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.
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
After the debatable “success” of the atomic bomb there was talk of using it again Every country now wanted to know who had one, where it was kept, and when/if they would be using it Causes Differences between the US and the Soviet Union were intensified by suspicions after the war. Power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the United States. As one wanted to dominate the other conflicts were inevitable. Cold and warm Open warfare is referred
American strategy remained torn between simply containing Communism or rolling it back by actively supporting the Soviet Union’s opponents. For historians of the Cold War, the great debate has been between traditionalists who tend to see the United States as the defensive power in the Cold War (and the Soviet Union as the aggressor) and revisionist historians who tend to see the United States and the Soviet Union as equally aggressive and equally at fault. Revisionists (those critical of American foreign policy) are usually accused of forgetting the ‘lessons of Munich’. It is argued that World War Two arose partly because too many historians thought Germany was unjustly treated after World War One by the Treaty of
‘With reference to 3 flashpoints, discuss the implementation and effectiveness of the US policy of containment’ The Cold War was a period of tension between the world’s two biggest super powers, The Soviet Union and the United States of America as they both competed for supremacy. The Cold War lasted from 1945 until 1991 and during this period they fought for complete dominion over the world. The Cold War was a war fought indirectly through espionage spying, economic aid, proxy wars, propaganda, etc that stopped short of full-scale war. If a war was to break out it would result in a Nuclear War and endanger the existence of the world. The tension between these two countries is because of conflicting ideologies as the Soviet Union were communist
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.
1. What were the causes of the cold war? How did the United States and the Soviet Union each react to what it perceived to be the other’s hostility? What was the effect of the Cold War on Europe? 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 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.
Although they became allies during WWII to eliminate their common enemy – Nazi-Germany – the superpowers had set themselves up for a great conflict. Aggressive actions and opposing ideologies had developed that would confirm the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine, the Long Telegram, and NATO are all examples of these actions due to opposing ideologies. These actions are seen as official causes of the Cold War; nevertheless, other factors played a large role in starting the conflict. The two opposing ideologies caused the war to a certain extent, but the fear and revenge that grew out of the ideological split were
The nuclear arms race made the world a more dangerous place 1949-63 During the course of history many Arms races have developed, however this one was different. These nuclear weapons possessed an incredible amount of destructive power which meant that both superpowers, the USA and USSR, found themselves in a situation where doing everything to intimidate their adversary by being the more superior superpower to prevent direct nuclear warfare was vital. It is for this reason that this stage of the cold war is seen by some as the most key stage as well as a pivotal turning point. From what looked like initially a simple issue at first with more of these weapons being produced therefore the world would become a more dangerous place it can be assumed. This isn’t case with as this arms race progressed it became clear about the catastrophic dangers nuclear warfare would bring if the weapons were ever deployed.