Cold War

4 Pages 933 Words

5) Why did the Cold War develop, and how did U.S. policymakers wage it in the late 1940s and the 1950s? Your answer should explain A) the origins of this superpower rivalry (reaching back into World War II if not earlier), B)the main ideas and tactics of successive U.S. leaders in fighting the Cold War, and C) at least two important examples of Cold War conflict around the world in the 1946-1955 period.

The coldness between the U.S. and Soviet Union first appealed in closing months of the war. Americans were angry at the clear unwillingness of the Soviets to give up their control over Eastern Europe - by the late 1940s, they were setting up puppet Communist governments in Poland and Romania. The basic difference in ideology was becoming more apparent. The Americans, however, made no immediate attempts to roll back the Soviets where they were already in power - the U.S. domestic front wanted an end to war.
A) The origins of the superpowers date back all the way to early 19th century. The soviets believe in a communist society and the American believe of capitalism made them both value different things. During and after WWII no nation suffered more than the Soviet Union. 16-20 million Soviets were killed, vast numbers taken prisoner, and large portions of the industrialized sectors were left in ruins. It emerged from W.W.II as a world power second only to the United States. By 1945, strains were appearing between the Allies. The groundwork of Cold War was laid even before W.W.II was over, in squabbles during the peace settlement. The world after W.W.II quickly split into two rival camps centered on the Soviet Union and the United States, and the tensions of the Cold War hastened the disintegration of the remaining colonial system, as the bargaining power of new nations was temporally increased by the rivalry between the two superpowers. The difference in treatment of the defeated powers in W.W.II, as opposed to W.W.I, was also a ...