Tyler James Emery Period 3/4 Block Due: May 31 Foreign Policies During the Cold War: Rough Draft As the aftermath of World War II began to unravel, the Soviet Union and the United States were the most dominant nations, with opposing viewpoints in many aspects, especially government. Due to their opposing viewpoints and natural desire for power, they began to compete by attempting to convert the newly unoccupied region's governments to either Democracy (U.S.), or Communism (Soviet Union). The Cold War, which began after World War II in 1945, was caused due to the constant power struggle as well as poor relations between the two nations, creating idealogical and economical conflicts. During the Cold War era, the United States had begun
After WW2 tensions between the United State and the Soviet Union tightened resulting in what is known as the Cold War. Although the seeds of this rivalry were planted nearly a quarter of a century before its actual commencement with the Revolution of 1918 in Russia, the tension was also driven through occasions such as the Yalta Conference and resulted in proxy wars throughout the world and a Second Red scare in America. This period was full of tension and fear that the United States and the USSR would destroy each other and the world with their arsenals of atomic weapons. During the Yalta conference the US, Russia, Britain and France agreed on the splitting of central Europe. This Split ultimately divided Europe into two spheres of influence.
The USSR's need to 'defend it's national interests' and safeguard the empire from further attacks, especially after a loss of 20 million Soviet Citizens due to World War 2, caused them to station over 11 million Red Army soldiers to occupy Eastern Europe. The Communist ideology caused for a worldwie revolution for the workers, which worried the USA and the West as to the true reasoning behind the expaniost ways of the USSR and therefore Soviet actions were viewed as threatening. The clear differences between capitalist and communist ideology was noted by Walker in Source 7, who states 'Stalin's USSR was seen in the west as... more menacing... and threatening to expand'. The use of 'menacing' as well as 'threatening' shows the Soviet actions to be devious and the expansionist policies of the Soviet Union reinforces that the two contrasting ideologies were at loggerheads with eachother. The use of 'satelite states' or 'buffer zones' were meant to secure survival for the USSR after a traumatic loss of resources, however the West viewed it as an attempt to spread communism- and it was referred to as the 'Iron Curtain' by Churchill
He focuses on their relationship before and during World War II, the formation of the Grand Alliance, and the Cold War. Both countries faced distrust and ideological difference which made them collide with one another. The Cold War was inevitable because of the rivalry between the two nations and their determination for “manifest destinies to expand their political, cultural, economic, and influence”
Assess the reasons for the overthrow of Soviet Power in Eastern Europe. The Cold War (1945-91) was mainly between some of the most influential countries, USSR, USA and western European countries. Soviet power had dominated Eastern Europe for the majority of the Cold War, however, around the early 1980s this power began to falter. There were many reason for the overthrow of the Soviet power, some of which were, the economic decline in the USSR, the power of the people, the introduction of Gorbachev and Western prosperity. So which of these reasons was the most important?
The Cold War HIS/135 Assignment The Cold War Before World War II Britain, France and the United States allied with Russia to combine forces against Germany. The war had a devastating effect on the land and people outside the western hemisphere. After the war the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world’s superpowers replacing Germany, France and England (Davidson, 2005). The United States power was supported by a growing economy, large military and the atomic bomb. In contrast the war took a toll on the Soviet Union, their lands were in ruin but they still had a formidable military (Davidson, 2005).
World History since the End of WWII 1. What were the major events that led to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance (created during the WWII)? Three nations had underlying attitudes towards one another. The U.S opposed the Russian communism and British imperialism whereas Britain wasn’t consent with the U.S economic dominance. Russia opposed the others’ capitalism.
Along with fears of the past came the difference of politics as the Soviet Union, also known as the USSR was a communist country and the United States was a capitalist society. These two nations became very dominant over each other and chose to start a nuclear arms race that would make both countries continue to fight in a form of competition. Unlike other countries, America made a decision to remain allies with the Soviet Union. This decision is one that haunted them for the next 46 years. David Halberstam, in “The Fifties” speaks strongly about the drastic changes that our society dealt with as a result of these hard times, and the ways in which the average individual worked with struggles in society.
But towards the end of the Second World War, when it was obvious Hitler would lose, the world was shaping up to be run by two great superpowers, America and the Soviet Union. Communism v Capitalism As with many other periods of history the main powers competed with each other for wealth and influence. And each side claimed it deserved to dominate the world because it stood for higher values. Stalin and his Soviet rulers declared communism the
The Cold War was a result of the failed alliance between the US and Soviet Union. For forty years, the two nations were at odds. Each tried to become better than the other, spread their political systems, and achieve world domination. During this time period, the rivals were always on the verge of a war. The Cold War was fought with thinly veiled threats and began due to the iron curtain.