The Cold War caused people to question the United States’ government’s reliability and strength, which negatively affected America’s domestic affairs and foreign policies. Citizens lost respect and trust in the government and other civilians, due to several threats within the country and worldwide. People were left questioning their rights and safety due to the second Red Scare, which threatened the coming of power of communism within America. Various forms of propaganda advertised fears, causing panic to spread throughout the country. Russia’s gain of power throughout Eurasia showed off the USSR’s strength and abilities, threatening the Western Powers. The arms race caused tensions between the U.S. and USSR, bringing them closer to the brink
Instantly following the end of the Second World War, the fears of the American people rapidly began accumulating as the mistrust between, the United States and the Soviet Union intensified. During World War II, tension between the two world powers began to emerge through ideological differences such as political beliefs and contrasting views regarding the future of Poland that took place at both the Yalta conference and Potsdam. This lasting skepticism only increased as the Soviets started to become more advanced through nuclear weapons and developments in space technology. Despite Eisenhower’s acknowledgment of these widespread fears, he was not particularly successful in addressing them. The American people lived in constant fear of the spread
The Cold War was a state of heightened tension between the United States and Soviet Union due to both nations trying to promote their systems of government. This war played a huge role in bringing out the fear of communism in the U.S.. In mid twentieth century America, citizens believed that preventing communism would result in the nation's security (“Cold War History”). This belief initiated the second Red Scare in America. The popular fear of communism that was running rampant all over the United States at the time resulted in reckless actions made by the government. The government began to ruin the lives of alleged communists, especially those in the entertainment industry (“Cold War History”). The mid twentieth century was a time where
Why Can’t We Be Friends?: The Rise of Tension between the US and USSR post-WWII
The end of World War II should have marked a period of relief in America but instead, it lead America into a completely different type of war called the Cold War. The Cold War was an ongoing state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. This constant state of tension and fear had been embedded deep in the American public. The American people feared the spread of communism and nuclear war in the aftermath of the Second World War, while President Eisenhower addressed these fears by having strong domestic and foreign policies.
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
The United States and the Soviet Union’s alliance came to an end from 1945-1950. Then from 1947 to 1991, the Cold War took place and these two nations were competitors at every thing they did during the war. Both nations wanted to have the main influence an impact on life throughout the world. They wanted global charge and other nations to follow the same economic and political systems. The Cold War put both of these nations at test to see who could succeed the most.
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
In January of 1959, Fidel Castro came to power. The United States’ attempted to overthrow Castro with the Bay of Pigs Invasion, a CIA operation to overthrow Fidel Castro by landing 1200 disgruntled Cuban exiles in the Bay of Pigs. The attempt fails miserably and is a huge embarrassment for Kennedy, who then vows to bring down Castro. After the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, Castro looked to the Soviet Union for protection. According to document D in 1962 “The soviets began shipping 40,000 troops, 60 missiles and 158 nuclear warheads to communist Cuba.” However, U.S spy planes soon identified evidence of the nuclear missile sites being rapidly installed in Cuba. As a result, the U.S quarantined (set a zone around) Cuba where ships carrying weapons could not go. If Cuba had missiles, they could threaten other countries and make them submit to Cuba which would result in them becoming communist. Numerous Soviet transports stopped dead in the water just outside the quarantine line. In April 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union came to an agreement. Soviets withdrew their missiles from Cuba and the U.s removed their missiles from Turkey. This tactic of containment through blockades/quarantines was highly effective because as a result of the quarantine, there were no more missiles in Cuba so they could not take over other countries and spread
"The Cold War was an ideological contest between the western democracies especially the United States and the Communist countries that emerged after the Second World War" (Tindall 972). The United States and the Soviet Union had differences over issues such as human rights, individual liberties, economic freedom, and religious belief. "Mutal suspicion and a race to gain influence and control over the so called nonaligned or third world countries further polarized" (Tindall 945). After the WWII Soviets dominate European countries and thought the U.S. had the same motives.
During the rise of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union had been brought into an alliance due to both of their desires to defeat Nazi, Germany. Although the Soviet Union’s aggressive, antidemocratic policy towards Europe created tensions even before World War II had ended. That being said, they tolerated each other as much as they could but weren’t exactly friends. The United States government was initially hostile to the Soviet leaders for their decision to take Russia out of World War I and was opposed to a state ideologically based on communism. The main conflict between them was their inability to agree about communism. Over the next five years the relationship between the two countries’ changed
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
America was a capitalist society that ordained people to act on behalf of their constitutional freedoms like the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. The Soviet Union on the other hand opposed capitalism upholding a communist society and believed in the states control over its people’s lives and freedoms. We see the fear for opposing ideologies playout in European Countries. America was afraid that the destruction of communism would plague Soviet neighbors. While America was actively involved reconstructing Germany and its allies, they frightened Stalin and his communist party as they viewed their borders were weak and unable to be protected from an invasion. Bother countries deployed territorial and ally grabbing techniques to improve their strong hold on
The Cold War defined the mindset of the United States citizens at the time. Giving them a perspective towards the communist regime and its people. Concerns by the American society also shaped the view towards communism, as well as new ideas spreading out in the United States communities. A series of proxy wars, nonconformity, unrest, and ideologies is what triggered the hatred of both superpowers during this period of time. Indeed, this period of history even shapes some of the ideas of people nowadays. Because of the panic of an attack by the Soviet Union, a rational fear of the spreading of communism, and the belief that totalitarian ideas opposed the ideals of freedom and democracy being outrageous concerns were raised in the American