Cold War Dbq

The Cold War was a conflict between the United States and Russia that began after the conclusion of World War II. Since the birth of the first communist country in the Russian Revolution, Americans were suspicious of the foreign Soviet nation. This tension continued into and after the Second World War despite the fact that both nations fought on the same side. During the war, there were disagreements and miscommunications during conferences that led to misinterpretations of accords. The United States established foreign policies in response to Soviet expansion. To first understand the origins of the Cold War, one must examine the Russian Revolution.

Even before World War Two there were tensions between the United States and Russia. The Russian Revolution was a violent affair, and as a consequence Americans associated extremism with communism. To Americans, the Bolshevik cause posed radical threats to Western Governments. Following World War I, a combination of terrorist strikes in the United States and the establishment of Russia’s Communist International started an era known as the Red Scare. Following the Red Scare came the

Vladimir Lenin, a Russian revolutionary and first leader of the Soviet Union, had gained a reputation for exercising harsh discipline on his own people. His successor, Joseph Stalin, was no better in the eyes of the American people. Stalin was faced with comments such as those from future president Truman who said that the United States should simply allow the Russians and Nazis to kill each other and not commit to joining the war too early. When the United States joined World War II and declared itself part of the Allies, it seemed impossible for the two superpowers to work together with such conflicting ideologies. American media had to change the public Russian image to remind the people that “Uncle Joe” (what Americans called Stalin) was on their