After the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers and subsequently a period of tension and hostility arose, known as the Cold War. During this time, a new possibility of complete nuclear destruction that would claim the lives of many emerged, therefore “the easing or relaxing of tensions” on both sides was needed, this period would be known as detente. Both countries had been guaranteed mutually assured destruction as they had both managed to stay ahead in the development of nuclear arsenals. By the late 1960s the Soviets had surpassed the United States in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) by 1,300 to 1,054. Although the U.S was still ahead in various categories, it no longer enjoyed the immense nuclear advantage as before. However, neither side was prepared for the risk of a full scale war. Apart from the possibility of a disastrous nuclear war, factors in both the U.S and the Soviet Union also motivated the need for a relaxation of tensions.Both countries were in severe economic crisis due to the arms race and needed to diverge the funds to rebuild the economy. In the United States public opinion in America indicated that the Cold War was 'unjustifiable both economically and morally' due to the ongoing war in Vietnam. All these factors would eventually lead to the establishment of detente.…
With the end of World War 2 came the Cold war with many controversies even between former allies. Communist Russia forced control over their section that was gained in the Potsdam conference. They set up many barriers around their portion of East Berlin and eventually around East Germany. America had dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and a new technology been revealed as a massive, deadly weapon that could wipe out thousands instantly, it was now an arms race. “Push of a button in Russia, and 35 minutes later much of U.S. could be laid to waste—with power to retaliate limited.” (Document E)…
During this time politically where the world was at a scare with the growing communist of surrounding countries change was exactly what we needed. Cuba was knocking on our back door and Russia in line to follow. This was a weary time for many Americans “Though World War II had come to an end with the defeat of Germany in 1945, the threat of a Cold War was already pressing upon the nation”. (S Curwick), 2002. The Cold War was something that Americans had fear of and wanted to stop it before it had ever started, 63% of Americans wanted to engage fighting against communists. Another threat during the cold war era was the ever so quickly approaching Vietnam War. It wasn’t very long after the beginning of the decade they started drafting service men and women to fight for our country. It was a scary thing for a lot of people just kids barely out of high school taken to fight, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. Over 50,000 people enlisted for the war and over 11,000 killed in action were under the age 22 years old.…
First off, during the cold war, many feared the spread of communism. The Soviet Union and China were big countries and had a lot of influence over others. The United States became very fearful during the cold war of its…
After World War two almost immediately the United States and Russia started the Cold War. However some people might say that the cold war started on August 6, 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped. This makes President Truman’s decision to not only end the war with Japan and save American lives but also to try and scare Russia. “The view that it was purely coincidental that the first bomb was dropped two days before the Soviet offensive was due to start” (ideas in conflict 160). So because Russia had started their own Nuclear program it could cause problems for America in the future.…
The constant threats that came from war were difficult for Americans to live with. People were constantly looking over their shoulder; for not only bomb threats from the Russians but also from their own government who believed innocent people were in cahoots with the Soviets. Many people lost their lives working in the nuclear plants due to the effects of radiation. The US government had developed the montage of keeping up with the “Jones”. The dangers being placed on their own citizens was of little concern to them. The economy began to struggle because the Cold War was putting stress on so many countries that…
The existing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union proceeded to spike between 1945 and 1950. The disputes between these two countries pressured them to start a war. Of the post World War II goals that contributed to the Cold War, there were a prominent few, including the “Iron Curtain”, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. During the Cold War, competition for methods of weaponry skyrocketed. Some of said tactics were Satellite nations, the Space Race, and the buildup of arms.…
With the Korean War coming to a close and the Second World War having finished only eight years ago, Eisenhower took office in the midst of the Cold War against the communist country of the Soviet Union. Already, there had been a lot of hysteria about the events that had taken place and the new president made sure he addressed them from the…
In the 1950’s, American citizens faced the threat of looming nuclear annihilation that was posed by the Soviet Union and it’s…
After the end of the Second World War in 1945 another war emerged, this war was the cold war. The cold war was a power struggle between Communism and Capitalism. Capitalist Americans were terrified of communists and the chance of being hurled into a nuclear war. The American fear of communism, “the red scare”, caused many citizens to become paranoid. This paranoia lead many Americans into…
The Cold War marked a period in history when the United States and the Soviet Union experienced tension. This tension was highlighted by various events that took place in different areas of the world. The Cold War was given that name because of the relationship that developed mainly between the United States and the Soviet Union, this all started in late 1945. During this time major crises occurred, two of those being the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Berlin Airlift. The Cuban Missile crisis was a thirteen-day confrontation between the United States and Cuba with the Soviet Union on their side. The Berlin Airlift was when Russia started to isolate the territories of Germany under their rule.…
The Cold War was an almost 50-year long stretch of tense relations between the United States and the Communist-ruled Soviet Union. The Cold War started very quickly after World War II and finished with the 1991 destroying of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The dread of Communism invasion in the U.S. government, media outlet and different associations influenced American legislative issues, culture, and even day by day life, especially in the early years of the Cold War. U.S. strategy toward Communism at the end of World War II fixated on control. This approach drove Americans to see Communism as a significant issue that must be held within proper limits on inaccessible shores.…
The Cold War, which took place from 1949 to 1991 was a very tense time between Soviet Russia and the United States of America (Trueman, What was the Cold War). Both countries were constantly at odds and willing to attack each other with nuclear weapons due to their differences in political, economic and social beliefs.While Soviet Russia believed that communism was the best social, political and economic ideology for the world to follow the United States believed capitalism was the best ideology and that communism was the enemy to democracy. Although the Cold War was a proxy war the differences between Soviet Russia and the United States caused the countries to begin battling for world domination. At this time, the United States considered…
The year of 1945 was a time of relief for America and its people. That year was the end of World War II. Germany had lost and the time for rebuilding was near. However, the peace did not last long between the Soviet Union and the United States. A difference in political and economic views caused a rift in the Soviet Union and United States relationship of convenience. The Soviet Union was running on a system of government called communism. Communism's theory of a government run by the economy was the complete opposite of America's dedication to independence. This difference caused great tension between the two nations and became a Cold War. The Soviet Union believed that communism was going to overcome capitalism and that they will win the Cold War. America's retaliation to the Soviet Union's spreading of communism was containment. Containment is the attempt to stop the spread of communism. The Cold War split the world into two large groups, those who were under communist rule and those who were against it. The United States was dedicated in their fight against communism with instances like the Truman Doctrine, which vowed to support anyone who was being threatened by communist rule, and The Marshall Plan, which gave over 10 billion dollars to European countries in the effort to rebuild the damage done during World War II. By 1947, the United States and Soviet Union were constantly on their toes and pushing boundaries to see who would gain the upper hand in the Cold War.…
The cold war brought about an arms race that increased in pace as the years went on, in this instance we speak of danger to mean having a significant impact on the lives of many people throughout the world through the use of nuclear arms. The world was endangered in many ways by the conflict between the Soviets and the US, as new technology was successfully developed not only did the number of atomic weapons increase but the warheads became more powerful and could reach their targets more effectively. It was however arguable that as a result of this new destructive power that the danger actually abated slightly due to the introduction of Mutually Assured Destruction “MAD” This meant that it became more and more unlikely that either side would actually attack the other due to the effect that it would have on themselves in the form of a counter strike.…