Cold War
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Offner, Arnold, "Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman’s Responsibility" in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II. Gaddis, John Lewis, "Two Cold War Empires: Imposition vs. Multilateralism," in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II The Cold War was the longest war in which the United States has ever partaken and is the only war that involved little to no fighting. After researching the events, reading historical opinions, and listening to lectures in class, I have come to the realization that the war was just an exaggerated argument between two neighbors over which model fence, wood or metal, they would allow in their yards. One neighbor, President Truman, wanted Democracy, and the other neighbor, Stalin, wanted Communism. The problem is that they each had a valid argument for their type of fence and neither side would appease the other. It is important to realize that the Soviet Union has been invaded multiple times in the last couple decades and twice by their eastern neighbor, Germany. Therefore, Stalin’s attempt to protect his country is through maintaining control of neighboring governments like Poland, Northern China, and Germany. His means of doing so were through instilling Communist governments, which is not as terrible as it is made out to be. The basic idea of Communism is that the working class should have control verses a few individuals who are on top, and many Americans right now might see this idea to be in their favor. However, while the basic idea of Communism might be good, implementing it in a functional society is difficult and almost impossible. While the Soviet government, Communism, was indeed flawed and Stalin was definitely a cruel dictator, Democracy is not always in check either. The point is that no government is perfect and therefore, in a moral society, it is difficult to decide which side is right and which is wrong. Arnold Offner, historian, believes that Truman was at fault for causing
Offner, Arnold, "Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman’s Responsibility" in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II. Gaddis, John Lewis, "Two Cold War Empires: Imposition vs. Multilateralism," in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II The Cold War was the longest war in which the United States has ever partaken and is the only war that involved little to no fighting. After researching the events, reading historical opinions, and listening to lectures in class, I have come to the realization that the war was just an exaggerated argument between two neighbors over which model fence, wood or metal, they would allow in their yards. One neighbor, President Truman, wanted Democracy, and the other neighbor, Stalin, wanted Communism. The problem is that they each had a valid argument for their type of fence and neither side would appease the other. It is important to realize that the Soviet Union has been invaded multiple times in the last couple decades and twice by their eastern neighbor, Germany. Therefore, Stalin’s attempt to protect his country is through maintaining control of neighboring governments like Poland, Northern China, and Germany. His means of doing so were through instilling Communist governments, which is not as terrible as it is made out to be. The basic idea of Communism is that the working class should have control verses a few individuals who are on top, and many Americans right now might see this idea to be in their favor. However, while the basic idea of Communism might be good, implementing it in a functional society is difficult and almost impossible. While the Soviet government, Communism, was indeed flawed and Stalin was definitely a cruel dictator, Democracy is not always in check either. The point is that no government is perfect and therefore, in a moral society, it is difficult to decide which side is right and which is wrong. Arnold Offner, historian, believes that Truman was at fault for causing