The Cold War Summarized Essay Example

The period of tension between the world's two superpowers fallowing the Second World War is known as the Cold War. This period was full of tension and fear that the United States and the USSR would destroy each other and the world with their arsenals of atomic weapons. The seeds of this rivalry were planted nearly a quarter of a century before its actual commencement with the Revolution of 1918 in Russia. The Cold War Rivalry would manifest itself in everything from sports in Olympic competition to science and the Space Race. The Cold War did not only take place in the political, athletic and science realms but also heated up in wars and deputes all over the world from Europe, East Asia and the Middle East to South America and off the American shore. From these beginnings until the fall of the USSR in 1989 the Cold War would dominate every aspect of life from school children to the leaders and their policies on both sides. The cold war began in 1918 with the Russian Revolution, the rise of the Communist Party and the founding of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The revolution came during the First World War at a point in time when the Allies needed all of the support they could get. The revolution was fast and the Bolsheviks took power quickly and pulled Russia out of the war just as quickly. The other Allies, Britain and the U.S. resented the loss of a front on the German Empire and the greater stress it put on them. The Bolsheviks quickly disposed of all opposition with the exception of the Mensheviks who were backed by the U.S. and Britain. The Russian Civil War began and after long and bloody period ended with the Bolsheviks remaining in power and the murder of the Romanovs, the royal family, effectively ending the hope of a stage 3 end to the revolution and the replacement of an Ally-friendly Tzar. After this there were few problems between the USSR and the U.S. with the exception of President Harry Truman officially not recognizing the USSR