The Cold War
After the end of WWII, relations between the two superpowers, America and the Soviet Union, began to break down. As a result, the Cold War began in the late 1940's, named so because neither power came into direct military conflict.coea ear From 1955 to 1958, U2 spy planes from America had been flying photographic missions over the Soviet Union. It showed mistrust toward the SU and broke international law. The Soviets could not detect them, even though the arms race was in progress, as shown in Source A1, a non biased primary source of good utility published in a British magazine. It makes a joke of how the arms race can be compared to an Olympic running race, where "The important thing is not winning, but taking part". The Americans and the Soviets are neck and neck, showing the tension and pressure to win the race. On May 1 1960 a U2 plane, piloted by Gary Powers, was shot down by a SAM-2 missile. Source A2 demonstrates the type of plane that he flew. It is a primary source, however, the provenance is unsure and the utility of the source, limited. The caption infers that the SU knew the Americans were flying overhead. This would add to the tension that was building between the powers at this point. The flight path of the reconnaissance missions is shown in Source A3, a primary source, published the day Powers was shot down. The reliability of the source is bad due to the
Truman & Cold War
Using the sources and your own knowledge, assess to the extent to which the policies and attitudes of President Truman helped cause the Cold War. The impact of the Second World War can be seen as the earliest cause of the Cold War. Germany and Japan had been defeated and had suffered considerable economic damage. France and Italy had also suffered economically and The British empire was in rapid decline as a world power. This left two superpowers; The US and The USSR, both with ideological differences. What occurred in Eastern Europe certainly contributed to the causes of the Cold War. The Soviets had agreed to have free and fair elections run in East Europe, however they rigged the elections so they could set up friendly communist states on their border. This became known as the buffer zone, as Stalin wanted to protect the USSR from invasion. Truman was not at all pleased by this as Stalin had broken his promise. Source B is a speech by Winston Churchill and he describes the split between the East and West as the 'Iron Curtain'. Source B goes on to explain that the Soviets are unpredictable and gives the impression that the USSR want world domination. The atomic bomb is another reason for the cause of the cold war. The USSR were meant to be an ally of the US, however the USSR felt that they could not trust the US anymore as Truman did not want to share the new technology
COLD WAR ESSAY
Ektha Hunjan Mr. Tomlinson History HL September 2008 How, and to what extent did the conference at Yalta and Potsdam (1945) contribute to the origin of the Cold War? Word Count: 2,008 The conflict between two political ideologies, 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 during World War Two caused tensions to rise between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. The fear of Communism in capitalist nations, caused the United States government to use propaganda to raise Cold War concern. Furthermore, the American media influenced the attitudes of the American people, creating hatred to communism, and allowing it to 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. Wartime conferences such as Yalta and Potsdam heartened the relationship between the communists and the capitalists. At the end of World War Two, the American policy towards the Soviets changed drastically. The change in
Soviet economic problems were the main reason for detente in the early 1970s. How far do you agree?
‘Soviet economic problems were the main reason for detente in the early 1970s. How far do you agree? ‘ I agree to a certain extent with the statement ‘Soviet economic problems were the main reason for détente in the early 1970s’ because, while Soviet economic problems were a major factor in the reasons for the period of improved relations between the USA and the USSR, there were several additional factors that led to détente in the early 1970’s, specifically the policies of President Nixon and both the USSR’s and USA’s relations with China. Firstly, I believe that Soviet economic problems were a large reason for détente in the early 1970s due to how it pushed the Soviets to be keen to improve relations as they needed to reduce military spending. By the 1960’s, the USSR had spent 20% of its annual spending on defence and their military, allowing them to have approximately 30,000 warheads by the 1960’s. The country’s population were starving and living in poor housing as a result of their economic policies and therefore had to import and rely on supplies from the West, Brezhnev believed that a reduction in arms spending would allow the country to devote more resources to improving living standards. The Soviet Union was therefore hopeful that they could cut defence spending by partaking in détente as they couldn’t afford to be on poor relations with
Causation of Cold War
Ryan Marschang Hons History 'The Cold War was caused by fear not aggression'. To what extent does this view explain how the cold war developed between 1945 and 1949? The infamous Cold War was undoubtedly intricate and complex in its premature stages between 1945 and 1949. For this reason, the development of the war within this time frame cannot be attributed to one factor alone. Certainly, a tremendous amount of fear was present within both the USSR and US throughout 1945-1949 which contributed too many key developments. However, fear alone cannot explain the entirety of the developments of the Cold War through its early stages. The Cold War was vastly expansive and ideologically significant in relationship to the socioeconomic systems of communism and capitalism. The early stages of development were influenced by fear as well as aggression, ideology, self-interest, individual figures and endless contributing factors. Fear, in itself, can be extremely motivating. However, it can also lead to a sense of panic and distress. Throughout the period 1945-1949, this is precisely what fear did to both the USSR and the US. Beginning in 1945, the two superpowers were rising from the wake of world war two which ended on August 14th 1945. At this very point, both nations were fearful of the future in relation to the rule of Germany and the struggle between socioeconomic systems.
The Cold War
In April 1950, the Secretaries of State and Defense published a document that was known by the name "NSC 68." NSC 68 was a report on the objectives and programs the US should pursue in its dealings with communism. It outlined the weaknesses and strengths of both the United States and the Soviet Union, the two nations it identified as world super powers. With warring ideologies and high tensions, these two countries were the primary combatants in the conflict known as "the Cold War." However, the conflict between these two countries spread to other nations, and created other situations. The Cold War became a world war, affecting regions and nations far removed from either the United States or the USSR. In judging NSC 68, it becomes necessary to examine incidents in which the document's objectives and programs could be applied. Such a task is relatively simple, as there are a multitude of incidents of conflict between communism and capitalism during the period of 1950 to 1975 (when NSC 68 was released to the public). In this report, evidence will be shown that, during the period of 1954-1961, government officials were sporadic in their applications of NSC 68. Using the Guatemalan Coup of 1954, the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the Bay of Pigs incident of 1961, this paper will show that the United States government of this time applied the principles expressed in NSC 68 in
Causes of the Cold war.
CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR (Literature Review) This literature review is concerned with defining causes of the Cold War. Its main purpose is to try to depict views of various authors presented in texts such as "We Now Know" by John Lewis Gaddis (1997, Oxford University Press), "Cold War Illusions" by Danna H. Allin (1998, Palgrave MacMillan) and in "The Origins of the Cold War 1941-1949" by Martin McCauley (1995, Longman) and other internet sources and to compare different perspectives of perceiving the comparative approaches. Cold war as a term has many times been explained in a bit confusing way and its actual meaning has been misinterpreted. At first I would like to define "Cold War" before discussing what might have led to it. What can be agreed generally, that Cold War according to the definition of war, has never existed. Though there was not any battling, as it was during world wars, its influence on the post-war world era has been even greater. The question is, when Cold war began and when it ended. M. McCauley thinks it "began in 1947 and ended shortly after Cuban Missile Crisis of 962". (1995) If the Cold War was perceived as a sort of friction between socialism and capitalism, it began in October 1917 and ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1991. (McCauley, 1995) Anyway, the first impressions of upcoming Cold War could be seen
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The Cold War [1945-1991]
The Cold War [1945-1991] Europe has had its fair share with wars and battles. However most of them were of two peculiar and stand out types of war. They were either Wars of Ideology: what other men and women were allowed to believe, or Wars of Succession, and the balance of power. The cold war for the first time combined both of these characteristics of the European modes of wars. The cold war was fought to determine the fate of Europe which was divided between two great superpowers of the European tradition, the market economy driven United States of America, and the Old Russian autocracy reborn as the Soviet Union through the ideology of communism. "The history of the cold war has been the history of the world since 1945"1. It wasn't a confrontation between two empires, it was, "a total war between economic and social systems, an industrial test to destruction"2. Nevertheless it was also a fight between two conflicting values. The West believes in the ideas of a market economy, free enterprise and a multi party democracy. These qualities were cherished as a necessity. The scenario in the East was quiet contrasting. While the west believed in free enterprise, market economy and democracy the East was driven, by a command economy and single part statism, a.k.a, Dictatorship. The obvious conflict in beliefs, ideas and values, and the stubborn nature of those who defended
Cold War: Soviet Perspectives
Cold War: Soviet Perspectives After World War II, Joseph Stalin saw the world as divided into two camps: imperialist and capitalist regimes on the one hand, and the Communist and progressive world on the other. In 1947, President Harry Truman also spoke of two diametrically opposed systems: one free, and the other bent on subjugating other nations. After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev stated in 1956 that imperialism and capitalism could coexist without war because the Communist system had become stronger. The Geneva Summit of 1955 among Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and the Camp David Summit of 1959 between Eisenhower and Khrushchev raised hopes of a more cooperative spirit between East and West. In 1963 the United States and the Soviet Union signed some confidence-building agreements, and in 1967 President Lyndon Johnson met with Soviet Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey. Interspersed with such moves toward cooperation, however, were hostile acts that threatened broader conflict, such as the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 and the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia of 1968. The long rule of Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) is now referred to in Russia as the "period of stagnation." But the Soviet stance toward the United States became less overtly hostile in the early 1970s. Negotiations between the United States and
Cold war 1945-1954
History Essay The Cold War 1945-1954 The Origins of the Cold War After World War 2, the Allies moved into Germany and Berlin in 1945, the US and Britain came from the west and the Russians came from the East. There was much dispute over who had the right to stay in Germany but in the end Russia stayed in the West and the rest of the allies stayed in the East. This created a lot of tension between the allies after World War 2 since Russia was strict about who left and who entered East Germany. Russians were angry at the West as they believed they had left Russian forces to fight more Germans as the war ended, thus costing Russian lives. Winston Churchill, the leader of Britain was concerned that the huge forces of Russia in Eastern Europe could become a threat to the UK and the rest of Europe. There were many meetings between the 'Big Three', Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Harry S. Truman, including the Potsdam meeting where Truman warned Stalin of a 'powerful new weapon' that the USA was developing, more specifically the atomic bomb. This was before the Japan bombings, and the Russians were also working on nuclear weapons. A week after the Potsdam Meeting Japan was attacked by the USA with atomic bombs and Japan surrendered a few days afterwards, Stalin was frustrated as the Russians had gained little influence in Japan and the US had dominated most of Japan. In
