USA to blame for Cold War?
"The USA was solely to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War" How far do you agree with this statement? Historical debate has often attempted to study which 'superpower' was the main cause behind the Cold War. Clearly, the Cold War began as a result of a number of factors between both the USA and Soviet Union. To label one country as "solely" responsible neglects true analysis of the subject. Essentially, the Cold War inevitably began due to the conflict of historical ideologies coupled with the catalyst of World War Two. For every action from the USSR, there was a reaction of equal or greater proportions from the USA. Antagonism between the USSR and USA began as early as the end of the First World War. After Lenin's swift communist revolution, tensions grew between Russia and the West for Russia's retreat from the war. However, tensions mounted even further due to the fact that the allied forces fought in the civil war on the side of the anti-Bolshevik "Whites". Underlining discontent also increased after America entered World War Two. In the Teheran Conference, the USSR felt disappointed by Churchill and Roosevelt in their procrastination of allied support into France. This only served to heighten Stalin's paranoia. Hence, from this it could be argued that the individual figure of Roosevelt played a significant part in the escalation of the Cold War. However,
Cold War, Berlin Wall Crisis-1961
YEAR 12 HISTORY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT By Ben Pike BERLIN WALL CRISIS-1961 The Berlin Wall Crisis in June 1961 was a key conflict during the Cold War, the Berlin Wall was a result of years of disagreement between superpowers America and the Soviet Union, or on a broader scale Capitalism and Communism. Following the Potsdam Conference, Berlin became a key point of conflict between the East and the West, as it lay well within the borders of Eastern Germany, controlled by the Soviet Union. According to Soviet Union leader Khrushchev this 'border control' resulted in the relieving of the German Democratic Republic's economy and restored discipline in East Germans lives. President Kennedy and the West also benefited, this came in the form of propaganda, images of death and escape from East Germany were used to promote capitalism as a superior social system. Ultimately the wall stopped the looming presence of war. At a domestic level the crisis resulted in families and friends in Berlin being broken apart and unable to contact each other. The crisis clearly transformed the Cold War, détente became evident in the superpower relationship after 1961. The Berlin Wall Crisis changed the Cold War, and left its mark on the Berlin population for decades after the actual crisis ended, the Berlin Wall didn't fall until 1990. When Kennedy and Khrushchev met for the first time in early June
Why Did War Time Friends Become Cold War Enemies?
WHY DID WAR TIME FRIENDS BECOME COLD WAR ENEMIES? DANIEL ROJAS As soon as WWII broke up, winning powers, especially the USA and the USSR, began a period of hostility between each other. This period of disagreement extended up until the 1980's, and became known as the Cold War, mainly because no actual fighting occurred between the two superpowers, despite the dangerous tensions growing between them. The development of the Cold War can be attributed to a series of events between the end of World War II and 1949, each event having a certain degree of importance within what is regarded as the causes of this period of 'passive' hostility, although none of these events stands out as a crucial point in the initiation of the Cold War. To begin with, historians have formulated different views and explanations for the occurrence of the Cold War: Some agree that the USSR was to blame. Stalin planned communist spread throughout the world and the takeover of Eastern Europe was an example of this. Others agree that the USA was to take the blame. Such historians support their view by stating that Soviet actions were merely defensive; that the USA wanted to control its area of influence, but refused to allow the Soviet Union to do the same. Finally, there is also the view that neither of the superpowers was to be blamed; that the Cold War was based on misunderstanding, a fore beyond the
The End of the Cold War.
The End of the Cold War By Joumanna Nasr ID no: 200401736 An essay submitted in fulfillment of PSPA 213's course requirements October 26, 2003 Never before has so terrible a threat hung over mankind as now. The only reasonable way out of the existing situation is the reaching of an agreement by the opposing forces on the immediate termination of the arms race, the nuclear arms race on earth and the prevention of arms in space. We need an agreement on an honest and equitable basis without attempts at "outplaying" the other side and dictating terms to it. We need an agreement which would help all to advance toward the cherished goal: the complete elimination and prohibition of nuclear weapons for all time, toward the complete removal of the threat of nuclear war. This is our firm conviction. -Mikhail Gorbachev, March 11, 1985 The End of the Cold War The beginning of the nineties marked the end of a bipolar global system that had spanned over 40 years- one that had started at the end of World War II when the post-war Yalta Conference laid the foundation for the ongoing divide in ideologies between a Capitalist West represented by the United Sates, and a Communist East, represented by the U.S.S.R- a multi-ethnic state, composed of fifteen republics that were held together by extremely powerful central authority exercised by a Communist Russia. It is necessary to note
How did the Cold War begin?
1K Ryutaro Tanno 28/10/07 Cold War How did the Cold War begin? How did the Cold War affect America's policy toward Vietnam? When the Second World War ended in 1945, many European countries that had once been powerful were in ruin and were exhausted by six years of fighting. Only two Super Powers - The USA and The USSR remained after 1945 and a state of extreme tension developed between them. This tense rivalry is called "The Cold War" and this strangely named rivalry is generally regarded as a conflict between communism (East) led by the USSR and capitalism (West) led by the USA, "characterized by mutual perceptions of hostile intention between political alliances or blocs" (quote 1; L. Dockrill and F.Hopkins, 2006, The Cold War Pg 1), without open armed direct fighting between the Great Powers. There were some conflicts in the Cold War but they were called proxy wars because the two Super Powers did not fight directly and just supported the interests of one of their allies against the other. The fabric of the rivalry was said to consist of the following two competitions - politically to compete for the ascendancy of each ideology, and economically for the wealth of people. However it was just a superficial front to hide the fact that the rivalry was a competition for spreading their ideology to as many countries as
Proxy Wars during the Cold War
Victor Fung IB History November 17, 2008 Proxy Wars during the Cold War In the past, proxy wars have been fought through the use of third parties in order to prevent a full-scale war. During the Cold War, the need to prevent such a full-scale war became extremely important due to the fear of mutually assured destruction. Instances such as the Greek civil war, Korean War, Cuban Revolution, Vietnam War, Bay of Pigs, Afghan Soviet war, Angolan Civil War, were all examples of such proxy wars between the Soviet and the American sides. In a proxy war, either side would strive to implement their own form of government, which would then serve as a beacon for similar revolutions in the region. In addition, such proxy wars were also a test of economic capacity for either the Americans or the Soviets. Thus, these wars were fought to great effect during the Cold War and had long lasting consequences for either side. For wars such as the Greek civil war, the Cuban revolution, and other similar revolutions, the Americans and the Soviets did not advocate direct intervention. For example, the Truman Doctrine allowed American aid and materiel to be sent to pro-Capitalist Greek and Turkish supporters, rather than direct military involvement. This is similarly done by the Soviets, who sent aid to countries such as Cuba in the form of oil and other resources to support the economy, as well
Capitalism, Communism and the Cold War
Capitalism, Communism And The Cold War The Cold War led to a series of conflicts in different parts of the word where the two superpowers found themselves in confronting each ohter. The War was the period of conflict, tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s. The main U.S. allies were Western Europe, Japan and Canada. The main Soviet allies were Eastern Europe and China. Throughout the period, the rivalry between the two superpowers was played out in multiple arenas: military coalitions;, psychology, and espionage; military, industrial, and technological developments; costly defense spending; a massive conventional and nuclear arms race. In 1947 the term "Cold War" was introduced by Americans Bernard Baruch and Walter Lippmann to describe emerging tensions between the two former wartime allies.There never was a direct military engagement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but there was a half-century of military build-up, and political battles for support around the world, including significant involvement of allied and satellite nations. Although the U.S. and the Soviet Union had been wartime allies against Nazi Germany, the two sides differed on how to reconstruct the postwar world even before the end of the Second World War. Over the following decades, the Cold War spread outside
The Causes of The Cold War
The Causes of The Cold War Many young historians ask themselves how did the Cold War start? I for one am wondering. But, I suppose the answer to that is quite simple, not straight foreword, but simple. The steps leading up to the Cold War are not as quite as chronological as they were in WW2, when Hitler broke the Treaty Of Versailles, however, the pieces of the puzzle do fit together, and they do make a complete picture. In 1943 and 1945 two conferences were held between President Roosevelt of USA, Prime Minister Churchill of Britain and Stalin of USSR, currently known as Russia. The first conference was held at Teheran in Persia (1943), planning to defeat Germany. The second conference was held just after the defeat of Germany at Yalta in the Crimea (1945). There, the three leaders decided to split Germany four ways, with each bit being controlled by France, Russia, USA or Britain. Before the Potsdam conference in 1945 many changes took place. For one, Roosevelt died so his vice, Harry Truman replaced him. Also Churchill lost the election back home so Attlee was voted in as Prime Minister. The Allies were growing more suspicious of each other. Stalin wanted complete control over Eastern Europe, therefore despising his approval of the free elections of Eastern Europe. Attlee and Truman suspected this. Furthermore, Stalin had the idea that because Attlee and Truman were
Imperialism, Expansionism, and the Cold War
Joseph Hagan HOTA Pd.1 Mr. Munro April 14 '2004 Imperialism, Expansionism, and the Cold War The Cold War developed after the Second World War as a blend of several unsolved disputes and diplomatic misinterpretations. Ideological differences worsened the matter and made interaction with either side less probable since each other was resented by the other's actions during the previous war. Even so, what really built up and intensified the war was the imperialistic and expansionist nature of the capitalist and communist nations since both sides struggled to obtain better relations with other strong countries and expand their rule or political influence. First of all, the ideological differences between the capitalist and communist parties were probably the main determining factors in the imperialist/expansionist decisions which were taken. In the case of the communists, it was their main principles which defied the capitalists since the communist main points were that the capitalists would eventually destroy themselves. Communists also felt the duty to help the capitalists and this is why they believed that they show impose their rule over these states in order to prevent self-destruction. This is exactly why the domino effect comes into play all around Europe and why the communist nations were thought to follow a strict policy of expansion. Stauchton Lynd put it best, "Why
Who was responsible for the Cold War?
Who was responsible for the Cold War? The slave frees himself when, of all the relations of private property, he abolishes only the relation of slavery and thereby becomes a proletarian; the proletarian can free himself only by abolishing private property in general. (Engels, Principles of Communism) Private property was the original source of freedom. It still is its main bulwark. (Walter Lippmann) The 'Cold War' was an; economic, political, and ideological clash between two superpowers. The above quotes illustrate the fundamental differences between the beliefs of Western capitalists and 'Eastern' Communists, differences that dictated forty five years of competition and one-one-upmanship in the international arena. To understand why the Cold War took place and therefore who was responsible not only do the events that played out in the early 20th century need to be considered but also the inherent philosophy behind each 'bloc' and the driving forces on each side. This essay aims to assess the different historical view points that have developed since the 1950's including; the orthodox view, the revisionist view, and the post-revisionist view. Ultimately however the revisionist view point, that the United States and her Western allies were to blame for the Cold War, is the one that seems to be the most justified. The orthodox view is that the Soviet Union was mostly
