections. Once Germany was defeated, the Soviets would join war against Japan. Stalin wanted to keep the parts of Poland that he had won in the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939. He wanted Poland to expand westward into Eastern German, which would create a safe-zone between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Germans before had attacked Stalin once, and he did not want this to reoccur. He had also wanted Poland to have a pro-Soviet government. Stalin also had another government in exile, which was ready to be taken over. This was known as the Lublin Poles. Britain and the USA on the other hand had supported a different group called the London Poles, who were strongly against communism. The Yalta Conference appeared to be a success, but Stalin had elected a pro-communist government into Poland, but this was not what Churchill and Roosevelt had wanted.
After the Yalta Conference, many actions and events took place, which greatly changed the relationships between the dominant country leaders. To begin with, America had successfully tested the Atomic Bomb. In addition, Churchill had lost the general election from England, and Atlee became the new British leader. Then, President Roosevelt had died, leaving Truman to be appointed President. Stalin’s armies were occupying most of Eastern Europe as well.
When Truman took office, he wanted to put a stop to the growth of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, but there were still many Soviet troops in these countries. There was little the USA could do, until they were informed that Britain could not afford to hold British troops in Greece and Turkey. Truman gave money to the UK so that the troops could remain stationed there. This was known as “containment,” meaning the prevention of communist expansion. With this Truman Doctrine came the Marshall plan, an attack on Communist roots. This plan/idea was to give money to any country under threat from being taken over by the Soviet Union, so that they could prevent communism to spread into their country. Stalin rejected this plan though. The Marshall Plan was an extremely generous act by the United States. It was also motivated by American self-interest. In response to the Marshall Plan, the Soviets set up two other organizations: the Communist Information Bureau, an organization to strengthen relationships between communist nations, and the council for Mutual Economic Aid, which was a rival to the Marshall Plan.
At this time, Berlin was divided into zones, which were similar to the zones that split Germany. On June 24, 1948, Stalin decided to blockade West Berlin by cutting off road and rail links. To break this blockade, the Allies would have to send tanks to smash through the blocks. This would be seen as an act of war, and Stalin did not believe that the Allies would go that far. The west sent supplies in planes across to the three air bases in West Berlin. This was later known as “The Berlin Airlift.” This controversy caused a decision of whether or not to call back the blockade, and in the end, Stalin called it off. Stalin’s blockade had made the Allies stand their ground and take measures to strengthen their control of Germany. Their opposition to the Soviet Union rose after this. The formation of NATO was a military alliance of the European powers with the USA and Canada. NATO was a direct challenge to the Soviets, but the Soviets responded with their own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact.
In the end, there were many elements that triggered the Cold War in Eastern Europe and the United States. There are many that believe that this incident could have been prevented, but in the end, this preventable war did occur. There were many factors from each individual country that helped to set off this incident, such as the Communist system, the different political systems, as well as the Yalta Conference. In the end, the Cold War, which followed the post World War II period, changed the lives of millions in the past, as well as the present in our known history.
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During the World War II the Soviet Union and the United States were allies, they were united under the treat of being defeated by Nazi Germany. But after Hitler’s defeating under the Stalingrad and Kursk in 1944 major German forces became weak and a lot of USSR’s occupied territories were free.[1- Ture Linne Ericsen, Vsemirnaya Istoriya s 1850 goda do nashih deni, printed in Norway by Norbok, Gjovik 1994, p.310]
This win has moved USSR to the superpower position. For US it wasn’t good solution in a postwar world that is why the only way was to prevent this USSR domination. Stalin’s administration gained not only to consolidate the sphere of influence in USSR, but also to expand it. American administrations took with anxiety the growth of international influence of USSR and establishing it prevalence in Eastern Europe.
After the end of WWII in world politic were the only 2 leaders – the USA with a head of Truman and nuclear weapon and the USSR with a head of Stalin without nuclear bomb. From 1949 the US was no longer nuclear weapon monopolist, because USSR also has invented it. Further the world was divided into two parts, hearts of which became the USSR and USA. Under these events the Cold War took its start.
The relations between these superpowers have strained. And in march 1946, in Fulton, Churchill said that the USSR didn’t held agreements and put “an iron curtain” under the Eastern Europe; this speech is known as public announcement of the Cold war[2 – Bol’shoi spravochnik istorii dlya shkol’nikov i postupauschih v VUZy, Drofa, 1998, p.253], but the war has started much more early.
The cold war was the first in world history and ordinary people couldn’t understand the sense of the war and what politicians from the both “poles” wanted to gain through this war and how will it influence ordinary people. During the cold war the trade was cut down – USSR economy felt crisis, was leading informational war with using propaganda. But the main factor of the war was the developing the strongest world power by arms race - production of nuclear, hydrogen weapons and missile.
Although the monopoly of the USA’s atomic weapon was broken in 1949, the US government could feel themselves sure while USSR had no aircraft or rackets which could bring nuclear weapon from one place to another. Americans were shocked when in 1957 USSR have launched satellite to the near-earth orbit.[1, p.338] It was a great step in a field of electronics and racket technology. Thanks to the network of naval bases on the allies territories Americans could send their rackets as close as it possible to the USSR’s largest cities and USSR was unable to do the same thing until 1962. During the Cuba’s crises Americans were going to interfere Cuba. Americans attitude forced Castro to ask for help from the USSR. At the result Castro allowed the Soviets to build launch sites for anti-aircraft and nuclear missiles. Cuba was very profitable place for the USSR, because Cuba is just in a few miles of Florida. Khrushchev was not slow in making the most of this opportunity and put the missile there.
The aim of both nations was to raise the amount of weapon and put missiles as close to the other country as it possible. To the 1980’s the USA had their main naval bases in China with “3,500,000 men under arms, atomic weapon” [3, p.269], West Germany with “495,000 under arms in perhaps the best world’s, large well-equipped air force” [3, p.269], and Turkey “480.000 under arms, NATO member, equipped air force, U.S. listening devices aimed at USSR” [3, p.269]. According to the map “A 1980’s Soviet View” we can see that USSR was surrounded by American’s naval bases – Norway in the North- West, Britain, West Germany and France in the West, Greece and Turkey in the South-West, Iran in the North, Afghanistan, China and South Korea in the South- East where mostly each had an atomic weapon. In the respond of the US bases, USSR brought to Cuba missiles with a nuclear warhead. Both sides had enough weapons to destroy each other and not only, such huge resolves of atomic weapon could destroy whole world. And when the USA government has found out that USSR did such thing, the world froze. Both sides understood that if one would push the button another will do the same for sure, and the world would be destroyed for sure also. The world waited for the end of the high-level negotiate between Washington and Moscow [1, p.338]. Never before the danger of nuclear war has been so real. The Cuban crisis has ended, between superpowers was agreement: USSR have moved nuclear weapon out the Cuba, and USA promised to not attack Cuba any more. A few days later America have moved the same atomic weapon out the Turkey [1, p.338].
Very soon new agreement was achieved, to stop nuclear weapon test in air, space and water. Anyway the arms raise were continuing not looking on agreement and major partnership between two superpowers after the Cuban crisis. Between 1960 and 1980 the expenses on arming “increased almost in 5 times” [1, p.339], although both sides had more than enough weapons to destroy whole world few tomes. About 1970’s destructive force was approximately “in 1 million more than that two bombs which were thrown on Japan. 15 tons of explosive per person, and there were enough for each in the world.” [1, p.338] Scientist believed that in a case of nuclear war the sun couldn’t send its rays to the earth – it would be impossible to reach the earth through the thick, dark clouds and radioactive dust, thus the atomic night would kill everything on the earth. [2, p.256]. The only hope was superpowers to understand that in this war will no looser or winner, this war would be just a collective suicide.
The competition in the space was also very important. It was very expensive and a part of the power’s struggle for the prestige. In 1961 Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin became a first person, who was in open space. In 1969 the USA made first step in the Moon. Five years later USSR responded by launching the space ship with ship’s complement. And even most of these satellites were communication and weather satellites, rest of it were launched with military aims.
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The start of the cold war was due to many aspects that were present during this time period. Because of these aspects it is dificult to say one specific issue was responsible for the start of the Cold war. To say which one of these aspects played the major part in starting the cold war perhaps we should think of what could have prevented the cold war. As the World War II came to an end the three big poweres led by Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin met in Yalta to compromise on a treaty. The Yalta treaty was mainly the re-establishment of the nations who were concored and destroyed by the Germens. These nations wold have elections and choose thir desired leaders creating more democratic nations. It turned Berlin and eastern half of Germany to Stalin and lastly Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan in two-three months after Germany has surendered and war in Europ was terminated. However this was all to change once Rosevelt and the rest of the politicia!
ns left. Rosevelt had failed to realise that Stalin wanted revenge and was going to create a buffer around its land to protect future invasions by Germany, this being the second consecutive attack by them. Americans had been atacked only once by Japan and therefor were fighting a war without feeling the war. Roosevelt however did not do enything to stop Stolin because he felt that he would loose a powerful alie. This allowed the Russians to expend and become more powerful. They now were powerful enaugh to compete with the United States. When the nuclear bombs were droped on Heroshima it shortend the time expected for the war and russia was The cold war was a struggle between conflicting ideas and values. In the west, the concepts of a market economy and a multi-party democracy were cherished as necessity. In the east, single party statism and a command administrative economy were highly valued. The obvious conflict of ideas and obstinate nature of those who defended them were !
the driving force behind cold war. The time that the Cold war began was after the WWII. February of 1945, Germanys defeat was certain. The Russian army of 12 million soldiers were ordered to hold their position after they had completely occupied Poland. As the western allied army of 4 million men was still advancing westwards. On February 3rd, the three Big powers headed by Frandklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin met in Lavidia Palace to determine how the war should be finished. In the treaty of Yalta the re-establishment of the conquerd and destroyed nations by Germany was discussed. And The western nations felt it necessary that the newly freed nations of Erope should be restablished with a democracy and capitalist economy. Their reosoning was that the democratic system was more civilised and less violent than the nationalistm of the preceding generations. These fealings however were not mutual with that of rusias autocratic leader Josef Stalin. He felt that !
it had the right and had the need of those countrys it occupied in World War II. After two consecutive wars where they were invaded by the Germans, the USSR felt it necessary to create buffer states to protect the borders of the fatherland. The communist regimes in place enabled Russia to controll the Eastern Europe, which provided protection to Russia.
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The Cold War was a state of hostility between the two remaining superpowers after World War II, the USA and the USSR. Although once allies, they quickly became arch rivals. The USSR wanted to control Germany, but the USA supported an independent, democratic Germany. It became impossible for either Josef Stalin (Soviet leader) or Harry Truman (US President) to agree on any political matter. A mutual fear grew between the two, each afraid that the other would gain more power.
After the German defeat in 1945, the three major-allied leaders, the USSR’s Josef Stalin, Great Britain’s Winston Churchill and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, met at conferences in Yalta and Potsdam to discuss and agree upon the peace and reconstruction of Germany. Stalin was greedy in the division of Germany and refused to give up territory gained in the War.
The major difference between the two countries, was that the USSR was communist and the United States was a country of democratic capitalists. Communism is a system of government designed to equalise the economy and social conditions of life. It attempts to eliminate all inequality and distribute wealth equally. The government owns all property and the people are allocated employment and housing. Under communism, there is only one leader, one political party and no form of religion is accepted. Capitalism is an economic system in which individuals compete for their own economic gain in a free market where goods and prices are determined by supply and demand. It encourages hard work and is based on the individual’s freedom and rights. The only major disadvantage is the large gap between the rich and poor.
Germany was divided into four zones, as was the capital, Berlin. The French, British, and American zones merged together to form West Germany. The USSR was unhappy about this alliance and retaliated by building a blockade around West Berlin. Road and rail access was cut in an attempt to force the allies to leave Berlin to the Soviets. The USA and Britain responded by airlifting food supplies, coal, clothing and medicines into the city. The strategy succeeded and in May 1949 the blockade ended when the Soviets re-opened the borders.
During 1946, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill described the USSR as putting up an “Iron Curtain” across Europe . This prevented communication between the two as both sides became unaware as to what was happening on the other side. It heightened the fight for control between east and west and showed how fearful each side was of the other.
In 1948, the USA launched the Marshall Plan, a $13 billion program designed to rebuild post-war Western Europe. The Plan proposed massive economic aid and 16 countries subsequently borrowed money from the USA. The money played a vital role in the Cold War, as it not only rebuilt Western Europe, but heightened tensions dramatically and further divided the superpowers.
On April 4 1949, an agreement was signed between 11 nations, dominated by the United States. The treaty formed a military alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) designed to increase military strength and provide armed forces to resist communist development throughout Europe. The USSR saw the formation of NATO as a threat, and felt the need for an alliance of their own. In 1955 the USSR and other communist countries signed the Warsaw Pact, an agreement which established a military alliance in Eastern Europe.
The two superpowers went to great lengths to show that they had the strongest nation. Propaganda was heavily used in order to prove that each was superior. Espionage was used to obtain secret information about the weapons and intentions of one another. In 1947 the USA developed the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and in 1954 the USSR formed the equivalent of this, the KGB. Their main tasks were to monitor their enemies and to prevent the escape of information from their own side.
Two races which played a vital role in the Cold War were the Space Race and the Arms race. The USSR and the USA built up as many weapons as possible to have the strongest military power. Military and Economic Aid were used by the USA and USSR as a way of gaining support. Between 1957 and 1969, there were tremendous discoveries in the Space race. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the earth. The USSR appeared to be winning the Space Race so US President John F. Kennedy poured millions of dollars into space projects. In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to ever land on the moon.
Although the USA and USSR never fought each other directly, they were still involved in wars with other countries. After the events of World War II, Korea was divided. The communist USSR occupied the North, while the capitalist USA took control of the South. North Korea attacked the South on June 25 1950, and within two months almost pushed the suffering South into the sea. The western governments immediately sent troops to help the South and the mostly American army forced the North back to the Chinese border. After two years of bloody, unproductive battle, an armistice was eventually signed in 1953.
The most dangerous crisis between the superpowers occurred on the island of Cuba, just 144km off the coast of Florida. On October 14, 1962, a US U-2 spy plane captured photographic images of a Soviet missile site in Cuba capable of killing 80 million Americans. On October 22, US President J.F. Kennedy announced a total naval blockade of Cuba and prepared to invade. Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev refused to remove the missiles unless the US withdrew their arms from Turkey. After days of tense negotiations, a deal was reached and the USSR removed its missiles from Cuba, as did the USA from Turkey. The avoidance of war indicated that both the USA and USSR recognized the responsibility of nuclear weapons and both were reluctant to use them.
In 1964, War in Vietnam erupted. It was very similar to the Korean War where North Vietnam was backed by the USSR and the South was strongly supported by the USA. For four years the US fought for freedom from the North Vietnamese. In 1973, the humiliated Americans withdrew from the War after losing a tragic 57,000 lives in a failed attempt to protect South Vietnam.
In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR, representing a new generation of Soviet leaders. He introduced two new policies; Glasnost and Perestroika which both pursued the openness and reconstruction of Russia. In 1987, Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan abolished an entire range of nuclear weapons. In November 1989, after massive street protests across East Germany, the USSR finally reopened its borders and East and West Germany were reunited. This led to the dismantlement of the Berlin Wall.
Two years later President Gorbachev resigned from power and slowly, the 15 individual republics declared their independence. The following year, in 1992 Gorbachev officially announced the end of the Cold War . The dreadful era of fear and hostility was finally over.
The Cold War had lasting effects on the entire world. Communism left Russia crippled and in a state of depression. The Cold War led to great advancements in nuclear weapon technology and space technology. Some third-world African and Asian nations, as a result of aid given by the USA and USSR in the Cold War eventually overthrew their governments. The Cold War was over, it had played a vital part in history, but it was only the beginning of what was to come.
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Many events have occurred in America that have created fear and a feeling of uneasiness in the American people. One scary event would be that of the Cold War in the aftermath of World War II.
In the 1940s and 1950s, many fears were aroused in Americans by the Soviet Union. Many people built and installed bomb shelters. They filled these shelters with canned foods and emergency equipment. Most people even practiced emergency escapes when a warning (test) siren was sounded. The American people had been advised a missile could hit the United States within ten hours of being launched. Many made their emergency escape plan to be completed within ten hours, but others fearing technological advances would shorten the missile’s arrival time, planned to have much less time to prepare. Another fear the American people experienced was the possibility of falling into another depression. During World War II, America’s economy was unstable. The loss of jobs during the depression was a fear for many. Communism was another fear. Americans were afraid of the Communist faction and it’s potential influence over America’s political leaders. They feared Communism taking over the United States, resulting in a country ruled by one dictator.
President Dwight Eisenhower was the president of the United States during the Cold War. President Eisenhower addressed the nation trying to calm fears, but unfortunately made fears increase. When he addressed the nation, he seemed to provide more information than the majority of Americans were capable of understanding. Many felt he gave too much information and caused more confusion among the population.
In addition to the monetary involvement in the war, the United States had many other financial issues which were being neglected. The Eisenhower administration spent a vast amount of money on the war effort.
Instead of trying to relax America’s tension on domestic affairs, they focused on external problems.
The emotional toll on the American people in the aftermath of World War II was great. Many people lived in constant fear of bombs, missiles, and Communists. Americans who lived through this time period never seemed to fully recover. If the government would have realized how great the fears and concerns were and had done more to reassure the Americans, their fears would have been lessened.
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Comintern Dissolved
May 22
To please his allies in the West
Joseph Stalin dissolved the Third Communist International,
or Comintern, formed in 1919
to organize world wide prol-rev
The dissolving of the Comintern
had a big symbolic significance
as if now the USSR
could co-exist with capitalist nations
without trying to Marx them
The Soviet Union announces that it has abolished the Comintern, or Communist International, which had been organized in 1919 to foment communist revolutions in other countries. [This brings favorable comment from most Americans, including Joseph Davies, ambassador to the Soviet Union, Eric Johnston, president of the US Chamber of Commerce and even Rep. Martin Dies (D-TX), chairman of the House Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities. The major skeptics were prelates of the Catholic Church, William C. Bullitt, former ambassador to USSR, and die-hard isolationists such as Rep. Hamilton Fish (R-NY). (22)]
August 12, 1942
In Moscow Prime Minister Churchill breaks the bad news in person to Stalin: There can be no Anglo-American "second front" in Europe in 1942, as FDR had unwisely promised. He cites military unreadiness to launch an invasion by September, the last month of favorable weather. He proposes landings in North Africa and continued saturation bombing of Germany as a substitute for the second front to help ease the burden of USSR on the Eastern Front. [There was considerable speculation and demand from those on the left for a second front. (19)]however, could not prevent the dissolution of the Communist International in 1943. This took place without convening a congress and, allegedly, as a result of the "growth and political maturity" reached by its communist parties.39 But clearly, this could not be the case, since within a short time from its dissolution most of the communist parties embraced revisionism of one sort or another and found themselves in a state of mutual ideological conflict. By declaring that its dissolution had been "proper and timely",40 Stalin must have reached the conclusion that, under its revisionist leadership, the Comintern had ceased to be of any use as an organ of the socialist revolution. That Stalin and the Marxists-Leninists did not agree that a real international was no longer necessary is shown by the fact that in 1947, on Stalin's personal initiative, a new Marxist-Leninist international, on a restricted basis, was set up in the shape of the Communist Information Bureau, or Cominform, under a new leadership which excluded Dimitrov and Manuilsky. Significantly, the first acts of the Cominform were to express strong criticism of the revisionist lines of such communist parties as those of France, Italy, Japan and, later, Yugoslavia.
The Cold War Begins
The Yalta conference is often cited as the beginning of the Cold War. This meeting of the "Big Three" at the former palace of Czar Nicholas on the Crimean southern shore of the Black Sea took place February 4-11, 1945. Stalin's army had reached the Oder River and was poised for the final attack on Berlin, but Stalin on Feb. 3 had ordered Zhukov to pause while the conference was in session. His occupation of Poland was complete, and he possessed command of the largest army in Europe, 12 million soldiers in 300 divisions. Eisenhower's 4 million men in 85 divisions were still west of the Rhine. Strategic bombing had devastated German cities, and the last untouched major city in Germany would be destroyed Feb. 13 when Churchill sent his bombers over Dresden. Roosevelt appeared weak and tired in photos of the Yalta conference, and he would present his Yalta report to Congress March 1 sitting down. In two months, he would be dead of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. His physician, Dr. Howard Bruenn, has written that although FDR suffered from high blood pressure, there was no evidence that his health impaired his judgement at Yalta. Critics would accuse Roosevelt of a "sell-out" at Yalta, of giving away Eastern Europe to Stalin, of "secret deals" with a ruthless dictator. Bert Andrews in the New York Herald Examiner wrote about 4 secret deals: Russia's demand for $20 billion in reparations from Germany, for Poland to the Curzon line, for 3 seats in the United Nations, for territory in the Far East including Outer Mongolia, south Sakhalin Island, the Kuriles. Stalin did not hold free elections in Eastern Europe and the American press turned increasingly hostile to Russia. However, as Robert Dallek has pointed out in Franklin Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, FDR was hoping the future United Nations organization would be the place to deal with Stalin, not at Yalta. He told Adolf Berle "I didn't say the result was good. I said it was the best I could do." Both Roosevelt and Churchill recognized the reality of Soviet power in 1945.
The First Year of the Cold War - 1945
Feb. 4-11 - The Yalta Conference
· FDR, Churchill, Stalin meet in Crimea at the Livadia Palace on the Black Sea for the Yalta Conference
· FDR promises to withdraw all U.S. troops from Europe in 2 years
· new French zone added to occupation zones of Germany, but Stalin allowed $20 billion reparations from East Germany
· Decalaration on Liberated Europe promises "free and unfettered elections", but secret agreement on Curzon boundary
· United Nations to be created, but Stalin gets 2 extra seats for USSR
· trusteeships from former Axis colonies, but not British or French colonies
· Stalin to enter Asia war, and gets S. Sakhalin, Kuriles, control of ports and railroads
· Korea divided at 38th parallel
Mar. 29 - Stalin cable to FDR protests terms of surrender of German troops in Italy
Apr. 11 - Ike stops 9th Army at Magdeburg on the Elbe
Apr. 12 - death of FDR; Harry S Truman sworn in as President - images
Apr. 23 - Truman speaks harshly to Molotov
· U.S.-Soviet relations will no longer be "on the basis of a one-way street"
· U.S. did not expect to get 100% on important matters, but "we should be able to get 85%"
· "Carry out your agreements and you won't get talked to like that"
May 8 - VE Day - Victory in Europe
· German surrender documents and Truman's Proclamation
May 11 - Truman stops Lend-Lease aid
June 28 - Jimmy Byrnes replaces Edward Stettinius as Secretary of State
· Man of the Year article on James F. Byrnes: "Either-Or" published in Time, January 6, 1947, from Time-Warner's Pathfinder site.
July 17-Aug. 2 - The Potsdam Conference
· Truman, Churchill, Stalin meet in a suburb of Berlin
· no agreement on Poland's western boundary, but Lublin government allowed to expel 9 million Germans from eastern Poland
· Germany to be administered as single economic unit by Allied Control Council under Lucius Clay, but Stalin seals all land access to East Germany
· Stalin allowed to take 25% of West German industry in exchange for food, coal
· Nazi leaders to be tried as war criminals at Nuremburg
· Korea to be divided
· Potsdam Declaration July 26 demands unconditional surrender of Japan, but was surprise to Stalin
· Stalin told on July 24 of A-bomb test at Trinity July 23
· Churchill lost British election July 28 to Labor's Clement Attlee
· Council of Foreign Ministers to draft final peace treaties
· Stalin refuses to hold elections in occupied East Europe - "trouble spots" appear - map from Time 1945/05
Aug. 6 - Hiroshima - 20 kiloton Little Boy uranium bomb kills 80,000
Aug. 8 - Stalin declares war on Japan, sends troops into Manchuria
Aug. 9 - Nagasaki - 22 kiloton Fat Man plutonium bomb kills 70,000
Aug. 15 - Emperor Hirohito broadcasts surrender; VJ Day
Sept. - London Foreign Ministers Conference
· Byrnes recognizes Bulgaria, Rumania
Oct. 27 - Truman reviews returning fleet in NYC - images Dec. - Moscow Foreign Ministers Conference
· plans made for Paris Peace Conference next April
Dec. 6 - U.S. loan of $3.75 billion to Socialist Labor government of Britain
Dec. 31 - Time magazine selects Truman as Man of the Year
The Nuclear Arms Race
The Upshot-Knothole atomic test series of 11 explosions above ground (the one pictured left is the U-K Grable test 1953/05/25 from the High Energy Weapons Archive) took place at the Nevada Test Site March 17-June 4 1953. The first explosion was witnessed by a group of local women invited to the site by the Atomic Energy Commission as part of its new public relations campaign. One of these women, Klien Rollo, wrote in an editorial of the local newspaper that "the light was so bright that it was impossible to recognize colors..." and that "Governor Val Peterson, head of the National Federal Civil Defense Administration, was flabbergasted by the amount of dust and debris present even at two miles distant from ground zero." These tests later were discovered to be unusually "dirty" and caused "extraordinary concentrations" of radioactive iodine-131 in the bodies of thousands of sheep killed by the effects of the blast. The court case of Bulloch v. United States that resulted from these sheep deaths would drag on for thirty years. The arms race that began after the Korean War would make the policy of deterrence credible. However, this security came at a high price.
Cold War Demonstrations - 1946
Jan. 5 - Truman letter to Byrnes - no more recognition of communist governments
· "I'm sick of babying the Soviets"
· image at right of Truman, Byrnes, newly-appointed ambass. to Russia Gen. Walter Bedell Smith preparing to leave Mar. 23
Feb. 9 - Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible
Feb. 10 - Churchill visit to Truman - argues hard-line response, need to create unified Anglo-American opposition to Stalin
· considered to be the origin of the Cold War by Fraser Harbutt in Iron Curtain (1986)
Feb. 22 - Kennan's Long Telegram - 8000 words from Moscow embassy of U.S.
[image of Kennan at right from cover of US News & World Report 1949]
· Soviet power was the product of a "monolithic" ideology
· Russian behavior determined by a "traditional and instinctive Russian sense of insecurity"
· "we have here a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with US there can be no permanent modus vivendi"
· spread of communism was the greatest danger to the free world, not Soviet army
· communism is a "malignant parasite which feeds only on diseased tissue"
· "much depends on health and vigor of our own society." The greatest danger "is that we shall allow ourselves to become like those with whom we are coping."
Mar. 5 - Churchill's speech at Fulton, Missouri - an "iron curtain" has descended on Europe
Mar. 6 - Truman orders battleship USS Missouri to return the body of the late Turkish ambassador Mehmet Ertegun to Turkey (had died in the U.S. Nov. 11, 1944)
· left NYC Mar. 22 - arrived in Istanbul Apr. 5
· this was a demonstration of U.S. power opposing Russia demands on Turkey for Dardanelles base, 2 eastern provinces
· son Ahmet Ertegun remained in U.S. with brother Nesuhi, was jazz lover, founded Atantic Records, is chairman of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland - see Texas Music Magazine story (1998) and The Atlantic Records Story, (BBC-TV documentary, 1996)
Mar. 10 - Truman demands Russia get out of Iran - map
· no oil concessions, no annexation of Azerbaijan
Mar. 26 - Stalin begins to remove all troops from Iran by May 6, leaving his puppet Azerbaijan Democratic Party without support
Apr. 25 - Paris Peace Conference begins
· Ernest Bevin seeks compromise, but Byrnes refuses to make concessions
· first conference of 21 nations ends in disagreement May 16
· second conference June 15-July 12
· third conference July 29-Oct. 15
May - Lucius Clay stops removal of reparations from West Germany
June 14 - Baruch Plan proposed to keep A-bombs from Stalin
· "we are here to make a choice between the quick and the dead"
· international Atomic Development Authority would control weapons, not any country, but U.S. could keep its stockpile, harsh sanctions for violators, no veto by any country allowed.
July 1 - Op. Crossroads begins with Test Able - only 5 of 73 ships sunk
· "An American came to BIKINI. He said he was the most powerful man in the world and that he wanted to drop a bomb on BIKINI, so we would have to leave...." The words of KILON BAUNO chief of the BIKINIANS, "When the Bikini grew into a Mushroom?" from The Globe on ednet
· The bomb was dropped from the B-29 "Dave's Dream" from the 509th - see the 509th Bomb Wing history from John Bozeman
· July 1946 from DOE
· Flashback: July 1, 1946 from Washington Post
July 25 - Test Baker - underwater explosion - Test Charlie postponed
· "The Able-Baker-Where's-Charlie Follies" from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, includes an excerpt from the 1994 book Operations Crossroads by Johnathan M. Weisgall
· Bikini: Underwater Nuclear Theme Park by Phil Trupp
· Feature: Lost at Sea by Tad Friend; "Tragic are the people of the lovely Marshall Islands. When America exploded the A-bomb it took their homes, and when it gave comfort it took their ambition, and when it offered only craven solutions it took their hope. Now the Marshallese look to America once more, and the natives are growing restless. A dispatch from the atomic archipelago."
· The Marshallese, Chapter 12 of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments - Final Report from DOE
· "Radio Bikini" Video Transcripts by Richard Kucera, from the 1987 documentary film produced and directed by Robert Stone
Aug. 1 - McMahon Act creates Atomic Energy Commission
· civilian control - David Lilienthal
· but Vandenberg added Military Liaison Committee
Aug. - Truman supports Turkey opposition to Stalin's demands
· orders aircraft carrier into Dardanelles
Sep. 12 - Henry Wallace speech critical of Truman's hard-line policies
· instead, urges negotiation and compromise with Stalin
· forced to resign as Secretary of Commerce Sep. 20
Nov. 4-Dec. 12 - Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in New York
· Byrnes and Molotov agree on the minor treaties with Italy, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland.
· but Byrnes signs treaties in U.S. Jan. 20, does not attend signing in Paris Feb. 10, 1947
· no agreement on a treaty with Germany or Austria
Nov. 5 - midterm elections give Republicans majority in the House 246-188 and in the Senate 51-45
· 80th Congress led by Senators Robert Taft, Arthur Vandenberg, William Knowland, Carl Hayden, and House Majority Leader Joe Martin
The Crisis of Harry Truman
The Cold War transformed Harry Truman. When the official presidential photo at left was taken in 1948, Truman had won a narrow victory over the Republican candidate Thomas Dewey. He had overcome the hostile attacks of the 80th Congress, threats from Josef Stalin, the takeover of Czechoslovakia, the blockade of Berlin, strikes and economic reconversion problems at home, and a public image of a not-very-serious president. Most importantly, he listened to his advisers, especially George Marshall, and supported their hard-line advice and policies. By 1947 these policies were known as "containment." According to Thomas Paterson in Meeting the Communist Threat (N.Y., 1988), George Kennan became the "father of containment" with his "long telegram" of Feb. 22 and his "X" article in the July issue of Foreign Affairs. Kennan's depiction of communism as a "malignant parasite" that had to be contained by all possible measures became the ideological foundation of the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and National Security Act in 1947. In his Inaugural Address of January 20, 1949, Truman made four points about his "program for peace and freedom": to support the UN, the European Recovery Program, the collective defense of the North Atlantic, and a "bold new program" for technical aid to poor nations. Because of his programs, "the future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony and peace." Containment was not just a policy. It was a way of life.
Containment 1947-491947
Jan. 21 - George Marshall replaces Byrnes as Secretary of State
· George C. Marshall Museum
· George Marshall: Year of Decision - Man of the Year article published Jan. 5, 1948 by Time magazine, from the Time-Warner Pathfinder archives
· Underscretaries Dean Acheson, Robert Lovett, Will Clayton
· new Policy Planning Staff under George Kennan
· moved from old State-War-Navy building to new air-conditioned Foggy Bottom HQ
Mar. 12 - Truman Doctrine
· Brit. Feb. 12 announced Greece pullout
· see the text of Truman's speech to Congress
· "I believe that 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."
· "national security" not defense, unilateral not UN, domino theory not regionalism
· signed May 22 with Vandenberg amendment that affirmed U.S. support for United Nations
June 5 - Marshall Plan
· "directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos" - but called by Truman "two halves of the same walnut"
· Clayton's May 19 memo - US should create own economic recovery program for Europe - not UN OR UNRRA
· DeGaulle created his new RPF party Apr. 7 - Truman fears "the harvest of little Caesars and their acts of aggression"
· Marshall Plan 50th anniversary from USIA, including the text of the June 5 speech at Harvard
· For European Recovery: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Marshall Plan from Library of Congress
· Paul Hoffman and Averell Harriman meet at the July Paris conference that established the multilateral ERP - photo from USNews 1948/09/24
· "Mediterranean Patrol" cartoon
· "How Westinghouse can help you" ad
July 26 - National Security Act
civilian Secretary of Defense - 1st was James Forrestal National Security Council, CIA but no UMT sought by Marshall - chart charter of the National Secuirty Agency Oct. 24, 1952 to coordinate intelligence activities of State and Defense with the CIA priority given to Air Force - SAC created Mar. 21, 1946