Discuss the factors that led to the emergence of the Cold War. Evaluate rivalries and alliances back to pre-WWII, as well as specific events that led to the tension that officially began, and/or led to, the Cold War. You can think about evolving foreign policies and changing Presidential beliefs, as well as events and decisions made in WWII that contributed, and changing/developing cultural changes in the United States.
After defeating the common enemy, the prewar mistrust that existed between the United States and The Soviet Union resurfaced and their alliance started to unravel. Both sides wanted to demilitarize Germany, but after that, they had very different ideas about what to do with the country. The Soviet Union wanted Germany to be “weak both militarily and economically…”(775) and Stalin wanted to force Germany to help rebuild the Soviet’s devastated economy. The United States, however, wanted to try and make a rapid revival of Germany's industrial system, to try and help rebuild Europe's economy. This disagreement led to Germany being split into a communist Soviet-run section in the east and the Federal Republic of Germany occupied by Britain, France, and the United States on the west side.
Truman expected Soviet-American cooperation as long as the Soviet Union went along with The United States plan for a post-war world. Truman believed that America's nuclear monopoly gave him the upper hand, and he was not afraid to use force if the Soviets tried to expand. Stalin belived that agreements made during the war gave him a free hand in the countries that the red army liberated or defeated, “just as the United States was unilaterally reconstructing governments in Italy and Japan.”(775) Stalin violently installed Communist governments in Poland and Bulgaria.
After WWII a second “red scare” passed through the United States, this time it led to the idea of containment. Containment stressed the importance of the United States resisting Communism and Soviet Expansion. George “Kennan believed that the Soviet Union would retreat if the United States would respond with ‘unalterable counterforce.’”(776) He believed that this approach would lead to a mellowing of Soviet powers. This mellowing did not happen and the Soviets kept pushing back and trying to expand their powers.
After defeating the common enemy, the prewar mistrust that existed between the United States and The Soviet Union resurfaced and their alliance started to unravel. Both sides wanted to demilitarize Germany, but after that, they had very different ideas about what to do with the country. The Soviet Union wanted Germany to be “weak both militarily and economically…”(775) and Stalin wanted to force Germany to help rebuild the Soviet’s devastated economy. The United States, however, wanted to try and make a rapid revival of Germany's industrial system, to try and help rebuild Europe's economy. This disagreement led to Germany being split into a communist Soviet-run section in the east and the Federal Republic of Germany occupied by Britain, France, and the United States on the west side.
Truman expected Soviet-American cooperation as long as the Soviet Union went along with The United States plan for a post-war world. Truman believed that America's nuclear monopoly gave him the upper hand, and he was not afraid to use force if the Soviets tried to expand. Stalin belived that agreements made during the war gave him a free hand in the countries that the red army liberated or defeated, “just as the United States was unilaterally reconstructing governments in Italy and Japan.”(775) Stalin violently installed Communist governments in Poland and Bulgaria.
After WWII a second “red scare” passed through the United States, this time it led to the idea of containment. Containment stressed the importance of the United States resisting Communism and Soviet Expansion. George “Kennan believed that the Soviet Union would retreat if the United States would respond with ‘unalterable counterforce.’”(776) He believed that this approach would lead to a mellowing of Soviet powers. This mellowing did not happen and the Soviets kept pushing back and trying to expand their powers.
Comments
Post a Comment