Communism in the Cold War "The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want, they spread and grow in the evil soil of the poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive." as said by Harry S. Truman on march 12, 1947 in The Truman Doctrine. While Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all had the same same Cold War intention of ending communism, their ways of achieving their goal were different.The Cold War was an angry dispute between the United States and the Soviet Union about whether we should spread or contain communism (Ayres 817). According to Edward Ayres in American Anthem: Reconstruction to the Present all three Presidents used some form of Economic Aid, how we help other countries financially; Military Aid, how we help other countries’ militaries; and finally, Military Use, how we utilise our military (Ayres 817). …show more content…
Kennedy took a different, more violent approach in confining, and overall stopping the spread of communism. Truman said in his University of Washington Speech that money would be sent to any country that needed financial support in combating communism (Kennedy). In addition to this, he had the same views for military aid. His mission was to support any country fighting communism with the proper weapons if the Soviet Union were to attack (Kennedy). The biggest contrast between Kennedy and the other two presidents was that Kennedy was not afraid of war. His use of the military was to increase military weapons to prepare for a potential war and to scare the Soviet’s away. (Kennedy) He was so open to the thought of a war he created Flexible Response; which is using a more effective way, such as bombs and other nuclear weapons, rather than threats and walls (Ayres 886). Moreover, While the US did not enter war, it could very well be possible if Lyndon B. Johnson hadn’t taken over after Kennedy's
Kennedy’s record with foreign affairs was imperfect. His decisions towards Cuba had major flaws, which could have led to a nuclear war. His biggest failure as president was the Bay of Pigs invasion that took place in April of 1961. It was meant to be a mission to overthrow Fidel Castro. However, the 1400 American trained Cuban invaders were outnumbered by Castro’s troops and “surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting” (History.com).
During the Cold War was based on two different types of beliefs called Communism and Capitalism and both the U.S. with its own allies and the U.S.S.R. Its Communist allies are equally to blame for starting the war. When the Iron curtain was around the East European government adopted a communist system and fell under the control of the U.S.S.R. The Iron Curtain, political, military, and mysterious barrier raised by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependant Eastern and Western European allies from open contact with the West and other non-Communist countries. (Document 1)
In the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson times were extremely confusing. Domestically, the civil rights movement was in full effect and the war in Vietnam was raging overseas. Another major implication on these two mens presidencies was the Cold War and the fight for democracy to rule over communism around the world. Thus, many of the stances these two presidents had on Vietnam involved being aggressive in the war and not letting communism defeat the “free” world. Their decisions were both aggressive and extremely stubborn when the scope of the war began to take shape.
President Truman saw the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. The Cold War brought a new world foe: communism. When President Eisenhower came to office, he inherited the containment policy because communism was still a threat. President Truman dealt with communism through his endeavors to revitalize Europe but was invoked into war on the Asian front. President Eisenhower was the one to push for a conclusion to that war causing their policies to differ while seeking and obtaining the same goal of limiting communism throughout the world.
Hajar AlHayki Ms. Winterfeldt US History 11 January 2018 The cold war is a war that began after the end of World War two, from 1945 until 1991. In which the United States and the soviet Unions were involved in this war. They were fighting for two different ideologies: communism and democracy ‘capitalism’. The United States wanted to spread democracy in Eastern Europe: Germany, in which the soviets wanted to spread communism.
President Truman reflected on the importance of the United Nations and military involvement by stating, “… 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…” (Document B). However, during this particular time period, America remained one of the only nations actively fighting against communism. Most European countries were subjected to financial duress caused by World War II, thus placing the burden squarely on America’s shoulders. This inexplicable lack of support not only made America relatively weaker, but also allowed communism to spread throughout areas in which they people were not even willing to fight for themselves.
The Cold War was a war full of politics and beliefs along with brutal fighting. Communism was seen as a major threat to the United States. The Soviet Union was trying to, at the time, influence other countries of its communist beliefs in hopes of gaining allies and resources. The Soviets expanded after WWII and the Americans feared this, adding tense to their “alliance.” The Soviet Union’s main targets were Europe but also to gain global exposure and power as well.
In an effort to stop communism from spreading, the United States and its allies practiced containment. Containment is the act of keeping something harmful under control, this meant that the United States and its allies will get involved if they needed in order to stop communism from spreading. The U.S and its allies managed to help several countries from falling into communism, but they also suffered their hardships and lost many men during a war to protect their allie, South Korea. On February 1946, the United States, State Department received a telegram, the telegram seemed to give of two warnings.
Truman was placed as the new Vice President during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth term, but quickly inherited the presidency after Roosevelt’s death. Roosevelt was an extremely successful president who pushed for relief, reform, and recovery. Following such a productive presidency would be tough to do, yet Truman was eager to continue Roosevelt’s legacy. He believed that a free society at home cannot exist without a free society abroad. Truman responded to the spread of Communism to Greece and Turkey by declaring in the Truman Doctrine that “the United States would aid the democratic struggle against totalitarianism by supporting ‘free peoples who are resisting the subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.’”
During Kennedy’s presidency, he sent V.P. Johnson to Vietnam and increased American military advisors there. President Kennedy was trying to stop communism from spreading. According to Am Hist 2nd sem lesson (give the number), it says “ Some people disagreed with kennedy's policies which then caused a rift in the U.S. administration. Robert McNamara, Kennedy's secretary of defence did not agree with kennedy's ideas.
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.
Kennedy’s actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis were ingenious, well thought-out, and most importantly, worked to make the world a safer place. His oratory skills were one of his greatest traits and helped to calm the American populace and show the Soviets that the United States meant business. In addition to his speeches, Kennedy created Excomm, who worked to solve the crisis. They ended up with two potential solutions, quarantine or invasion. Kennedy chose quarantine, and it worked to lower the tensions between the two nations.
John Foster Dulles, which is Eisenhower’s secretary of state believed in brinkmanship which was the idea of threatening war, but not taking action (Ayers 850). This is how Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles used to settle conflicts. President Kennedy differed from the other two presidents because he believed in flexible response instead of containment. The United States did not want to see everyone else struggle. Flexible response is a better way to deal with other countries (Ayers 886).
From October 16-38, 1962, America was on the verge of a nuclear war with Cuba. Another problem that needed to be solved during his presidency dealt with foreign affairs. During Kennedy’s first year in office, the Soviet Union started and finished the construction of the Berlin Wall. This started an uprising in Berlin. It kept the residents of the Soviet Sector from gaining freedom.
"But it is hard to imagine how the U.S. government could have prevented a Communist victory short of getting involved in a massive military intervention, which would have been risky, unpopular, and expensive"(Tindall 964). "The discovery of the Soviet bomb in 1949 triggered an intense reappraisal of the strategic balance of power in the world, causing Truman in 1950 to order the construction of a hydrogen bomb, a weapon far more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, lest the Soviets make one first"(Tindall 964). 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.