...The Cold War marked a period of hostility between superpowers: that of the USA (and by extension, the West) and the USSR and the East. This hostility began after the Second World War, despite the supposed camaraderie between the two superpowers during the war as allies against Hitler and Fascism. Whether the schism between the superpowers was caused by their differing ideologies (the capitalist West and the communist East) or a clash between national interests and strong personalities is a matter for debate. Winston Churchill could be said to have helped cause the Cold War because of his ideological differences with Stalin. His 1946 ‘Iron Curtain’ speech certainly caused tension: it unveiled to the world Stalin’s increasing “Soviet sphere” and “increasing measure of control from Moscow”, strongly showing his disapproval of Stalin’s swooping over Eastern Europe and inferring his strongly anti-communist stance. However, this speech was given in 1946, and Churchill was no longer the Prime Minister; that role had passed to Clement Attlee, inferring that he felt he was only able to make such a blunt statement of his views once he was out of power. Conversely, when he was in high office, Churchill was able to work well with Stalin – he called him “Uncle Joe”, inferring they were more than just cordial allies working purely against Stalin. In fact, the Iron Curtain speech could be seen as hypocritical as Churchill made an agreement with Stalin which allowed him to have 75% of influence...
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...How far do you agree that the origins of the Cold War in 1945-6 owed much to ideological differences and little to personalities and conflicting national interests? There is a significant and complex argument into which aspects were the most important in the origins and sowing the seeds that led to the Cold War in the years 1945 and 1946. It is widely perceived that the variances in philosophy was the focal reason, because America and the Soviet Union had virtually polar opposite understandings on how their country should be run and consequently capitalist and communist countries could not co-exist lacking any strain. Nonetheless, it is similarly claimed that the traits of the leaders of the three countries are a substantial influence to the Cold war conflict; Roosevelt and Truman of the United States, Stalin of the USSR and Churchill of the United Kingdom. This is because the attitudes of the three regularly clashed. It is furthermore disputed that national interests of the separate nations throughout and post-World War II formed strains among the countries of the USA and the USSR, since they both saw the others objectives as a danger to their individual national security. To assist the Cold War from occurring, it is said Winston Churchill is the crucial individual due to his ideological differences with Stalin. Churchill’s 1946 ‘Iron Curtain’ speech certainly caused tension: it unveiled to the world Stalin’s increasing “Soviet sphere” and “increasing measure of control...
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...invaded by the Japanese. When Korea was split into two on the 38th parallel. South Korea was liberated by the capitalists and the north was liberated by communists. The USA decided to help South Korea as they didn’t want communism to spread. So the south wanted to do something about it to prevent it to be influences onto them even though Stalin forced North Korea to invade South Korea. If South Korea turns communist then this would create the domino effect as Japan would turn communist. The USA decided to help South Korea by using the Truman Doctrine as this would protect the country from turning communist. They persuaded the United Nations to send troops for the defence mission, this would have created tension as North Korea wouldn’t have like this and could have felt violated. September 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea and this was influenced by the Russians and the Chinese. After Douglas McArthur and the UN pushed North Korea out of South Korea and beyond the 38th parallel they effectively invaded North Korea and invaded all of the way to Yalu River, this was going beyond containment. North China found 250,000 volunteers and them invaded South Korea once again. At this point Douglas McArthur attempts to resolve in nuclear bombings and to conclude McArthur gets fired this could have been a big part in the development of the cold war as this could have turned into a hot war and this could have created more tensions within the cold war and developed more. After two years they...
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...How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-49 was mainly due to ‘Stalin’s own errors’? I disagree with the statement - sources 7, 8 and 9 all suggest that the Cold War had many contributing factors, although it was ultimately the USA’s own economic and national interests to blame, rather than Stalin’s errors, as a result of acts and policies such as the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine in 1947. Both providing evidence to support this view are sources 8 and 9, with source 7 giving the impression that it was the errors of Stalin that contributed most. In addition to these two factors, conflicting ideologies also played a small role in provoking the Cold War, as shown in source 8. Despite this, it was fundamentally the economic and national interests of the USA that was mainly to blame for the start of the Cold War in 1945 and its development through to 1949. Europe was destroyed physically and economically after the Second World War. America saw this as a chance to become a world hegemony, as well as economically advancing the nation - source 9 proves this, saying, “The liberal capitalist US economy needed ever-increasing trade and investment opportunities”, as well as “The Marshall Plan was designed to implant an informal American Empire in Europe”. This shows that the USA not only used Europe’s fragile situation after WW2 to prosper itself, but more importantly increase its world influence, aiming to produce some sort of Empire...
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...origins of the Cold War in 1945 and 1946 owed much to the ideological differences and little to personalities and conflicting national interests? The origins of the Cold War cannot be denied as being most obviously and most forefront due to the great ideological differences between the USSR’s communism and the USA’s capitalism, such as their complete opposing beliefs over nationalisation and system of government. However National interests, such as the fight over Poland and leaders personalities, such as Truman’s lack of experience in foreign policy cannot be overlooked as important reasons for growing hostilities between superpowers. The vast difference in ideologies is clearly the underlying factor which caused tensions for the superpowers of the world during the Cold War and the years 1945 to 46; however it cannot be denied that personalities of the leaders running these countries, were a contributing reason for the ever growing hostilities between them. Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR and communist regime, was a figure known for being shrewd, manipulative and ruthless, instantly suggesting that relations with other countries, so different from his, were to be quite strained. Though he was known for these negative traits, he was also commended for his sense of practicality and his skills as an administrator, this suggesting that perhaps his ability to put aside differences, may be better than necessarily believed. It was common knowledge that Stalin was an autocratic...
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...Development of the Cold War, in the five years between 1945 and 1950, could be argued as taking place for a number of reasons and due to various individuals. It could be easy to simply site Stalin as the main reason responsible for it’s outbreak and growth, clear through his approach on communist expansion, use of Red Army and inability to uphold agreements. However for a war of any kind to develop there is always more than one party involved and the USA and it’s president Truman could also be said to have contributed to the developing of Cold War, arguably being equally aggressive as Stalin – taking an Iron fist on dealings with Russia through policies such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, as well as his direction over the US involvement in the Korean War. However issues such as Britain and Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech, as well as the birth of McCarthyism in America, can also be seen as hindering relations between the two superpowers of the Cold War and therefore playing a role in it’s development. Whether Stalin was to blame for the Cold War can also be judged and evaluated through the use of sources, offering a number of interpretations, from extreme Orthodox and Revisionist views to the more diplomatic reasonings of the post revisionist stance. It is correct to say that development of the Cold War, between 1945 and 50, was definitely impacted and heightened through provocative, and at times, aggressive actions on foreign policy, taken by Stalin. An example of...
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...The Cold War The Cold War by Jeremy Isaac and Taylor Downing is a book about the history of the U.S. In this book the author talks about how communism has been a part of U.S. history since the eighteenth century. Soviet Union leaders, such as Marx, Lenin, and Stalin continued to spread communism to other nations. The Cold War was not a war of weapons but a war to stop the spread of communism. The book goes into details about how the United States used every media outlet to convince the public of the horrors of communism. America was never really threatened by the Cold War. It was nothing more than two super powers battling for control. This book informs us that the start of the Cold War was caused by U.S. fear of the spread of communism and other events. The authors Sir Jeremy Isaacs is a British television producer and executive, winner of many BAFTA awards and international Emmy Awards. The other author Taylor Downing is an award winning TV producer, head of independent production company Flashback Television for 25 years and writer of best sellers. The two put together a very informative book covering the 50 yearhistory of America. I. The Iron Curtain: America knew they could not trust the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin leadership. During the invasion of Germany the concerns about the Soviet was put aside. During World War II the U.S. and Soviet became allies. Stalin used aggressive tactics to gain control of countries near the Soviet...
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...is a lot of debate of which factor played the largest role in initiating the Cold War during the period of 1945-50. Mostly sources 7 and 9 argue that various ideological differences between the two superpowers were responsible for the origins of the Cold War; while sources 8 and also 9 differ and state that it could have been down to other factors, such as conflicting personalities of the leaders and general national interests. On the one hand source 7 supports the argument that it was political ideological differences that caused the Cold War, arguing that the USSR was seen as a “unique and unbending armed ideology threatening to expand” which resulted in an “ideological crusade” between the two superpowers. Source 9 provides support, stating one of USA’s capitalist strategies was “containment” of communism to ensure successful free markets could be established. It is easy to see how the conflicting ideologies between the two countries – USA supporting free market capitalism and a liberal democracy, while USSR had a controlled economy and a one party state. This evidence clearly shows that the two superpowers were essentially on the opposite sides of the spectrum to each other and were constantly trying to hinder one another, which would cause a rise in tension between them. However the interpretation that the political ideological disagreement is entirely responsible for the beginning of the Cold War can be considered too simplistic. As Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 did a lot...
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...During the period of 1945 to 1950 the Cold War developed between the Superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. The end of the Second World War had resulted in a power vacuum over war-torn Europe and left a legacy of mistrust and suspicion between the two superpowers. The Yalta and Potsdam conferences proved this as they failed to agree on certain issues and as the leaders of the United Kingdom and United States changed in between the two conferences. The relationship and trust between the leaders that once stood close during the war had broken down. During this period Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union and President Truman of the United States had conflicted with each other nations in a series of events in Europe such as the Czechoslovakian Crisis and the Berlin Blockade The leader of Czechoslovakia was defenestrated and communists ruled the country. The Czech crisis showed that Stalin's expansion through Eastern Europe brought increasing fear across Europe. There was little America or the west could do to stop the Coup without bloodshed or escalation. The Czech crisis seems to suggest that it was totally Stalin's fault in terms of starting the war as he expanded across Europe he came ever closer to America and tension was boiling point. It wasn't just Stalin's policies that are considered to have had a role to play in the formation of the Cold War. It was also Truman's policies that were also to blame as he aimed to 'roll back' communism. Truman gave...
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...How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8 owed more to Soviet expansionism than to USA’s economic interests? My opinion is that the development of the Cold War was due to Soviet expansionism rather than the USA’s economic interests in the years 1945-48. The Sources all present to some extent the idea that Soviet expansionism was to blame. Source 7 argues Soviet expansionism as the most important factor as it claims that the USSR were ‘seeking to expand its influence into Western Europe’ and so causing Western Attitudes to increasingly worsen. However there is still evidence in the sources to support the view that the USA’s economic interests owed more to the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-48. For example in source 8 it suggests that the USA wanted a war with the USSR to help its economy, emphasising the impact of Truman’s ‘military industrial complex’ on aggressive foreign policy which played a huge role in the development of the Cold War. Furthermore it can be argued that it was the misunderstanding and confusion, caused by fear and suspicion, between the two nations which owed more to the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8. Soviet Expansionism played a huge role in the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8. Evidence to support this view is found in source 7 which claims that although in 1945 the West had accepted the Soviet’s influence in Eastern Europe; the West became suspicious of...
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...How far do you agree with the view that Stalin’s foreign policy was a major contributing factor to the emergence of the Cold War in the period 1945-50? Throughout the period 1945-50 there were a number of factors that caused the emergence of the cold war. One of these was Stalin and his aggressive foreign policy; another key factor to be considered is the American paranoia and resultant aggression at the time. Which of these factors was more significant is debatable but it is undeniable that soviet foreign policy was a major contributor to the outbreak of the Cold War. One of the key elements that led to the cold war was Stalin's expansionist foreign policy, with ideas “to dominate the continent as Hitler had sought to do so”. This view from American historian Gaddis shows the view of many Americans during the period; it highlights just how threatened the USA felt and demonstrates how pivotal Stalin's expansionist views were in the outbreak of war, his zeal and resolve to control the continent conjured fear in the Americans and source T shows that Stalin would use any means necessary. Such actions so as to cease control in Europe would not go without reaction from America and actions such as the communist coup d’état in Czechoslovakia would not go unnoticed. They were met with resistance; both the Marshall plan and Truman doctrine were arguably the response to soviet aggression. The Marshall plan aimed to prevent the further spread of communism particularly into Western Europe...
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...his article insisted that Stalin, as a unique powerful and uniquely malevolent historical actor, must bear the greatest responsibility for the Cold War. In my opinion, Stalin cannot be the only one responsible for the origins of the Cold War. As we know, Joseph Stalin was an evil dictator, propelled by an evil Communist ideology to attempt world domination. But also it is important to mention that the Cold War was also the result of the suspicion and rivalry between Truman and Stalin. Also, the Cold War was caused by the social climate and tension in Europe at the end of World War II and by the increasing power struggles between the Soviet Union and the United States. Economic separation between the Soviets and the west also heightened tensions, along with the threat of nuclear war. Moreover the contradictory agreements Roosevelt negotiated with Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Yalta in 1945 failed to establish a successful framework for peaceful postwar cooperation between the Soviet Union and the West. In the article, “The Atomic Bomb and the Origins of the Cold War”, Martin J. Sherwin mentions that instead of promoting American post war aims, war time atomic energy policies made them more difficult to achieve. American’s aggressive efforts to contain Soviet influence, to intimidate the Soviets with the atomic bomb and to pursue American economic interest around the globe were also responsible for starting the old War as well as economic interest...
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...The development of the cold war between the USA and the Soviet Union between 1945-53 was primarily due to traditional great power rivalry The USA and the Soviet Union worked together to defeat Hitler in WW2. Towards the end of the war relationships between them began to break down, although in 1945 there remained possibility of continued cooperation. By 1947, this prospect had disappeared and tensions between the two powers continued to increase for the rest of this period. Some historians, including those belonging to the economic revisionist school of thought, argue that traditional great power rivalry was primarily responsible for this development. This is defined as developing power through trade in order to achieve financial dominance. Undoubtedly, this factor was a major contributor to cold war tensions, however other factors such as ideology, individuals and WW2- many of which are invariably linked to economic influence- also played a large part. Great power rivalry can be seen as the main cause of increased cold war tensions between 1945 and 1953 as both powers sought to increase their relationships with other countries to obtain economic dominance. America, although benefitting economically from the war, feared the possibility of a recession, both as demand for arms fell and poverty in Europe threatened an insufficient international demand for US goods. They believed free trade would prevent this from happening, as well as increasing interdependence between countries...
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...I disagree with the question that it was the American foreign policy that was the cause of the cold war, but instead agree with the fact that it was the difference in ideological views that was the most important factor. The American foreign policies, national interests and the personalities of the leaders all had input to the War and therefore, the War reached such extent. The Cold War was a power vacuum which was to drag the bipolar powers into, which happened to be the USA and the Soviet Union. The American foreign policy did have an impact on the Cold War however, was not the cause. This revisionist view presents America to be the cause of the Cold War. America’s main foreign policy was to secure free markets in which they saw the Soviet Union as an obstacle to achieve this. This led to tension between the two superpowers and a more aggressive War between the bipolar powers. The US also used the atomic bomb as a deliberate foreign policy to pressure the Soviet Union. Source K also holds this view that 'after the atomic bomb was created and used... it left the Soviets with but one real option: either they acquiesce in American proposals or be confronted with American power and hostility.' This led to more aggressive Soviet behaviour because by the USA not informing Stalin of such major equipment, he felt as though he could no longer trust the West. However, the Baruch plan in June 1946 proposed joint US and USSR control over the production of atomic weapons in which the...
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...the development of the Cold War in the period 1945-50 was the result of Stalin’s foreign policy? Development of the Cold War, in the five years between 1945 and 1950, could be argued as taking place for a number of reasons and due to various individuals. It could be easy to simply site Stalin as the main reason responsible for it’s outbreak and growth, clear through his approach on communist expansion, use of Red Army and inability to uphold agreements. However for a war of any kind to develop there is always more than one party involved and the USA and it’s president Truman could also be said to have contributed to the developing of Cold War, arguably being equally aggressive as Stalin – taking an Iron fist on dealings with Russia through policies such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, as well as his direction over the US involvement in the Korean War. However issues such as Britain and Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech, as well as the birth of McCarthyism in America, can also be seen as hindering relations between the two superpowers of the Cold War and therefore playing a role in it’s development. Whether Stalin was to blame for the Cold War can also be judged and evaluated through the use of sources, offering a number of interpretations, from extreme Orthodox and Revisionist views to the more diplomatic reasonings of the post revisionist stance. It is correct to say that development of the Cold War, between 1945 and 50, was definitely impacted and...
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