To what degree to you think each of the following contributed to the Cold War?
a. President Truman's style
b. the Soviet Union's security interests
c. American expectations for the postwar world
Explain your reasoning.
Post is due at 12 am on Monday, April 12. Have a nice weekend!
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The Cold War was an ideological conflict which pinned democracy against communism. I believe that Truman's style and the Soviet Union's security interests were the two biggest contributions to the Cold War followed by the American public's expectations for the postwar world.
ReplyDeleteTruman had a containment policy which was a collection of his responses to Soviet challenges and wanted to contain Russia's expansion and the expansion of communism. In addition the Truman doctrine was intended to keep nations from falling to the USSR, such as Turkey and Greece. Also, the membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization showed his policy of containment to keep Russians out, Germans down, and Americans in.
Russia's concern for security was shown through the council on Atomic weapons where USSR wanted to outlaw them entirely. This desire for security also led to an arms race between the USSR and the US. When Russia exploded the atomic bomb three years before it was thought possible, Truman reacted by developing the Hydrogen bomb.
After World War II, American expectations were high for US's economy. However, the prosperous wartime economy did not continue and the GNP fell largely after the war, wages dropped, and workers went on strike. This partly influenced Truman to involve the United State's military in foreign countries, such as by preventing the spread of communism. This created a wartime economy again that would satisfy America's expectations.
The Cold War congealed through rising tensions between the United States and the U.S.S.R, primarily from both nations' wishes to further their democratic or socialist goals in other countries. The Soviet Union's particular security interests were the main contribution to the Cold War, and the involvement of the United States in the Cold War were fueled by President Truman’s style and American expectations for the postwar world.
ReplyDeleteTensions began to rise once the Soviet Union came out of its isolationist shell and began exerting control over other countries. As the U.S. had denied the U.S.S.R a vital land-lease program in 1945, Stalin wished for a protective sphere around western Russia to prevent future attack, even though this also meant the taking of Poland. The Soviets also increased American-Soviet tension with the rejection of Bernard Baruch’s proposal of an investigative team for the regulation of nuclear arms, viewing it as the work of “capitalist spies”. And after the Soviet’s blockade of Berlin, the United States former partnership with the U.S.S.R disappeared, and was replaced with a need to contain the Soviet’s security interests.
Truman’s over-confident, arrogant personality served as a catalyst for the Americans’ fear of the Soviets and their actions in Europe. His doctrine or “containment policy” stated he would aid any power fighting Communist aggression. This was an important move in the establishment of the Cold War, because a direct, military threat had now been made towards the U.S.S.R. His support of an arms race also furthered competition, beginning the development of a hydrogen bomb after the Soviets eliminated the U.S.’ nuclear monopoly.
This increased militaristic economy was in part established from American expectation for the postwar world. After the war, inflation shot up and the GNP sank, leaving many to fear another Depression. With the beginnings of a Soviet threat, the United States channeled wartime economic strategies to create the prosperities of the 1950s. As fear of Communism and the U.S.S.R. rose, American support was greatly behind the funding of industries like aerospace, electronics, researched development, and defense spending. And this increase in weapons technology would only continue the competitive spirit of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.
The cold war was political conflict between the US and USSR. The war was expressed through a nuclear arms race, espionage, space race, and a technological competition. Each side was waiting for the other to say or do something to provoke a massive war. Overall this was a period of tension. President Truman’s style and Soviet Union’s security interests contributed to the Cold war.
ReplyDeletePresident Truman started out as a humble senator from Missouri with no college background However, as time went along he became cocky and arrogant. He would know that he was wrong on something and continue to argue about it just to show that he could take command.Several of Truman’s policies heightened the tension of the cold war. Such as the Truman Doctrine which supported free people resisting subjugation of communism. This policy gave $400 million to Turkey and Greece. He wanted to stop the expansion of communism. Truman didn’t do anything to stop this competition with the USSR. For example when the soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb three years before the US thought was possible, Truman said “Anything you can do , I can do better.” He kept the arms race going when the Hydrogen bomb was made.
The Soviet Union security interests were recognized when the Bernard Baruch called in 1946 for a U.N. agency free from the great power veto that could investigate all nuclear facilities and weapons. The U.S.S.R. rejected the proposal because they didn’t want to give up their veto power and didn’t want spies sneaking around in the Soviet Union. Thus causing the regulation of nuclear arms to be lost.
After WWII, Americans feared the economy would drop back down. However inflation rose, while the gross national product sank, and labor strikes swept the nation.
The cold war was primarily a result of hostile and aggressive U.S. foreign policy. It was exacerbated by Soviet reactions, which tended to be in response to U.S. policy and to a global climate of hostility and division.
ReplyDeleteThe cold war was ultimately a standoff between two superpowers armed with nuclear weaponry. It might have been prevented should the US have surrendered the nuclear technology when the Soviets suggested it at an early UN conference. The Cold War would have been avoided and billions of dollars would not have been wasted on the military - money that, if applied to humanitarian interests, could have eliminated poverty and saved millions of lives. (In 1998 only $6 billion could have provided universal basic education, which was less than 1% of the global military budget of that year.) Even if nuclear weapons had not been totally banned, their use might have been controlled and used to promote peace, if regulated by a UN committee as Bernard Baruch suggested. The cold war was primarily a result of two superpowers gaining access to a world-dominating weapon, and the standoff this caused could have been avoided if the weaponry had been banned or controlled by an international committee. Thus the Cold War was significantly to blame on US foreign policy which refused to surrender the weaponry when the opportunity arose.
Soviet build-up of nuclear weaponry certainly contributed to the conflict and created the arms race. However, this action was taken primarily in reaction to the initial military build-up by the US and could be viewed as a defensive action.
The attitude of the US public in a post-war world also contributed to a hostile sentiment toward Soviet Russia, which certainly contributed to a war-like atmosphere. Suspicion of communism grew to outright hysteria and persecution of communists in the United States. McCarthy and Nixon’s witch hunts, anti-communist propaganda, and the imprisonment of the accused Alger Hiss and the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenburg all contributed to an environment of hatred and terror toward communist countries.
Although the Cold War was technically free of actual fighting, the power struggle between the US and the USSR was manifested in several real conflagrations such as fighting in Korea and the crisis in Cuba. Poor US conduct in both situations worsened the icy conflict of the Cold War. In Korea, the US (supposedly acting as a UN response to the invasion of South Korea) pushed the invasion back past the original 38th parallel. This blunder brought China into the war and caused many more deaths instead of quickly restoring peace to the region. In Cuba, the shameful conduct of United States policy also exacerbated conflict. Continued attempts by the US to assassinate Fidel Castro and the pathetic Bay of Pigs invasion made for poor foreign policy and spurred the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Altogether, poor United States foreign policy was primarily to blame for the eruption of the Cold War. Soviet militarization was also a cause, but was a mostly defensive action. The hostile attitudes of the American public toward communist countries also contributed to the icy conflagration.
The Cold War was caused by multiple factors. Truman's aggressive style and the USSR's security interest contributed greatly to the start of the Cold War. The American expectations for the economy also contributed greatly toward the start of the war.
ReplyDeleteAmerica had always been wary of Communism, and didn’t want it to spread. When the USSR had left its isolationist state, and started to expand under communism, Truman had decided to step in. Truman initiated his containment policy known as the Truman Doctrine. Under the Truman Doctrine, the U.S had spent 400 million dollars so that Turkey and Greece wouldn’t fall to Communist Russia’s hands. This increased a lot of tension between the two countries.
The USSR and the U.S were the only remaining superpower in the world and it seemed that there would be a lot of problems between the two. America had only recognized them in 1933.The Soviet Union had asked for a protective sphere around Western Russia. This meant that they would take over Poland though. The U.S didn’t want the expansion of Communism, and this later led to increased tension between the two.
During a wartime economy, the nation had prospered and even lifted the economy out of a Great Depression. At the end of World War II in 1945 though, America feared that the economy would fall into another depression. Inflation had gone up, and the GNP decreased. This led to American expectations for the economy in the future to be in a permanent war-time economy. To be prosperous, the U.S had spent a lot of money on massive war related projects and even space technology. When it was found out the Russia had come up with a nuclear bomb, 3 years before they thought it was possible, America came right back with the invention of the H-bomb. This led to increased competition between the two, and the start of the Cold War.
The Cold War was the result of many different growing tensions throughout the world, stemming from World War One, the Great Depression and World War Two. It was continued by competitiveness and differences in politics between two world hegemons.
ReplyDeleteA. Truman contributed to the Cold War by setting up many policies in order to stop Communism. He came up with the Containment Policy which basically said that the United States should contain communism within the Soviet Union and spread democracy around the world so that others could see the positive aspects of democracy and the negative aspects of communism. He was also the facilitator of the Truman Doctrine which gave Turkey and Greece 400 million dollars to keep them from falling to the USSR. He also helped put the Marshall plan into action with the help of George Marshall to provide financial assistance to European nations with a joint plan for improvement. Since Stalin wasn't a fan of this, tensions grew.
B. Since the world wars had both been fought in the USSR's backyard, Stalin wanted protection around his country. The USSR strove to capture Poland in order to protect itself from other world democracy powers like France and Great Britain. The USSR also denied the United States' proposal for an inspection of nuclear weapons, making the Americans uneasy.
C. Many Americans were worried that America would again fall into another Great Depression after the war. The GDP ended up falling, worrying Truman and Americans alike. This inspired Truman to create another war-like economy by continuing to deploy troops and sustain the navy in order to increase spending and job opportunities. This led to an increased number of troops in areas like the Pacific which led to an increased amount of fighting with the USSR.
The cold war was a tense time between the USSR and the US. President Truman’s aggressive foreign policy, USSR’s also aggressive foreign policy, and Americans’ expectations for the post WW2 America did not help to relieve tensions.
ReplyDeleteTruman was a man who went from humility to cockiness, and his politics reflected this. Truman created his Containment Policy which was a collection of his responses to soviet challenges, basically it stated that USSR’s relentless expansion could be tamed with containment. Clearly this was not well received by the Soviets. Truman then formed the Truman Doctrine, keeping Turkey and Greece from falling to communism. Finally Truman created the Marshall Plan. Although the plan was to help European post- war economies rebuild, deep down the plan was solely to prevent communism from spreading. The Soviet Union hated Truman’s plans, refused to help, which resulted in growing tension.
The Soviet’s security interests helped the Cold War further develop. With the USSR’s knowledge of US weaponry, the arms race began. Russia created the atomic bomb three years before the US thought possible, scaring Americans greatly. This eventually led the American made hydrogen bomb. Everyone was on edge, who would attack first?
Americans after WW2 feared another Great Depression would begin. Therefore Americans were looking to pick a fight. The US knew that its economy was strongest during wartime, or potential wartime. This led to military production, which led to more weapons, which resulted in raised tensions. The fear of communism in Americans did not help the cold war. McCarthy “hunted” for reds, instilling fear of Soviets in many Americans. Many sought a perfect world after WW2, allowing the Cold War to deepen and deepen
-Jordan Tabor
The Cold War was a time of great tension between the USSR and the US. Many things contributed to this tension including political differences that had to do with communism.And also the "space race" which was the race to see how would make it to the moon first. But i think that the biggest contributor to the war was Truman.
ReplyDeleteTruman let his cockiness get in the way of making more sensible decisions. For example the Truman Doctrine which was a containment strategy that Truman thought would help to stop the expansion of communism. This policy gave Turkey and Greece 400 million dollars. Then Truman came up with the Marshall plan also known as the European Recovery program. Which would be used to help western European countries rebuild their economies. But Truman had a second agenda, which still had to do with stopping the spread of communism. Which caused more tension with the Soviet Union.
The security interests of the Soviet Union was also a big contributor to the Cold war. The US wanted to know what the Soviet Union had so that they could get something better. But the Soviet Union denied the US the right to inspect their nuclear arms in 1946. That made Truman upset.
Americans were basically afraid that the economy postwar would lead to another depression. But Truman didn't want this so he recruited more and more troops which caused more and more jobs.
Out of the given three factors that contributed to the Cold War, I believe their overall impact goes in this order:
ReplyDeleteA. President Truman contributed to the cold war heavily by advocating and enforcing an attempt to spread democracy throughout the world. This was the American half of what was, in essence, an ideological war with the USSR. In response to the American effort to spread democracy to developing nations, the soviets made a similarly strong push for their political way-of-thinking: communism. Truman’s choice of trying to spread democracy throughout the world led to a battle between the two countries during which they continuously tried to one-up one another. His determination to be more scientifically advanced than the USSR also sped up the space race and the development of weaponry, most notably the Hydrogen bomb.
B. Truman’s obsession with the advancement of weapon science stemmed mainly from the fact that the USSR was concerning itself with its national security through the means developing nuclear weaponry. World War II had shot the world into a brand new era: the nuclear age and the USSR was very aware of the heightened level of danger that the advent of nuclear weaponry brought to the globe. The issue that led to heightened tensions between the nations and the Cold War itself was the USSR’s reluctance to allow moderation and surveillance of its weapons development programs.
C. Post-war American attitudes towards communism also fueled the cold war. There was fear-mongering amongst high level government agents. The wave of McCarthyism heavily influenced American public opinion, making them severely anti-communist.
In response to the increase in the US' anti-communist sentiments, Truman announced an adoption of containment (with a goal to stop communism), and the Truman Doctrine (which framed the conflict as a competition between free peoples and totalitarian regimes) that bribed Greece and Turkey from going to the USSR. As a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Truman asserted his determination to "keep Russians out, Germans down, and Americans in".
ReplyDeleteBecause both World Wars were near the USSR, Stalin decided to protect his country, and tried to take of Poland to fight against decmocracy (Britain and France). In addition, they built nuclear weapons, and made the US very nervous, and tensions grew.
Eventhough Americans were expecting the US' ecomony to be in good shape after WWII, this state did not last, and GNP fell drastically, wages cut, and workers went on strike. When communism rose in other countries, Truman involved military power to stop the spread abroad, and the fear at home. This also created a wartime economy to raise the economic slump in the US and satisfy the American citizens.
The Cold War was a combination of many different stimulants. President Truman’s weak efforts, the USSR’s security interests, and America’s expectations of the postwar world all contributed to the Cold War. The Cold War was a battle between democracy and communism, seen as good vs. evil. Neither country wanted to be seen as the inferior leading to the continuation of the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteTruman miss handled many situations dealing with the Cold War. One of Truman’s first failures was how he dealt with Stalin and the Polish government. Truman tried to man up to Stalin and force him to allow open elections in Poland in hopes of gaining another ally for the U.S. It was felt that Truman’s effort was too weak as Stalin did not budge. Also while Truman was in office he created the Truman Doctrine. This doctrine declared that the U.S would send military and other aid to any country or government fighting a communist revolution or uprising. This doctrine led to another of Truman’s failures, the Korean War. The war ended in the loss of many American lives and left Korea in a stalemate close to where the war started. Truman’s acceptance of the Marshall plan, sending relief and aid to European countries in need, also increased tensions during the Cold War.The Marshall plan provided for relief and aid and also was enacted to eliminate the appeal of communism in war torn Western Europe.
The USSR’s development of nuclear weapon contributed to the Cold War. After the CIA helped Fidel Castro overthrow Batista, Fidel severed relationships with the U.S. by becoming a dictator. Fidel feared U.S. retaliation, as seen by the CIA’s association in the Bay of Pigs, so an alliance was made with the USSR which allowed the Soviets to place missile silos on Cuban soil. This started the Cuban Missile Crisis which greatly increased tensions during the Cold War.
American’s postwar expectations were of times of prosperity. American’s high expectations after WWII were quickly discouraged as inflation rose and the GNP plummeted. American’s feared another Depression; and a wartime economy as a president to solving a depression was put into place. The U.S. funded massive military projects such as national defense and a competitive aerospace program towards the USSR. The increase of military spending and technology overall contributed to the continuation of the Cold War.
The cold war was primarily between the two world powers of the time, the US and USSR. It was caused by a combination of poor leadership, lack of trust, and different governments and interests.
ReplyDeleteIn 1947, President Truman asked Congress for $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey. “It must be the policy of the United States,” he argued in what became known as the Truman Doctrine, “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” The Truman Doctrine was a plan to give money and military aid to countries threatened by communism. The Truman Doctrine effectively stopped communists from taking control of Greece and Turkey, but Truman let the competition between the US and the USSR to continue.
The Soviet’s security interests helped further the development of the Cold War. The USSR discovered that the US had weaponry and this began the arms race. Russia scared Americans by created the atomic bomb three years before the US thought it was even possible. Truman claimed, “Anything you can do, I can do better” and in 1952 the first hydrogen bomb was created.
After World War II, many Americans worried that the US would again fall into another Great Depression. The GDP fell and it ended up worrying Truman and Americans. Truman, in reaction from the fall, created another “war-like” economy by deploying troops and sustaining the navy in order to increase spending and job opportunities like before. This led to an unneeded amount of troops fighting against the USSR in areas like the Pacific and Germany.
After WWII, the alliance between America and the USSR ended due to differing attitudes on communism. This same conflict led communists and non-communists nations to a period of tension known as the Cold War. President Truman’s style, the USSR’s security interests and American expectations for the postwar world all contributed to this ‘war’.
ReplyDeleteAfter WWII, Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, While Truman wanted to save democracy and help Germany recover. They did not want more parts of eastern Europe to fall under the USSR’s control. America was a democratic country and Americans feared communism. Russia on the other hand, wanted to spread world communism. President Truman passed many policies to prevent the expansion of communism . He issued containment in which US would stop communism from spreading. In Truman’s Doctrine, he stated that US would help and support any anti-communist regimes by providing military and economic assistance. This was first witnessed when US helped Turkey and Greece. In the Marshall Plan, US offered all the European nations, including USSR, economic aid in reconstruction. USSR saw these policies as threats that prevented them from gaining influence in Europe and Asia.
USSR was also very concerned about its security as it was invaded twice in the 1900s. After America used the atomic bomb on Japan, the Soviet Union started building their own nuclear weaponry. This led to the Arms race. When America joined NATO, an alliance of non-communist nations, Russia countered by signing the Warsaw Pact with other communist nations. The arms race also eventually evolved into a space race when USSR launched Sputnik 1 into orbit with a missile. US responded by launching their own satellites as well
At home, Americans were worried about the Post-war economy. The drop in GDP led Americans to cry for a permanent wartime economy. Truman invested in national defense programs, and funded nuclear weaponry research,thus maintaining a substantial fighting capacity.
The cold war was never really a war but it was more like a big argument full of threats of nuclear warfare and full scale war. It was mainly cause by president Harry Truman's style, the soviet unions security interests and american expectations for postwar world.
ReplyDeleteHarry Truman did many things to cause the cold war starting with the fact that he signed the Truman doctrine which basically said that the US would defend any country fighting communism and that angered Stalin a lot. Stalin was not the man to mess with because he was becoming a very powerful dictator at the time with control of many nuclear weapons.
As soon as the USSR knew that the united states had nuclear weapons competition began. The USSR needed to develop stronger weapons and this also started the space race. Both countries saw space as the final frontier and the country who had control of space would have military dominance so when sputnik was launched this led to paranoia all over the United States. The majority of the population was convinced that sputnik was only built so the soviets could bomb us.
After world war II the economy was not in that great of a state. The GNP fell quickly and inflation increased and many americans feared another depression and truman fearing that declared a war time economy focusing money on military projects and investments which was a big factor in the cold war.
The Soviet Union’s security interests contributed most to the Cold War. Stalin was concerned with protecting the USSR from future attacks so by trying to spread his influence to countries around him, he was practically asking for US hostility. The USSR also attempted to steal security information from a number of other countries including the US so that didn’t help either. The USSR was able to create an atomic bomb because of intel they stole, which led to the US having to heighten their security and improve their weapons as well.
ReplyDeletePresident Truman also greatly contributed to the Cold War. He was very brutish in his diplomacy and his containment policy definitely didn’t settle well with the USSR. He raised tensions between the two countries and basically opened it up to possible military action. Truman was strongly against communism so while being hostile to the USSR directly, his opposition to their type of government also raised tensions.
The postwar American expectations contributed least out of the three, but still affected the Cold War greatly. America had gotten used to the success and booming militaristic economy. They didn’t want to give that up so any reason to keep producing military supplies that brought in money probably would have been fine. Americans also expected to be the best in the world, so when the Soviet Union produced an atom bomb and entered the space race, Americans had to compete and stay ahead.
The Cold War was in indirect war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. President Truman’s style and the Soviet Union’s security interests greatly contributed to the rising conflict, while American expectations for the postwar world did so to a lesser extent.
ReplyDeleteTruman’s presidential style was marked by overconfidence and egotism. His policies during this time added to the clash between the two nations. In addition, his containment policy was designed to restrain Soviet and communist growth, and providing support to those that fought against communism. The Truman Doctrine addressed this, combating the expansion of communism.
The Soviet Union’s security interests led to the arms race between the United States and the U.S.S.R. Their production of the nuclear bomb, years before it was thought possible, shocked and scared the Americans, who in turn retaliated with the development of the hydrogen bomb.
American expectations for the postwar world contributed to, but were not the main factor for the Cold War. Many Americans feared that the end of the war would bring about another Great Depression, so wartime production stayed. The nation produced great numbers of weapons, causing wariness from the Soviets.
The cold war was an abstract war because there was no actual war. It was a war of the ideas of communism vs the ideas of democracy. This war was fueled mainly by Trumans style followed by the soviet unions security interests and lastly due to Americas expectations of the postwar world.
ReplyDeleteTruman was a very competitive man. This didn’t help the Cold war one bit. This lead to the space race, and nuclear arms build ups. As he said, anything you can do I can do better. And that he did. When the USSR acquired the atomic bomb America soon developed a more lethal H-bomb. Also he was very blunt with his actions. In his doctrine he made it clear he didn’t want the USSR to gain any more territory which I imagine angered the Russians.
The USSR’s concern for security lead it to prepare for the worse which ment making atomic weapons. This helped develop the arms race where America and the USSR built unnecessary amounts of nuclear arms. This also lead to the discovery of the H-bomb.
America expected a huge postwar economy which didn’t exactly happen. Infact the economy shrank and lead to mad Americans. This would lead to the Korean war and other wars with the goals of stopping communism and increasing spending to boost the economy. This was stupid because you cant be in war forever. All in all Truman was the biggest fuels of the 3 options
Evan van Aalst
ReplyDeletea. President Truman's style: Truman decided that, since the war economy had ended the depression, why not just stay in a wartime economy? He started looking for a way to do this, so he, while not creating, spurred along a certain rivalry with the USSR, and that was just his style.
b. the Soviet Union's security interests: Wold War II screwed the Soviet's over. They had massive casualties, as well as war debts and complete cities leveled. They had to get back on their feet, so they did. Then, just for good measure, they spread their communism to the countries surrounding it, meaning they basically took them over. Americans were afraid that if the USSR was allowed to continue this, it would eventually take over the world.
c. American expectations for the postwar world: America expected everything to go back to normal, but it didn't. Europe was decimated, Japan and Germany had completely dropped off the map, and Russia was a shadow of its former glory. America really was the only country directly involved that had survived in any capacity.
a.) President Truman was the most competitive President that we had ever had, because he wanted to compete with the Soviet Union since they started to become more of a postwar economy than they were.
ReplyDeleteb.) The Soviet Union was greatly affect from the Worl War 2 just as Germany was too. Overall, they wanted to become a competivie country just as everyone else was and they only way they could be physically economically strong as other countries were. They spreaded their communism government to gian control over other countries to gain power and can compete with America.
c.) America believed that they were a postwar economy now, because of their victories of World War 1 and World War 2, which automically seeks America to become a postwar economy and citizens were expecting to fight off other countries again to gain more power than the other countries.
-Kiaya Robinson
Note: Again I forgot to do this.