Us Involvement In The Cold War

As apparent in Document C, in which the quintessential “nuclear family” sits in a bunker, concerns about nuclear war stood at the front of the American ethos. This fear of nuclear war was also reflected in Document E, in which the question is posed of whether or not the “U.S. [should] take the first blow?” This question of “whether a policy of accepting the first blow may be the best one” became intertwined within the minds of the America people, heightening American fears. President Eisenhower, while addressing the issue of the Soviet Union and its subsequent tensions through nearly doubling “defense spending…of government spending” (Document H). However, the Eisenhower administration failed to successfully mollify these fears, apparent in the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, who pledged not to “dare to tempt [challenging nations] with weakness” (Document I).

The purpose of this essay is to highlight the similarities and differences of the decisive actions taken by President Harry Truman (1945 to 1953) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 to 1961) when confronted with two pivotal issues of their administration. Those issues were civil rights for African Americans and the cold war. This essay will also highlight how American citizens responded to the issues during the period from 1945 to 1961.

“Why and in what ways did the United States change its foreign policy from 1918-1953?”

The Cold War Era started in 1946 and lasted until 1989 when the Berlin war fell signifying its end. Many events happened through this time period that shaped American culture and brought us to where we are today. It all started in march 1947, which reflected the combativeness of president Harry Truman. Secretary George c Marshall told Europe that that policy of the United States was not directed “ against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.” in 1947 the brutish announced that they could no longer support the pro western governments of the Mediterranean in their fight against communism. If the US could not take up the burden the whole region was in danger of falling under communist roll. March 12th

President Dwight Eisenhower is probably one of the least understood and the most criticized American president. Eisenhower critics changed their negative view of his presidency years later when they understood Eisenhower’s principles and what he stood for. President Eisenhower’s military and political career emerges as critics and historians continued to evaluate his presidency. The major theme is the criticism of Eisenhower’s presidency and the revision of that criticism. These criticisms were base on foreign policy issues, social welfare legislation, and Eisenhower’s principles and philosophy that help him to remain neutral. The foreign affair was probably President Eisenhower’s administration most important goal. Eisenhower presidency coincided with Cold War era that saw heightened aggression from the Soviet Union and China. Eisenhower used his foreign policy to contain the communist powers such as Soviet Union, Cuba, and China that had managed to split the world into two spheres- Capitalists and Communist. Eisenhower staffed the State Department and foreign embassies with new men that he believed would enhance the foreign policy. He implemented the social welfare legislation that the Democratic governments initiated in 1930’s and

President Dwight Eisenhower was a decorated war veteran in world war 2 before he became

They both used the policy of containment. Eisenhower created a theory called the “Domino Theory.” The “Domino Theory” was a theory that stated that if one country became communist then their neighboring country would become communist too (Ayers 950). It was made for awareness to prevent communism. The strongest Military efforts included brinkmanship and massive retaliation. 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.

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.

The Cold War was an icy rivalry that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. This rivalry first developed because the two conflicting nations had different ideas of successful economies. The United States believed that capitalism, in which private owners control trade and industry was more efficient than Communism, in which the state or government control trade and industry. In addition, many of the events that occurred at The Yalta Conference played a significant role in the cause of this era of competition that lasted from 1947 to 1991. At Yalta, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed that Poland’s government would include members of the pre-war Polish government and that free elections would be held

Social and political factors are the driving force behind successful innovations. Political intervention can help open up new markets, which would otherwise remain unavailable. During the cold war, the United States funded and pushed many innovations in order to ensure its success in the space race. The reason the government spent so much money and put in so much effort was that they wanted to improve the country’s national defense. They were concerned with the Soviet Union’s scientific and technological research so they decided to combat them by increasing funding in R&D. It was because of the government’s vested interest that innovators like Jasik were able to succeed in the implementation of their technology. The cold war also helped shape

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

“Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (Garrit 1) The falling of the Berlin Wall marked the ending of an era, the Cold War. The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991; it took 8 presidents to end the Cold War. Ronald Reagan met the challenge head on to bring the Soviet Union to their knees. Ronald Reagan exploited the Soviets economic vulnerabilities. Reagan out spent the USSR in defense to produce as arms race to bankrupt and eventually take Gorbachev out of power.

The legacy that Truman and his administration left for Eisenhower and Dulles was the transformation of the U.S. into a country that could lead the free world. He set the foundations needed for the U.S. to transition from isolationism, disarmament, and neutrality into a nation which would resist the spread of communism through collective security and arms-buildup. For Dulles and the Eisenhower administration, their determination and resolve would be tested. When it came to crises such as Suez and NATO, the Hungarian revolution, Berlin, and the U-2 incident, U.S. foreign policy was molded and was exemplified through the rhetoric of Eisenhower and Dulles. Their version of American foreign policy had mixed results and mostly kept the status quo.

Despite the slogan proclaimed in Truman's speech about "the US support of free people in their struggle against armed minorities or external pressure,"(Containment and the Cold War: American foreign policy since 1945, the US support was, depending on the region, more or less. In addition, it should be noted that the permission of these free peoples to use military force to protect their freedom was not always asked.