Communism vs. Democracy : Emergence of the Cold War
25.03.2012
Essay Topic #2 - Using documents 1.1-1.6 and your wider knowledge, evaluate the assumptions underlying Soviet and US polices at the end of the Second World War.
Ali vs. Frazier – Communism vs. Democracy
The phrase “when one door closes, another door opens” applies to most cases throughout the history of our existence. World War II was no exception. With a world free of Nazi stronghold and the “Axis of Evil”, a lot of changes were being made. Before World War II there were six great powers: Great Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the United States. By the end of the war, the United States stood alone. The end of World War II virtually left two of these superpowers, who helped end Hitler’s realm, at a crossroads. The rivalry between the Soviet Union the United States and for control over the post World War II world emerged before World War II had even ended. The two United States presidents who served their tenure during the war (Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman) and disgruntled Soviet leader Joseph Stalin never actually trusted one another. Even through teaming up to bring down Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, this mutual mistrust actually began as far back as 1917. In 1917, the United States was never on good terms with the Bolshevik government that formed after the Russian Revolution. Stalin also resented the relationship the United States had with Great Britain throughout the war. The United States and Great Britain did not share nuclear weapons research with the Soviet Union during the war in fear that a nuclear epidemic may one-day rise because of the mass abundance of nuclear warheads. Stalin was also very annoyed and seemingly somewhat jealous of Truman’s offering of postwar relief funds to Great Britain and not extending any help to the USSR. There were many other factors that contributed to the conflicts between the United States and Soviet Union policies but they can all be summed up by one word: Power.
Essay Topic #2 - Using documents 1.1-1.6 and your wider knowledge, evaluate the assumptions underlying Soviet and US polices at the end of the Second World War.
Ali vs. Frazier – Communism vs. Democracy
The phrase “when one door closes, another door opens” applies to most cases throughout the history of our existence. World War II was no exception. With a world free of Nazi stronghold and the “Axis of Evil”, a lot of changes were being made. Before World War II there were six great powers: Great Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the United States. By the end of the war, the United States stood alone. The end of World War II virtually left two of these superpowers, who helped end Hitler’s realm, at a crossroads. The rivalry between the Soviet Union the United States and for control over the post World War II world emerged before World War II had even ended. The two United States presidents who served their tenure during the war (Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman) and disgruntled Soviet leader Joseph Stalin never actually trusted one another. Even through teaming up to bring down Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, this mutual mistrust actually began as far back as 1917. In 1917, the United States was never on good terms with the Bolshevik government that formed after the Russian Revolution. Stalin also resented the relationship the United States had with Great Britain throughout the war. The United States and Great Britain did not share nuclear weapons research with the Soviet Union during the war in fear that a nuclear epidemic may one-day rise because of the mass abundance of nuclear warheads. Stalin was also very annoyed and seemingly somewhat jealous of Truman’s offering of postwar relief funds to Great Britain and not extending any help to the USSR. There were many other factors that contributed to the conflicts between the United States and Soviet Union policies but they can all be summed up by one word: Power.
Cited: E.W. Pawley to the secretary of state, 27 July 1945, FRUS, 1945, vol. II, ‘the conference of Berlin’, Washington DC, 1960, pp 812 – 89 War Reparations < http://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/war-reparations2.htm > Problems of Post-war construction in Soviet foreign policy during World War 2’ in F. Gori and A. Pons (eds.), The Soviet Union and Europe in the Cold War, 1943-53, London, 1996, pp 8-11 Melvyn p [ 3 ]. Working paper of the US delegation at the Potsdam conference and E.W. Pawley to the secretary of state, 27 July 1945, FRUS, 1945, vol. II, ‘the conference of Berlin’, Washington DC, 1960, pp 812 - 89 [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. Extracts from J.L. Gaddis and T.H. Etzold (eds.), Containment: documents on American policy and strategy, 1945 – 1950, New York, 1978, pp. 61-63