The Soviet Union began demanding adjustments to its relations and control over Turkey, as well as Iran. Though Stalin backed down at the threat of U.S. Naval forces, his actions led to the containment policy. This policy is used to prevent the spread of communism. Later, in 1947, the United States took over the responsibility of providing economic aid to Turkey and Greece and announced that they would be helping the nations affected by Communism. The Marshall Plan was put into effect later that year and it offered reconstruction aid to much of Europe.
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.
There are three competing theories of the causes of the Cold War; the traditional theory, the liberal theory, and the ideological theory. In all three theories lie causes that could have equally contributed to the conflict, but only one is more convincing than the others.
Entering WWII brought America out of its depression and into the complicated world of political affairs. The change of U.S. foreign policy from the end of the First World War to the end of the Korean War changed drastically as the U.S. became a stronger world power. From isolationism to encouragement of interventions, it can be said that the U.S. reversed its policy within a few decades. The shift in its policy can be attributed to the international wars that got the U.S. involved with world politics, involvement of U.S. presidents in the world affairs, and the growing power of other foreign powers, such as the Soviet Union.
By establishing the Truman Doctrine, his main goal was to keep other nations who were resisting Communism to be able to stand up for themselves. Since the Soviet Union was in the midst of all Communist activity, Truman knew that Stalin would eventually spread his beliefs into other parts of the world. Fearing that he would lose yet another nation to Stalin, Truman quickly decided that he had to do something to help other countries who were in need of political and monetary aid. As a result, the Truman Doctrine was first created when Truman stood before Congress on March 12, 1947, and asked for $400 million to fight Communist aggression in Greece and Turkey. When Congress approved Truman’s request, he was able to send political, military, and economic assistance to Greece and other democratic nations that were under threat from Stalin (history.state.gov). Truman supported helping the Greek government because he believed that if he did not, a Communist victory in Greece would jeopardize the political stability of Turkey’s government and the Middle East would eventually fall to Communism (history.state.gov). Truman also argued that the security of the United States depended on the safety of other nations worldwide. The Truman Doctrine was efficient because Truman was able to stop Communist aggression in Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East. He was also able to prevent the Soviet Union’s
This investigation, examining certain events of the Cold War, will answer the question: To what extent did President Ronald Reagan’s actions aid in the end of the Cold War? The Cold War was a war between the United States and the Soviet Union that took place from 1947 to 1991. During that time several United States presidents took office, one of the last being Ronald Reagan whose actions have been argued to have been more influential than the rest and impactful toward the downfall of the ongoing war with the Soviet Union. The role that Reagan’s actions played in ending the Cold War has been a controversial topic ever since the war came to a close. This investigation will show that, to a good extent, Reagan’s actions
After WWII, there was communism fever in the northern part of the world. This domineering outbreak of communism threatened the US and our capitalist allies. Through the outbreaks, the US took things to drastic measures and did everything in their power to stop communism, causing multiple wars and combat.
The Cold War lasted decades and tensions continued to heightened. Trepidation spread among American citizens about the future of their country and world. Would communism take over or would the United States stand their ground and push for democracy? Following the Second World War, the Cold War caused the American people to fear the growth Communism, an economic depression, and a possible nuclear war, yet the Eisenhower Administration successfully addressed these concerns and implemented ways to reduce these fears.
It has probably happened many times in life when you take actions and someone gets mad or doesn 't agree. Then you must come up with any reason possible to make it justified, but sometimes not everything can be justified. For example, a person murdering a random person they have never met before and do not know, can’t be justified. The actions that the U.S took during the Cold War are similar to this, as they weren’t always justified. Some of the actions that the U.S. took was the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, going into nations that were controlled by the Soviets to fight back, and had the wrong motives. The United States actions during the cold war were not justified, because of the motives that they had behind their actions which were selfish and did not think about everyone else, these actions also caused more aggression.
On June 12, 1987, President Reagan stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate ,a background most dreary visible behind him, to give a speech to not just the people of Berlin, but also to the people of the world. Through his speech, Reagan sought to undermine the Soviet Union by raising support against it from the people of Berlin, a people who would have felt the effects of the Soviet Union very much. Their city was divided by a wall which separated not just East from West, but family from family, friend from friend, and freedom from oppression. And he not only attacked the Soviet Union, but also communism as a whole and any totalitarian state. And he ultimately sought to bring about the end of the Berlin Wall, which would have unified Berlin and
The Berlin Airlift began when the Soviet Union built a blockade preventing supply transportation and forced the Americans to begin the Berlin Airlift.
Cold War liberalism was an important way of thought and political belief that began at the end of WWII. This term was used to describe liberal politicians who believed in achieving civil rights and inclusion for all non-whites, but they did not want to take political risks to achieve this. Though Cold War Liberalism helped America in certain ways, it did not satisfy all the demands of inclusion. Cold War Liberalism specifically encountered problems with race, class, and gender. In terms of race, Cold War Liberalism only supported the Civil Rights Movement to a certain extent and it most certainly did not support the Black Panther Movement. With class, Cold War Liberalism only seemed to be helping white middle-class citizens, but they were still
To examine the Cold War consensus, one must discuss the Cold War. The Cold war was the tension between the United States, standing for capitalism, and the USSR, standing for totalitarianism and socialism, following World War II. Although it was not a physical war between the two superpowers, many proxy wars had came out of it as way to spread or combat communism throughout the Free World. The Free World, as the U.S. came to define it, did not necessarily mean free as countries were being ruled by military regimes and dictatorships, but free from communism(70). During the Cold War, the spread of communism frighted the American People. The Cold War consensus viewed communism as bad and capitalism as good(71). Stability was seen as desirable (71). Any
The Berlin Blockade was the first catastrophe of the Cold War. By 1945, Germany had lost the war and was divided into 4 sectors: the British, Soviet Zone, French Zone, and the American Zone. In the process of trying to gain economic recovery in Germany, the US, Great Britain, and France tried to change the currency.
During the conclusion of WWII in 1945, the Allied powers divided the defeated Germany into 4 “allied occupation zones” the Soviet occupied zone, the American-occupied zone, the British-occupied zone and the French-occupied zone. The capital city of Germany, Berlin, was also divided into 2 sections, eastern Berlin and western Berlin. Although Berlin was located in the Soviet zone, the Yalta and Potsdam agreements likewise split the German capital into Allied sectors: The Soviets took the eastern half, while the other Allies took the western. This occupation of Berlin, governed by a multi power agency called the Kommandatura, began in June 1945.