Primary Causes of the Cold War

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Primary Causes Of The Cold War The conflict between the US and the formerly known USSR occurred because of several political conflicts. Both the US and the U.S.S.R. felt that their ideology was better and because of World War 2, pre-­existing strife had built up. The major ideological difference was that the U.S.S.R. was supporting communism, whilst the US was supporting capitalism. With the actions of the soviet union, helping to liberate the defeated countries, it was understood that the liberators may stay and help them install their form of government and leave. Fear of the other country laying influence of their ideology, as a means to gain power, tensions rose. These tensions were fueled by the truman doctrine, which requested 400 million from congress to help combat communism in greece and turkey. The purpose of the Truman doctrine was to provide American economic and military assistance to any nation threatened by communism. The US feared the encroaching soviet strength, which perpetually launched them into an arms race with the U.S.S.R. The Soviets broke the US nuclear monopoly, and that struck fear into all americans, there is now someone just as dangerous as you are. ”Here’s my strategy of the cold war: we win, they lose.”1 Leading conflicts lead Truman to develop a “super bomb” 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb. With both sides power building, leaders realized, if this war was to happen there would be no victor, just total mass devastation for both parties. Peace was impossible, war improbable. 1 ― Ronald Reagan, U.S.S.R. U.S.A. Summit, Moscow, May 29 June 2, 1988
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