Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

The Cold War was caused by a clash between two irreconcilable ideologies. How far do you agree with this?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

The Cold War was caused by a clash between two irreconcilable ideologies. How far do you agree with this? After the end of the Second World War in 1945 the world was divided. Russia thought communism could guarantee peace in the world but America believed in capitalism: two irreconcilable ideologies In theory communism and capitalism are not totally different but in practice they could not work parallel to each other. This was the main cause of the Cold War. The events leading up to and at the beginning of the Cold War, for example to divide Germany into zones, the existence and using of atomic bombs, Russia's aim of spreading world communism and America's fear of communist attack were essential catalysts for the events during and following the Cold War. During the week from 4/2/1945-11/2/1945 the winner of World War II the "Big Three", Franklin Roosevelt, president of America, Winston Churchill, Prime minister of Britain, and Josef Stalin, leader of Soviet Union, met in Yalta, which is the place where the conflict began, to determine how the war should be finished. ...read more.

Middle

The western nations felt necessary that the liberated states of Eastern Europe should be re-established with a democracy and a capitalist economy. They believed that these systems were more civilized and less violent. This resulted in a clash of the two ideologies. The most visible part of the Cold war was the arms race. On July 24 1945 at the Potsdam Conference Truman told Stalin that they had a new weapon of unusual destructive force. Officially Stalin said that he was glad to hear it and hoped America would make "good use of it against the Japanese"(Harry Truman's version, 1955). Only a few days after Truman's announcement Hiroshima were destroyed by the atomic bomb on 8 September 1945. Two days later America dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. The war against Japan was ended without the need of Russia and so they did not take part in the occupation of Japan. The political demonstration of the superiority of the American military created fear in the Russian government. Also the fact that America had more than one bomb scared the world. ...read more.

Conclusion

The USSR was ready for some concessions, but the US made no real effort and by June 1946, the talks had ended. The absence of a US loan made the USSR more interested in reparations. In the treaty of Potsdam each country was permitted to extract reparations from its zone, but only the USSR did so. In light of these facts, the Cold War was caused by irreconcilable ideologies and differences between the leaders of the two ideologies, capitalism and communism. This was mirrored in the treatment and division of Germany, which was discussed in Yalta.The two countries, Russia and America, had so many ideological differences that they were bound not to get along. America wanted equal rights, freedom etc but Russia wanted dictatorship with no individual rights or freedom - both totally different. The battleground was created and tensions ran high. For the next 46 years, the United States and Russia would fight a war of nerves without any casualties. The Cold War had begin. 1108 Words Chenchen Cao 01.05.2007 History SL/ Grade 11 Mr. Mimmack - 1 - ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 essays

  1. Marked by a teacher

    To what extent do you accept the view that the USA and the USSR ...

    4 star(s)

    The USSR felt vulnerable because it had been invaded through Eastern Europe twice. Moreover it distrusted the west rightly so as the west had intervened in the Russian civil war of 1917 to prevent communism being established in the USSR.

  2. How far was the USSR responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War?

    This in turn prompted the Soviets to declare their possession of the atomic bomb in 1949. This tendency of the Americans to intimidate the Soviets through the threat of the atomic bomb had long been adopted ever since 1945, when by the time of the Potsdam Conference, the US had

  1. The Cold War was a big rivalry that developed after World War II.

    could determine the wars end. The purpose of the Yalta Conference was to re-establish the countries destroyed and conquered by Germany. Poland and Yugoslavia were given their own governments; Germany was to be divided into zones to be controlled by each of the four countries (US, Great Britain and France and USSR).

  2. This graduation paper is about U.S. - Soviet relations in Cold War period. Our ...

    It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that he planned-in a very Machiavellian way-to use rhetoric and appearances as a means of disguising his true intention: to pursue a strategy of self-interest. It seems less clear that Truman had either the subtlety or the wish to follow a similarly Machiavellian course.

  1. American History.

    And, at least in theory, each seller determined the price - so the market economy increased individual freedom. *The Government's Role in the Market Economy* - Most believers in the market economy felt that limited government participation allowed for the most economic expansion.

  2. What were the main issues relating to Germany that caused Cold War tension?

    Germany's economic reconstruction was vital in allowing the rest of Europe to recover from the aftermath of WWII which US placed importance on. The Russian point of view on the deindustrialisation on Germany, however, was that of indifference to the pace of European recovery and security against a possibly resurgent military Germany.

  1. Many peoples have contributed to the development of the United States of America, a ...

    FORD (1974-77), it was reassured that the Constitution had worked: a president guilty of grave offenses had been made peacefully to leave his office. The American people had become aware, however, in the Vietnam conflict, of the limits to their nation's strength and of questions as to the moral legitimacy of its purposes.

  2. In the context of the period 1905-2005, how far do you agree that Khrushchev ...

    of their power.[25] Such policies were furthered by the 1954 Virgin Lands Scheme: its primary concern being the pre-occupation of uncultivated lands within the state.[26] Between 1954-60, 41.8million hectares of ?virgin land? had been ploughed.[27] Agricultural production was officially augmented by 3 per cent in 1954, with state procurement of

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work