Cold War Argumentative Analysis

When the Cold War began in 1947, the United States and the Soviet Union turned from peaceful allies to enemies at the brink of war simply because each wanted to be the more dominant country. Unlike most wars, it was not fought on a physical battlefield, but instead was fought through competition with one another. This competition could be seen throughout many different points of the Cold War from the space race to athletics to the overall political ideologies of both countries. The goal of this paper, however, is to examine how much of the political agenda of the United States during the Cold War was formed as a result of fierce competition with the Soviet Union in the realm of sports and fitness.
After the end of World War 2, many of the
The purpose of NATA was to allow US athletic teams access to trainers with great experience. This would allow them the best treatment possible and make for more solid training for the top athletes. Many hoped this would be the kick start that America needed to jump into the world of competitive sports against the Soviet Union but it was not quite that. Although NATA set out to allow America to jump right into competitive sports, the fitness and sports in America did not take off as quickly as some hoped it would. It was a few years before NATA had serious work to do.
The thing that completely changed America’s outlook on sports was when the Soviet Union decided to join the Helsinki olympics in 1952. This caused both countries to shift their focus to athletic performance to show dominance and the battle of the Cold War moved to sports. Although the American men still beat the Soviets in track and field, the American women fell drastically short. Even after the games ended, the Soviets were still fierce competitors with the Americans both on and off the field. As a result, it began a new era of physical fitness for not only athletes but citizens as