Cold war Blog

Cold War Blog

The Cold War is not exactly what comes into your mind when you think of a war. It was a non violent period of a clash of opposing beliefs and ideology of capitalism versus communism between the United States and the Soviet Union. This so called “war,” lasted from 1945 to 1991, formed the basis of an international power struggle with both sides competing for dominance and exploited every opportunity for expansion. Although it is impossible to entirely blame the start of the Cold War on one country, I believe that the United States’ overly defensive perspective caused them to “regard (the Cold War) as inevitable.” (Document D)

A political cartoon of the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War

This did not mean that the Soviet Union was not responsible for starting the Cold War. After World War II, The Big Three: the United States, Soviet Union, and Britain, came together at the Yalta Conference in 1945 and decided to allow free elections in Eastern Europe. Despite this compromise, the Soviet Union continued expanding its area of control and communism in nearby countries, such as Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Poland. This forceful expansion of Communism caused Winston Churchill to recognize the Soviet’s desire of “indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines,” (Document A) and to create a division between the West and East Europe, called the Iron Curtain. Through the Iron Curtain, Churchill hoped to contain people influenced by communism in their areas and those not yet influenced by communism in a different area to prevent the spread. Even though the Americans might have seen the Soviet Union’s action as threatening and aggressive, I believe that the United States should have only tried to resist Communism in its country and not intervene in the efforts of the other countries.
  

Iron Curtain

The Big Three at the Yalta Conference of 1945

As the United States continued to believe that it was their responsibility to stop the Soviets from spreading Communism to other nations, such as Greece and Turkey, President Truman created the Truman Doctrine. This Doctrine stated that the United States would intervene to support any nation that was being threatened by a takeover by an armed minority. Viewing themselves as being responsible for “supporting free people resisting subjugation by armed minorities” (Document B) and the people of the world “looking to them for support in maintaining their freedoms” (Document B). The Americans thought they could provide financial support and, therefore, created the Marshall Plan in 1947. The United States spent over 13 billion dollars in 17 different countries, bringing them food and providing them with houses and jobs. Also, the United States entered the war “only at the last minute,” which completely affected the “outcome of the war” (Document C).

Overall, it is true that the Soviet Union first continued to spread its communist power. However, due to the overly defensive and competitive nature of the Americans, they wanted to stay as the number one most dominant in power, which in turn caused America to intervene and fight back the spread of Communism.


Citations
http://www.answers.com/topic/yalta-conference-large-image
http://www.jaunted.com/tag/Iron%20Curtain%20Trail
http://www.talkandroid.com/52984-the-smartpone-cold-war-is-the-motorola-mobility-acquisition-googles-greatest-move-or-their-worst/cold-war/