Overview and causes of the cold war
The Cold War- called a "cold" war because there never really was a true declaration of war- was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union. It began in the 1940's and stretched until the 1990's. During WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States were allies. However, their relationship began to unravel after the U.S entered the war on the western front with England instead of helping their allies, the Soviets. In return, the Soviets didn't keep their promise of helping the U.S on the Pacific Front. The Soviet Union and the ally's relationships began to unravel because, not only did the two powers have disagreements after World War II, but they each had an increasing fear of the other. In the time of WWII, the U.S was not happy with Stalin's (Soviet Leader) decision to sign a nonaggression pact with Germany. In return, Stalin blamed the allies for not attacking Germany sooner than they did. Moreover, each side had their own political views- The U.S and it's allies being democratic while the Soviets were communist. Each side wanted to influence as many territories as possible with their government. The Soviet Union had the idea that the U.S was plotting to become a world power and they needed to keep that from happening. The U.S had the same fear of the Soviet Union. And thus, the Cold War began.
Early World conferences were a big part of the beginning of the Cold War. At the Yalta Conference, attended by the "Big Three" - Roosevelt (U.S representative), Stalin (Soviet Representative), and Churchill (Britain Representative)- they discussed many things regarding Germany and Poland. They discussed where the division line would be between the two, the Polish government after the war, and the United Nations. They also discussed the division of conquered Germany. Ultimately, Germany was divided into 4 zones. The U.S, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union each were in control of one of the four zones. At the Potsdam Conference, once again attended by the Big Three, many of the same issues were discussed. The Soviets said, at this conference, that they wanted Germany to pay reparations for the Soviet Union.
Each side had their own goals. The U.S goals were:
1. Spread democracy and keep communism at bay as much as possible.
2. Stabilize Europe to create new markets for U.S goods.
3. Stabilizing Germany would aid in the stabilizing of all of Europe.
On the other hand, the goals of the Soviet Union were very similar.
1. Spread communism and stop the spread of democracy at all costs.
2. Strive to rebuild their own country using Eastern European materials and industry.
The Soviets believed that, because Eastern Europe was the area that ruined the Soviet Union, they should have to fix it.
3. Protect the Soviet borders by controlling surrounding countries. This buffer created by the Soviet Union was called the "Iron Curtain" by democratic countries and "Satellite Countries" by the Soviets. The Soviet claimed that their Satellite Nations were for protecting the Soviet Union from western attacks.
As for the opposite political views, democracy and communism have almost exact opposite beliefs. Democratic systems believe in:
1. class system that is based on 2. luxury items. This means that, if you have luxury items, you will be placed in a higher class because you can flaunt your wealth.
3. Survival of the fittest was another belief. This means that whoever works the hardest will be more successful and will move up the social scale more than those who don't work.
4. Competition is also a part of a democratic society. Competition means that business owners can compete with whoever they want to, or don't want to. The last main point of democracy is that the
5. people control. The people control the businesses, factories, farms, etc.
A communistic society also has five main points of belief.
1.classless society with 2. no luxury items. This means that everyone has basically the same items and has the same living conditions, etc.
3. Everyone is equal in a communistic society. Everyone has the same opportunities, the same resources, the same housing, etc.
4. Cooperation is another big part of communism. The original idea was that, if everyone works together, more work will get done and everyone will be happier.
5. government controls. The government controls the radio, t.v stations, newspapers, etc. Communist citizens lives were censored and they didn't even know it.
Keep in mind, though, communism in theory versus communism in practice is much much much more different!
The United States' policy for dealing with the Soviet Union was called containment. This could simply be described as stopping the spread of communism AT ALL COSTS. They took two main courses of action with this policy. The first was the Truman Doctrine. This was President Truman's plea to Congress to help Greece and Turkey in their civil wars; aiding the democratic side, of course. Eventually, Congress granted $400 million to aid in the rebuilding and sustaining of the two countries. The next course of action was the Marshall Plan. This was George Marshall's offer to ALL European countries that requested it, including the communist ones. This would make the U.S look good because they were helping everyone, possibly even their enemies. Of course, the Soviet Union wouldn't accept the aid because that would make them look weak. Keep in mind, this plan wasn't approved until Communism had officially taken hold of Czechoslovakia. 16 countries requested and received aid from the U.S, including Great Britain, France, Italy, and Norway.
Early World conferences were a big part of the beginning of the Cold War. At the Yalta Conference, attended by the "Big Three" - Roosevelt (U.S representative), Stalin (Soviet Representative), and Churchill (Britain Representative)- they discussed many things regarding Germany and Poland. They discussed where the division line would be between the two, the Polish government after the war, and the United Nations. They also discussed the division of conquered Germany. Ultimately, Germany was divided into 4 zones. The U.S, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union each were in control of one of the four zones. At the Potsdam Conference, once again attended by the Big Three, many of the same issues were discussed. The Soviets said, at this conference, that they wanted Germany to pay reparations for the Soviet Union.
Each side had their own goals. The U.S goals were:
1. Spread democracy and keep communism at bay as much as possible.
2. Stabilize Europe to create new markets for U.S goods.
3. Stabilizing Germany would aid in the stabilizing of all of Europe.
On the other hand, the goals of the Soviet Union were very similar.
1. Spread communism and stop the spread of democracy at all costs.
2. Strive to rebuild their own country using Eastern European materials and industry.
The Soviets believed that, because Eastern Europe was the area that ruined the Soviet Union, they should have to fix it.
3. Protect the Soviet borders by controlling surrounding countries. This buffer created by the Soviet Union was called the "Iron Curtain" by democratic countries and "Satellite Countries" by the Soviets. The Soviet claimed that their Satellite Nations were for protecting the Soviet Union from western attacks.
As for the opposite political views, democracy and communism have almost exact opposite beliefs. Democratic systems believe in:
1. class system that is based on 2. luxury items. This means that, if you have luxury items, you will be placed in a higher class because you can flaunt your wealth.
3. Survival of the fittest was another belief. This means that whoever works the hardest will be more successful and will move up the social scale more than those who don't work.
4. Competition is also a part of a democratic society. Competition means that business owners can compete with whoever they want to, or don't want to. The last main point of democracy is that the
5. people control. The people control the businesses, factories, farms, etc.
A communistic society also has five main points of belief.
1.classless society with 2. no luxury items. This means that everyone has basically the same items and has the same living conditions, etc.
3. Everyone is equal in a communistic society. Everyone has the same opportunities, the same resources, the same housing, etc.
4. Cooperation is another big part of communism. The original idea was that, if everyone works together, more work will get done and everyone will be happier.
5. government controls. The government controls the radio, t.v stations, newspapers, etc. Communist citizens lives were censored and they didn't even know it.
Keep in mind, though, communism in theory versus communism in practice is much much much more different!
The United States' policy for dealing with the Soviet Union was called containment. This could simply be described as stopping the spread of communism AT ALL COSTS. They took two main courses of action with this policy. The first was the Truman Doctrine. This was President Truman's plea to Congress to help Greece and Turkey in their civil wars; aiding the democratic side, of course. Eventually, Congress granted $400 million to aid in the rebuilding and sustaining of the two countries. The next course of action was the Marshall Plan. This was George Marshall's offer to ALL European countries that requested it, including the communist ones. This would make the U.S look good because they were helping everyone, possibly even their enemies. Of course, the Soviet Union wouldn't accept the aid because that would make them look weak. Keep in mind, this plan wasn't approved until Communism had officially taken hold of Czechoslovakia. 16 countries requested and received aid from the U.S, including Great Britain, France, Italy, and Norway.