...power, and each was always striving to be the more superior country. The two countries did not trust one another based on their different views of the world, capitalism versus communism. The United States pushed for capitalism and democracy through out the world, while the Soviet Union felt that communism was better politics because it would enhance their economy and up their status. This relationship gave birth to their clash known as The Cold War, in which the USSR tried to spread their ideas about government and socialist economy, while The United States tried to contain it. In 1946, G.F. Kennan, and American Diplomat stationed in Moscow, wrote the Long Telegram that gave an outline on his views about the Soviet Union. Shortly before it was scribed and sent to Washington, the U.S. Treasury questioned the U.S. Embassy in Moscow about why the Soviet’s were not in support of the new World Bank. This is what prompted Kennan to write the telegram. In it he tells that the Soviet Union does not seek “peaceful coexistence” between communism and capitalism, that according to them capitalism was untrustworthy and could not influence the USSR. He also wrote of their other views, and how they desired to go about their expansion of communism, but the overall theme was that according to the Soviet Union communism was the answer and must be spread and capitalism must fall. In the last section of the telegram, Kennan tells of the Soviet’s weakness to force and also made a proposal for U.S...
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...McCarthyism During the late 1940s and early 1950s, a struggle broke out between the Unite States and the Soviet Union in what was known as the Cold War. The west was concerned with anti-Communism becoming a part of its domestic politics. It had become an obsession of most conservative politicians to expose what they call Communist subversion and at the same time dealt a blow to the liberal causes. The interest of the Soviet Union was in the control of strategic interest. In addition the Soviet Union was determined to create a secure sphere for itself in Central and Eastern Europe as protection against possible future aggression from the West (Brinkley Ch. 29). These different views were the bases for the Cold War. Not only did the cold war have international consequences but also create a division within the United States. Since Communism was a major concern, the spread of anti-Communism was introduced as a way to protect the fundamental way Americans lived. In addition anti-Communism gave birth to McCarthyism. I will discuss the differences between anticommunism and McCarthyism, the perspective from which the media covered anticommunism and McCarthyism, how the American foreign policy decisions were affected or impacted by anticommunism and finally how Americans’ lives changed because of the Red Scare. To gain a clear understanding of the differences between anticommunism and McCarthyism, a brief definition of Communism must be given. Communism is a distinct...
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...Assignment 1 - The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy SHAMIKA WARD EMMANUEL OBUAH POL 300: Contemp Intl Problems May 31, 2013 The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy The Reagan Doctrine was the foreign policy in the United States, enacted by President Ronald Reagan. The doctrine was design to eradicate the communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that were authorized and corroborated by the Soviet Union. This assignment will review by what method the United States delivered open and private backing to guerrilla and resistance movements during the Regan years. Additionally, explain the political doctrine detailed events that occurred in Afghanistan when the Soviet Union invaded. As a final point, this assignment will define the benefits and drawbacks established on the Regan Doctrine. Summarize the Situation of U.S. Diplomatic of the Regan Doctrine During the course of the initial years of the Cold War, Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter all endorsed dogmas against communism in order to enclose it. Ronald Regan prohibited their détente policy in 1979, when the Soviet Union attacked Afghanistan. This alone demonstrated that policies that only contain communism were unproductive. Regan criticized in the compromise policy when it emanated to any communist government. As an alternative, Reagan proposed the Rollback policy. The creation of the Reagan Doctrine moved from containment and dispersal to eradicating all current communist governments. Likewise...
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...Celebrity Marketing In the Cold War Christopher Sigler History 328 Dr. Reaves March 11, 2014 Post World War II America was a period of massive economic growth in America. Despite a brief economic recession from 1946 to 1947, the years following World War II saw the United States become the world super power that it is today. From 1940 to 1950 the American Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 50% from $200,000 million to $300,000 million1 and by 1955 sixty percent of Americans identified as middle-class2. The exponential economic growth and social class shift during this period created several important changes to American culture. Many American families now possessed excess money; Money that was spent on single-family homes, entertainment, appliances, and cars, items that the general public could not afford before this period. The result of the influx of money not only changed the American family forever, but the marketing strategies used by companies as well. As Americans began to place a heavier value on entertainment, movie stars, actors, and other celebrities began to have a prominent influence on society. Post war-prosperity and the economic boom during the early cold war began the American, and eventually global culture of celebrity marketing. To understand the United States rise to a world superpower one must look at the aftermath of the widespread war of World War II. World War II was a global war that involved thirty nations and claimed the lives of...
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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...
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...'50s, as there were also underlying anxieties that the citizens were faced with as a result of the Cold War. This can been seen through the massive amounts of consumption, how the society started to conform to what was seen as the idealistic life of the American citizen, and the fear the came through as a result of communism warnings. Though all looked well, there were many underlying conflicts that occured during this decade. The American dream was again starting to shine through. A nice car, the perfect house with a white-painted fence, and a good paying job were all a possibility when there was effort put into it. Commodities were on the rise and there were more things that the people wanted available. The television, new foods, and consumer products began to fill stores, and Americans were surly there to snatch them away and bring them into their households. The growth in urban areas became rapid with the development of suburbs, allowing for the quick and efficient construction of many homes for new families. American's were able to enjoy a much higher standard of living because of higher paying jobs that they could more easily get to with their new cars. "In the late 1950s, the poverty rate for all Americans was 22.4 percent."(npc.edu). Everything was "perfect." In the fifties, there was the occurence of the Baby Boom. During this time, there were more than 4 million births per year (amerikanistik.uni-muenchen.de). Young married couples began to have three, four, or five...
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...understood in the context of the Soviet Union promoting and spreading communism. Communist leaders such as Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh were supported by the Soviet Union and came to power behind the military or financial support of the Soviet Union....
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...the view that 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...
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...with the view that 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...
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...Assignment 3: “World War II Through The 1970’s” Joseph L. Carter History 105 June 11, 2012 Professor Everett Hardy Strayer University Delaware County Campus Analyze the facts that war and propaganda had on American society World War 2 and the 1970’s. Looking at the history of the United States, never had the country seen such dramatic changes in the social, economic, and political structure that happened at the end of World War II. Multiple events throughout this period guided the direction of the United States government and the attitudes of Americans. This paper will provide a look into the evolution of the United States by analyzing the most significant events in the five decades after World War II. The 1950s brought about a new look into the foreign affairs for the United States government and the American people. After the victory of World War II, two allies of the war, the United States and the Soviet Union became bitter enemies that tried to secure a position of world leader. The Soviet Union had its Communist Manifesto that according to the Decades Project (1999) website stated, “a mission statement that provides that communism requires a world revolution and the destruction of capitalism in order to succeed”. This was a direct threat to the American Way of life, and started the beginning of the Cold War. With different ideals and hunger for power, both sides began to build up military strength, especially...
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...The fall of the Soviet empire has presented various political and economic opportunities and threats to the world, for these reasons it’s considered one of the major events taking place since the Second World War. The Soviet fall besides various internal factors has been facilitated by US and Western counter parts to attempt to contain further Communism. The Truman doctrine was a US strategy to halt expansion of Soviet Union in the course of the Cold War. In this doctrine the then US President Harry S. Truman vowed to contain the spread of communism in the world particularly in Europe. This doctrine encouraged the US to back every country with both economic and military assistance if the Soviet Union or communism threats its stability. The aim of this paper is to review The Truman Doctrine was one of the significant historical approaches deployed between 1945 and 2008 that has had both negative and positive outcomes for the world. Historical Background In order to analyze the Truman doctrine and its different elements, it is necessary to consider the complex historical context in which it originated, and one that explains how a president such as Harry Truman, laid the foundations seated on the principles of the emerging American political realism after the Second World War (Bostdorff, 2008). The creation of international organizations like the UN itself and its Security Council, had brought hope back to the role, they were going to have to condition the behavior of the great...
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...were end of World War Two, through the rise and fall of the Berlin wall, and the birth of the Eurozone. The events covered during this time all interlinked with each other and where the cause for what Europe looks like today. At the end of World War two the USA, France, Britain, and the Soviet Union gathered together to see how Europe should be divided after the war. After it was all divided it came out that the Soviet Union should get most of the countries that Nazi Germany controlled, which were the eastern part of Europe. The division gave East Germany to the capitalist states, and West Germany to the socialist, with Berlin also divided into the two sides. Berlin was on the western side claimed by the USSR, but the city was divided into east and west just like the country had. This division of the capital happened pretty much over night and many were separated from their families and friends. The USSR built the Berlin Wall that would separate all contact with the east side. This forced a Socialist way of living that in the long run created many conflicts of Socialism against Capitalism. The Berlin Wall was eventually torn down and it marked the defeat of the Soviet Union in Europe and the end of the cold war, the wall was essentially the symbol of the Cold War. After the collapse there was much to do about where the continent was headed forward. Since there had been so much conflict in years past Europe as a whole came to the agreement of no more wars, hoping that the Eurozone...
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...the Cold War? The forty-five years from the dropping of the atom bombs to the end of the Soviet Union, can be seen as the era of the new conflict between two major states: United States of America (USA) and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). According to Hobsbawm, ‘cold war’ was the constant confrontation of the two super powers which emerged from the Second World War. At that time the entire generation was under constant fear of global nuclear battles. It was widely believed that it could break out at any moment. (Hobsbawm, 1994) The consequences of the ‘power vacuum’ in central Europe, created by the defeat of Germany, gave rise to these two super powers (Dunbabin, 1994). The world was divided into two parts. The USSR controlled the zone occupied by her Red Army or other communist armed forces. On the other hand, USA exercised control and dominance over the rest of the capitalist world as well as the western hemisphere and the oceans. (Hobsbawm, 1994) It is rather very difficult to argue that a particular country like the USA has won the cold war completely. Cold war gave birth to lots of problems in the world. During the cold war period, various events occurred subsequently. So the whole period was a combination of different issues and various factors related to it. Yet, evaluating the climax and the aftermath situation of the cold war, it can be argued that USA and its allies have succeeded to a great extent. On the other hand, as a consequence of the cold war...
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...The Reagan Doctrine In his eight years serving as president of The United States from 1981 to 1989, Ronald Reagan accomplished numerous monumental tasks for the country. He brought America back from a horrendous economy by implementing across-the-board tax cut, deregulation, and restraining domestic spending. He brought the U.S. military back to life after it was diminished by his predecessor. However, President Reagan’s greatest accomplishment as president was his tireless effort in ending The Cold War with The Soviet Unions. In order to achieve his objective of stopping the spread of communism, President Reagan orchestrated and implemented the Reagan Doctrine to provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "roll back" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. After the Sandinista Revolution of 1979, Nicaraguans went from being ruled by a strict right-wing dictatorship to being controlled by left wing, idealistic revolutionaries. Tensions developed between the Sandinistas and the U.S. government. When the U.S. Congress delayed aids which was promised to Nicaragua, the Sandinistas turned to other nations, such as the communist influenced Cuba, for help. The United States was fearful that this new revolutionary government will eventually turn to the Soviet Union for assistant, thus give the communist party the opportunity to strengthen its power. Since 1980, Moscow has provided the Sandinistas...
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...expected to make policies. This paper will focus on two specific polices that deal directly with homeland security and will focus in on the presidents that created and enforced these policies. According to Robert Harvey (2008) ever since post WWII the U.S. has had a conflicted attitude towards safety. The author of this paper will coagulate a time line of two presidents and their desire to appease the safety view of Americans. For example, President George W. Bush and his homeland security act which grew out of the issues that arose after the 9/11 attacks. And also President Harry S. Truman’s national security bill which established the Department of Defense during the cold war. Each president had his own motive for signing these national security bills, but each bill grew out of similar problems that they each faced during their presidential areas. Both, presidents were under huge public pressure to make a decision and to keep the country safe and then make emergency presidential decisions. This paper will focus on the: 1.) Historical perspective of the time when each policy was discussed or implemented. 2.) The context or the problem of the day and the urgency for the policy.3.)Analyze the social, economic, and political environments for the times the policies were discussed or implemented.4.)...
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