Cold War DBQ

World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, in which it encompassed the major nations in the world, including the United States of America. The aftermath of the war, in which the United States and its allied powers emerged victorious, should have marked a period of political tranquility. However this supposition proved incorrect, as the American ethos was ravaged by a state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than a military conflict, the Cold War was an ideological war in which democracy and communism clashed. The Cold War fears of the American people, reflected in the mass hysteria behind the Red Scare and McCarthyism, was entrenched in the

Both socially and economically the Cold War affected the U.S.. It changed our foreign policies, and it forced us to go to space. So I will go over how exactly were we affected by this war.

he first chapter of The Cold War: A New History begins by comparing the United States to the U.S.S.R. and talking about the similarities between the two. It also talks about Communism and how Marx deemed it necessary in order to build up the economy. Lenin tried to implement Communism in Russia. They were not quite ready for that kind of system, so Stalin tried to modernize the economy. The U.S.S.R. had more casualties in World War II, but things were not necessarily looking great in America either. U.S. citizens were afraid that the Great Depression could return. Many Americans were tired of helping out other nations and just wanted the war to be over completely. John Lewis Gaddis, the author of The Cold War: A New History, is talking about the fact that just because the war was over, Americans were not necessarily at peace. There were many different economic and social factors that the United States had to deal with in the post World War II years.

The fear of communism carved a deep sense of mistrust in American people. They believed anything that was said and blindly followed people who were in political power without any basis of evidence. The fear of communism created a sense of “hysteria” (Document A) within the general public and even in people in government. This kind of hysteria caused the Red Scare, which was a period that Americans thought communists were working to destroy America. This mass fear of communism ruined people’s lives and made them turn against their own family and friends. Joseph McCarthy played an

Sam Robert in the article, A Decade of Fear, argues that Americans turned against each other because of McCarthyism. Robert supports his claim by explaining, contrasting, and demonstrating the effects that McCarthyism had on humanity. The author’s purpose is to persuade in order to convince the reader that McCarthyism sparked betrayal and fear among Americans. The author writes in a tone for his educated audience. I strongly agree with Robert’s claim. McCarthyism resulted in Americans turning against each other because of politicians greed for power, paranoia, and the fear of communist infiltration.

Hollywood writer Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted after being convicted of Contempt of Congress. Trumbo, a member of the communist party, was put on trial for being communist. As a result of being placed on the blacklist, for years, Trumbo was forced to work under pseudonyms. In 1960 Trumbo had beat the black list by discrediting it. Trumbo successfully paved the way for an end to the red scare and an end to anti-communist xenophobia in the United States.

Could you imagine living in a time of constant fear of nuclear war? For many people living today, this was once a daily reality. From 1945 to 1991, the two world superpowers, the United States and the USSR clashed in a series of ideological political battles that completely changed and defined the post-WWII world. This was known as the Cold War. After founding and developing Marxist ideologies over two world wars, the USSR naturally wanted to spread communism across the world. To combat this, the U.S. followed a policy called ‘containment’ that strived to ‘contain’ communism rather than fight it directly, much like combating a virus; There is no direct way to outright kill a virus, it has to be contained. The policy of containment was needed

Some historians believe the Cold War was inevitable because of the hostilities from both America and the Soviet Union after World War II. America believed that the USSR was an expansionist country trying to spread an evil, communistic idea throughout the world. Although the countries never directly fought against each other, as they only fought in proxy wars, there was still extreme conflict. The United States responded to the Soviets actions in Germany, Europe, and their national actions. These responses were justifiable, or so many Americans at the time believed. Many realized that the Soviet Union was a terrible foe to face, as George Kennan, a respected American diplomat, noticed. He said in “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” “This means

The onset of the cold war the ideology drove more of the Soviet behavior. "American 's traditional commitment to democtatic capitalism, political self determination, and religious freedom conflicted with the Soviet Union 's preference for spheres of influence on its periphery, totalitarianism at home, and state mandated atheism"(Tindall 970). Kennan stressed that U.S. needed to be responses to the Soviet adventurism. The threat of a world dominated by Communist governments by the

The Salem witch trials occurred from February 1692 to May 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. During the Salem witch trials no single person or family was safe from persecution. Once accused of witchcraft you were incarcerated and appeared at a hearing in the courts. The families of the convicted did not receive any compensation for damages and were not giving the properties of their family members. The Salem witch trials only lasted for a little over a year, but it ruined the lives of those who were convicted and their families.

Sam Roberts in the article A Decade of Fear argues that Americans turned against each other because of McCarthyism. Roberts supports his argument by explaining and describing the many occurences of paranoia caused by McCarthyism. The author’s purpose is to persuade the reader that McCarthy’s gross grab at power caused tension between Americans. It is clear that the author is directing his claims to an older and more educated audience, due to his cynical tone. I strongly agree with Roberts’ claim. McCarthyism created tension between Americans due to paranoia, patriotic influence, and greed.

After WWI, there were large numbers of people seeking entry into the United States. During WWI the Russian Revolution occurred, and communism became an important part of politics. Some immigrants from Europe believed in socialism and anarchy. These ideas threatened U.S. capitalism and beliefs about American freedom. Americans reacted in different ways to the events by expressing anti-immigrant nativism, a fear of communism and patriotism to attack these fears.

With tension rising in Berlin, Germany, between Capitalism and Communism, a war of hostility broke out: the Cold War. The Cold War was a war between the western democracy capitalist United States and the totalitarian communist Soviet Union. These two superpowers held the fate of the world in their hands. Tension rose to an unbearable level during the Cold War, almost entering into World War III. The Cold War started for a variety of reasons some being communication, “weapons,” and ideas.

World War II dramatically changed the United States turning it from an isolationist nation to a superpower, ready to lead the world. However, the war also affected the internal landscape of the country; as tensions increased between the United States and the Soviet Union, so did tensions between democracy and communism. During the 1940s and 1950s, a hysteric fear of communism swept the United States, as many Americans felt that communism was on a path of total take over, threatening the existence of the United States. Fear of the threat of communism filled the United States following World War II due to the planting of the roots of communist fears before the end of the war, the spread of communism throughout the world, and propaganda and internal

As the United States government became desperate to contain soviet aggression thousands of United States citizens were falsely accused and sometimes put to death for “being involved with communist organizations”. In 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of spying on the United States and giving top secret information on the atomic bomb to the Soviets. The Rosenberg’s were proven to be a part of The International Workers Order, a communist organization, and were found to be guilty. The Rosenberg’s caused a great amount of controversy among Americans and they argued if the Rosenbergs were innocent or not; this lead to fear of persecution (Doc. 5). This lead to the U.S. government disallowing individuals with any involvement with communist organizations to work for government organization. In 1947 The Washington Post wrote a comic where the Committee on Un-American Activities, an anti-communist organization, is running over people walking in the streets with the car. Above the picture the slogan, “It’s okay- we’re hunting communists” is written, inferring that the American government was accusing and attacking innocent citizens. (Doc. 11) The most important conflict the United States faced, between 1953 and 1962 in general, was war. According to the Gallup Poll the American public believed that if communism began to spread, the United States should go to war (Doc. 2). As Russian war-aggression began to become threatening, Americans began to build bomb shelters in order to protect themselves from nuclear warfare. (Doc. 8) Due to fear in American Society, government officials began to take extreme measure to contain Soviet