The Cold War was caused by ideological differences and mutual distrust between the U.S. and USSR after WWII. They engaged in an arms race and space race to prove the superiority of their political and economic systems. Key events that increased tensions included the USSR developing nuclear weapons, the Berlin Wall dividing Germany, and the Cuban Missile Crisis bringing the world close to nuclear war.
1. Cold War Causes
The Cold War was a standoff between the U.S. and the USSR(Soviet Union) to prove the superiority
of its technology, its military and its political–economic system. The Cold War also consisted of the
Space Race. The Space Race started in the late 1950s and ended in 1969 when the U.S. landed a
man on the moon. During this time period space wasn't the only thing on people's minds, there was
still the lingering threat of a nuclear bomb being dropped both in Russia and the U.S.. The U.S. was
the first to drop a nuclear bomb, but the Russians quickly stole the design and made some for
themselves. During the Cold War there were so many things such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the
Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Wall, and the Space Race.
One of the most things important during the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban
Missile Crisis was important for many reasons. For example, "13–day political and military standoff
in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear–armed Soviet...show more content...
This was important for many reasons. One reason is that it prevented people from moving west and
escaping communism(The Construction of the Berlin Wall). Over the span of twelve years more
than 2.5 million people moved west, which made it difficult for the GDR to spread communism and
take control. Another reason is "President Kennedy conceded that 'a wall is a hell of a lot better
than a war"(The Berlin Wall:1961–1989). President Kennedy didn't like the idea that a wall was
being built dividing Germany, but he thought the stopping of immigration between east and west
was better than an all out, and possibly nuclear, war.Furthermore "The reunification of East and West
Germany was made official on October 3, 1990"(The Berlin Wall:1961–1989). The destruction of
the wall signaled freedom in Germany and everyone joined together and celebrated. As you can see
the Berlin Wall was very important during the Cold
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2. the cause of the cold war Essay
In my opinion ,the US should bear a bigger responsibility for causing the cold war .After the
second world war , the ideological difference ,mutual distrust and the disappearance of the common
enemy (germany ) , these all are the causes of the cold war .However ,these comflicts were all
brought by the US . Many historians believe that the Cold War was inevitable once the common
enemy, Germany, was defeated after the end of World War II. Other historians such as John Gaddis
stress that neither superpower can be held solely responsible for the ideological war that lasted half
a century. These historians believe that the US and the USSR followed a pattern of action and
reaction; and that neither nation had a definitive plan of action (Todd,...show more content...
This is because the USSR took these policies as a direct attack against communism. Stalin coined
the term "dollar imperialism" for the US foreign policies because they offered economic aid to
nations in Europe that were detrimentally affected by WWII in an attempt to make these nations
economically dependent on and politically influenced by the US. It caused fear and paranoia in
the USSR because the soviet communists believed that the US would gain political and
economic control of the countries in need of aid. It also caused fear and paranoia because the
Truman Doctrine and Marshall plan condemned communism as evil and it took action to prevent
the spread of communism to any susceptible nation by providing military assistance. The USSR
was upset that the US could do such a thing, thus they responded furiously to these policies by
developing their own similar form of economic aid. These were called the Molotov Plan and
Comecon which forcefully imposed economic aid on countries such as Czech (even if these
nations wanted the aid of the US instead). These actions and reactions caused tensions to greatly
rise in the Cold War (Todd, 2009). Thus, it can be argued that it was not only Truman's policies, but
Stalin's policies that also played a major role in the Cold War.
Stalin's foreign policies such as establishing a Soviet–form of communism on a
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3. Causes of the Cold War Essay
There are several who have a different approach of whether it's the U.S or the Soviets' fault for
causing the Cold War. In reality, they have always had clashing ideologies and different structures of
government that have played a major role in leading them to embark upon such a distrustful
relationship. Furthermore, the Soviets distrusted the U.S way before WWII when they intervened in
the Russian Civil War and didn't recognize the Soviet Union until 1933. As a result, during and after
WWII, the Soviets were determined to dominate European countries with their own political agenda
to become the hegemonic power and believed the U.S. had the same motive. However, the U.S was
more eager on protecting these Eastern countries from communist...show more content...
And when the U.S dropped the nuclear bomb on Japan in 1945, the Soviets felt threatened and
justified their own demise in the matter by reckoning that the U.S is trying set an example for
others, indirectly stating that they are vigorously in possession of such power, completely
destructing cities . Consequently, this drove the Soviets to become even more active and to have
a stronger stance in foreign policy (Doc B). In addition to, the Soviets also believe that the U.S
was trying to spread capitalism across Europe by establishing the Marshall Plan in which the U.S
financially helped European countries to boost their economy and social status. This program was
also applied to the Soviet Union but they didn't accept it because they believed that it was a direct
attempt for the U.S to dominate European affairs (Doc E), since those that accepted this plan were
to become its allies in return for the aid provided. The U.S did not want to engage in immediate war
with the Soviets, and as a solution to set a blockade against Soviet ideologies, they adopted
"containment", which derived from the Long Telegram that George Kennan drafted (Doc D). This
message to Washington D.C. explained that the Soviet Union will inevitably collapse if they contain
them and their policies since
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4. Causes of the Cold War Essay
Causes of the Cold War
In this paper I will discuss what actions and thoughts added up to cause the cold war. The cold war
lasted from September 1, 1945 to about December 25, 1991. That is about forty–five years, which is
an extremely long time. The cold war was a global competition basically between two sides, the Free
World, which was led by the United States of America, and the Communist World led by the Soviet
Union. The struggle took place through indirect military conflict, and direct competition in the areas
of economics, diplomacy, culture, space exploration, and political theory. It also involved nuclear
stand offs, espionage, and global competition for other nations. The cold war has established the
framework for most...show more content...
Things especially heated up between the two when the Soviet Union would not accept the offer
from America to give reparations for after the war. This aid was offered through the Truman
Doctrine, which happened in March 1947. What it stated was that American aid was being offered to
European countries that bordered onto Communist countries. The Marshall Plan, in June of 1947,
which offered aid outside of Europe to stop the spread of Communism–called containment. Then the
USSR set up Comminform in September 1947. Which Stalin said was a news agency, but really it
was a means of resistance to the Marshall Plan in Western Europe and to consolidate Soviet control
over the countries of Eastern Europe. The Soviet ambassador to the United States was Novikov at
the time. Novikov suggested that the United States wanted to form a Western European alliance
directly against the Soviet Union. He felt that the Truman Doctrine was the first step towards this
goal, but it had been too harsh to attract any European support. Then he said that the Marshall Plan
represented a more appealing tactic to involve the Western Europeans in the creation of an
anti–Soviet alliance. However apparently the United States was not just pressuring Western Europe,
but Eastern Europe as well. This partially, made the Soviet Union very angry. Maybe if the Marshall
Plan had been limited to just Western Europe, maybe it would have been less threatening to the
Soviet
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5. Cold War Causes
After the surrender of Germany and World War II came to an end, The United States and the
Soviet Union (USSR) emerged as the two global superpowers in the world. The two countries put
their differences aside during World War II to work together and defeat the axis countries. Directly
after World War II ended tensions between the US and USSR immediately escalated. The battle
between the two was a fight of ideals, the democratic United States and the Communist USSR.
Although no actual military campaigns were launched during the Cold War, billions of dollars were
spent to bulk militaries incase of a nuclear war. This paper will examine the causes and the effects
of the Cold War. Towards the end of World War II the alliance between The United States and the
Soviet Union were growing thin. The two did not have the best relationship and this showed after the
war. The main cause that became the driving factor behind the two's arguments was their
governments. The United States believed everyone had the right to be free, the exact opposite of the
Soviet Union's communist government....show more content...
This lead the USSR to take over and force communism on the countries around them in the Baltic
Sea. The United States Viewed this communist Eastern European as a threat to freedom everywhere.
This led the United States to put the Marshall Plan in place which provided economic aid to the war
torn Western European countries. The USA did this to make sure the rest of Europe was strong
enough to protect their freedom from the Soviet Union. This move by The United States solidified
the Cold
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