How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union in the years 1945-53 was primarily due to traditional great power rivalry? Use sources 7, 8 and 9 and your own knowledge. The development of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union in the years 1945-53 was primarily due to great power rivalry, though this rivalry was only made clear, due to the ideological differences between the two superpowers. The Cold war has been a clash on conflicting ideologies, which fuelled the great power rivalry between the USA and Soviet Union, and these differences led to increasing tensions almost to the extent of nuclear war. Yalta was the first event in the time period, and was where ‘the big thee’, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met and discussed the reorganization of Germany and Eastern Europe after WWII.
The Second World War ended in 1945 with the victory of ‘the Grand Alliance’ of the USSR, the USA and Britain. Although on the surface it appeared the West and the Soviets had reached a mutual understanding in their quest to defeat the Axis powers, strains in their relationship during the war and in the years preceding it suggests that conflict was imminent. Thus, certain actions by both the USA and the USSR can be interpreted as prompting the Cold War as early as 1945. As the Cold War did not involve direct conflict between the USA and USSR, locating its origin is a topic of contention. However, the breakdown in relations between the emerging superpowers during the war and the consequences of the disbandment of the Grand Alliance can be interpreted as the start of the Cold War.
How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8 owed more to Soviet expansionism than to USA’s economic interests? The Cold War, dated from 1947 to 1991, was a sustained state of political and military tension between powers in the Western Bloc, dominated by the United States with NATO among its allies, and powers in the Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact. This began after the success of their temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the USSR and the US as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences. Some of the major reasons for the development include Superpower Misjudgement, the difference in ideologies, the development of nuclear weapons and the traditional great power rivalry. In this essay I will be looking at 3 sources, Many historians agree with the view that the development of the Cold War owed more to soviet expansionism than USA’s economic interests in the years 1945-48.
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).
Zinoviev’s Letter Munich agreement September 1938 Appeasement policy Conclusion v Regardless of the war, a Cold War scenario was inevitable due to Political, economic and ideological differences. v WW II only intensified a previously existing problem Word Count: 1974 Karan Agarwal 12 E The era post World War two saw great dominance by the USA and the USSR as they possessed greater economic and military might than any other countries in the world at the time. Britain, France and Germany, the pre-war powers lay in ruins at the end of 1945, therefore allowing their dominance and power to shift to the USA and USSR. Bernard Baruch coined the term ‘Cold War’ during a congressional debate in 1947 stating that the situation was just
To what extent was the Cold War caused by Truman’s policies? The Cold War was a state of political and ideological conflict, military tension and economic rivalry after the Second World War. This ‘war’ was fought between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States of America (USA). After the Second World War had ended Europe was devastated and in ruins. The industry and agriculture sectors were severely damaged, governments were in disarray, there were supply shortages and a split had emerged between the Great Powers.
the Cold War was a contest between the USA and the Soviet Union. It led to the existence of thousands of nuclear weapons, two universal ideologies in conflict, and two different self-images, the United States championing a world made safe for democracy. Its opponent, the Soviet Union advocated world Communism. The United States prides itself on its heritage of freedom, a refuge for persecuted religious groups, a land of liberty that successfully rebelled against the imperial power of Britain in 1776. Its guiding principles were the protection of the individual’s life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and the establishment of a constitution that embodied the best political idea of modern times, a system of checks and balances so that the president,
If you ask anyone who lived between 1947 and 1990, they would probably tell you this was a very scary time in history because of the Cold War. Fear was intense in both the United States and Russia, and the two countries came close to ending the world because of the escalation of arms in this time. There are several events that led to this near catastrophe. The Cold War was political and military tension between the powers of the Western world. The United States and its NATO allies, against the communist world, led by the Soviet Union, its satellite states and allies.
The paper will focus on the cause and effect of the Cold War that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union that began at the end World War II. The United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II, and they were fighting for their survival against Germany, Italy, and Japan. Many other countries were involved as the allies had made agreements at the Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences, which at the end of the World War led them into the Cold War. To understand what happened at these conferences and what agreements were made we need to look closer at these areas. The Teheran Conference (in Iran) took place in 1943 and the agreement made by the United States and the Great Britain was that the Soviet Union would be granted more territory, such as eastern Poland, Bessarabia, and Bukovina.
Both sides eventually picked sides in the region and supported opposing forces. These opposing alignments became more clear when power struggles in Asia occurred. Events such as the Chinese Civil War and then the Korean War polarised the two superpowers and would serve as a precursor for future Cold War conflicts. Hence it will be argued that the power vacuum which occurred in Asia in the wake of WWII was a necessary precondition, but not the sole cause, of the Cold War in Asia. The desire of both the United States and USSR for primary influence in the region and the effects of the Chinese Civil War and Korean War must also be explored in order to fully explain the origins of the Cold War in Asia.