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Cold war and its effect
Cold war and its effect
Nuclear age and cold war
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“If... many influential people have failed to understand, or have just forgotten, what we were up against in the Cold War and how we overcame it, they are not going to be capable of securing, let alone enlarging, the gains that liberty has made.” The Cold War was a dispute between two of the most powerful nations, the Soviet Union and the United States, during the 1950’s and the 1960’s. The Cold War originated from both the United States and the Soviet Union establishing and protecting it’s own spheres of interest around the globe. To add, the United States during the time of the Cold War noticed that the Soviets were spreading their communist beliefs across the world, so they had to find a way stop the spread of this feared ideology. During …show more content…
Since the US and the Soviet Union were threatening each other for war with nuclear weapons the civilians were terrified and prepared, “Schools and office buildings held regular air-raid drills to prepare people for the possibility of nuclear attack. Radio stations regularly tested the Emergency Broadcast System, which stood in readiness for war.” As tensions between both countries grew the lives of the civilians were also more in danger. They were in danger because as a nuclear war was on the rise, everyone including the children had to prepare for it. Every day they were to wake up and be grateful that they woke up and they also had to prepare just in case they were bombes that say. Everybody during that time could not live comfortable because they were also on the lookout. The children were the ones that suffered the most because they did not know what was happening during the drills that they had in school. In general the citizens were aware of all their surroundings and they did not pay the attention that was needed to the jobs in the country. This is how the lives were greatly impacted by the Cold War in the 1950’s and the
The United States and The Soviet Union were originally joined together by the want to defeat The Nazi army, in 1941-1945. The alliance remained, and strengthened, among the two until the end of World War II. At the end of World War II, a rupture between the two occurred. The differences began earlier, but there was a straw that broke the camels back. The reason The United States and The Soviet Union’s alliance did not work out is because The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The Soviet Union proved to be faulty, and they were never truly allies.
A war does not necessarily require physical weapons to fight. From 1947 to 1991, military tension and ideological conflicts held place. Cold War is defined as a state of political hostility existing between countries, characterized by threats, violent propaganda, subversive activities, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular. The causes of the Cold War between United States and the Soviet Union were the mutual distrust that had taken place in World War II, intense rivalry between the two super powers, and conflicting ideologies. The two superpowers differed in views of political and economic principles and were eager to spread their ideologies to other countries. The United States were in favor of democracy and capitalism while the Soviet Union sought for the chances of influencing communism. Cold War did not involve the use of physical arms but was intensely fought. Propaganda, economic aids, Arms Race, and the creation of alliances were the main methods to fight the war. The use of propaganda played a crucial role in containment by criticizing the other power and raised the morale and spirit of their nation. The economic support for nations helped them recover from the desperate situation after World War II, which prevented the nations from falling under communism. Also, the Arms Race and forming alliances between the two main powers were important weapons for competition and rivalry in Cold War.
One of the biggest fears of the American people is that the concept of communism contrasts drastically from the concept of capitalism, which the United States was essentially founded upon. The United States, as the public believed, was not a land of perfect communal equality, but rather a land of equal opportunity. However, what made communism so dangerous can be succinctly described by Eisenhower who compared the spread of communism as the domino effect. As his secretary of state, Dulles, put it, the propagation of communism “would constitute a threat to the sovereignty and independence” of America (Doc B). In addition, the Cold War also planted the seeds of rational fear of a global nuclear war. As Russia caught up to the United States in terms of technological advancements, they successfully developed the atomic bomb as well as the hydrogen bomb, which caused Americans to believe that the USSR would use these weapons of mass destruction to forcefully extend their ideologies to the USA. In fact, Americans were so frantic about a potential nuclear disaster that it...
During the Cold War, the United States engaged in many aggressive policies both at home and abroad, in which to fight communism and the spread of communist ideas. Faced with a new challenge and new global responsibilities, the U.S. needed to retain what it had fought so strongly for in World War II. It needed to contain the communist ideas pouring from the Soviet Union while preventing communist influence at home, without triggering World War III. With the policies of containment, McCarthyism, and brinkmanship, the United States hoped to effectively stop the spread of communism and their newest threat, the Soviet Union. After the war, the United States and the Soviet Union had very different ideas on how to rebuild.
According to Elaine Tyler May in her article Security against Democracy: The Legacy of the Cod War at Home, the cold war made an impact on Americans state of mind. During the nuclear arms race, many Americans became paranoid about their own country as well as foreigners . Instead of trying to get rid of this situation and mediating it , America decides to join this race, which only fuels the fire. At the same, American citizens were living their lives in fear everyday. Citizens were preparing themselves in case of an attack, as a result of the government doing nothing to try to protect America. Elaine Tyler May also states that the media back then was only fueling this phobia to grow. For example, the Los Angeles Times showing hypothetical bomb targets if the Soviets were to attack in Los Angeles. Some Americans, who were considering the possibility of a nuclear war, modified their homes into concrete to resist an atomic blast, created backyard bunkers, or even sheltered in their basements. In addition, whether you were for or against the buildup of nuclear weapons, fear would be present.
The political ideologies of the USA and of the Soviet Union were of profound significance in the development of the Cold War. Problems between the two power nations arose when America refused to accept the Soviet Union in the international community. The relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union was filled with mutual distrust and hostility. Many historians believe the cold war was “inevitable” between a democratic, capitalist nation and a communist Union. Winston Churchill called the cold war “The balance of terror” (1). Cold war anxieties began to build up with America and the Soviet Union advancing in the arms race for world dominance and supremacy. America feared the spread of Communism
During the late 1940's and the 1950's, the Cold War became increasingly tense. Each side accused the other of wanting to rule the world (Walker 388). Each side believed its political and economic systems were better than the other's. Each strengthened its armed forces. Both sides viewed the Cold War as a dispute between right and wron...
Odd Arne Westad, Director of the Cold War Studies Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science, explains how the Cold War “shaped the world we live in today — its politics, economics, and military affairs“ (Westad, The Global Cold War, 1). Furthermore, Westad continues, “ the globalization of the Cold War during the last century created foundations” for most of the historic conflicts we see today. The Cold War, asserts Westad, centers on how the Third World policies of the two twentieth-century superpowers — the United States and the Soviet Union — escalates to antipathy and conflict that in the end helped oust one world power while challenging the other. This supplies a universal understanding on the Cold War (Westad, The Global Cold War, 1). After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union opposed each other over the expansion of their power.
The Soviet Union began to view the United States as a threat to communism, and the United States began to view the Soviet Union as a threat to democracy. On March 12, 1947, Truman gave a speech in which he argued that the United States should support nations trying to resist Soviet imperialism. Truman and his advisors created a foreign policy that consisted of giving reconstruction aid to Europe, and preventing Russian expansionism. These foreign policy decisions, as well as his involvement in the usage of the atomic bomb, raise the question of whether or not the Cold War can be blamed on Truman. Supporting the view that Truman was responsible for the Cold War, Arnold Offner argues that Truman’s parochialism and nationalism caused him to make contrary foreign policy decisions without regard to other nations, which caused the intense standoff between the Soviet Union and America that became the Cold War (Offner 291)....
After fighting along the United States against Nazi Germany in World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States soon became enemies, locked in the grip of the Cold War with the fear of a nuclear holocaust. Fear was a constant emotion throughout the entirety of the United States, no one knew exactly what was going to happen. The Soviet Union’s leader, Joseph Stalin, believed in communism, in fact the reader can concur that Americans were taught that communism was a bad thing, which worried most Americans. Textbooks should emphasize the Soviet society and economy versus the United States, as well as including the Great Terror, and military strength.
The cold war which is the period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union drastically altered life for Americans. The tensions have still been escalating to this period. In World War 2 Russia was an ally of the us and England because the war against Germany. Although Stalin was considered a devil because of how he treated his people; he was a totalitarian dictator murdered people left and right, the political and military relationship between Russia has been on rocky ground ever since then. The fear of nuclear destruction had a big part to do with higher education, economy, immigration policy, civil rights and civil liberties. A period of time known as the red scare which was also known as the red menace had a profound effect on the American society as a whole It had an direct impact on the lives of Americans for instance with the launch of sputnik 1 which was launched in 1957 the us took measures to launch an overhaul in science education. This satellite launch emphasized that the Soviet Union had trampled the us into space. . As mentioned in a speech by Precedent john F Kennedy June, 10, 1963 “it is an ironic but accurate fact; that the two strongest powers are the two with the most danger of devastation. All we have built, all we have worked for would be destroyed in the first 24 hrs and even in the cold war with brings burdens and dangers to so many countries including this nations closest allies our two countries bare the heaviest burdens. For wee are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons. That could be better devoted to combat ignorance, poverty and disease.” (kennedy) Mad short for Mutual assured destruction or also referred to as mutual suicide on September 1867 Sec. of Defense Robert McNamara be...
In 1945, most of the countries around the world are devastated further to World War II which had stroke the globe for six years. Only the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, also called USSR, seem to be in a stable economic situation despite weighty losses. Both states are considered to be the great winners of the war and this is the beginning of a confrontation between two superpowers but also the confrontation between two distinct ideologies: communism and capitalism.
However, this fear is nominal compared to the terror experienced in the Cold War and that is an immense difference. In the Cold War, people were trained to act in a certain manner because the dropping of an atomic bomb on their city was likely. In 1953, the people were also frightened by the surrounding of communists because they believed that their independence and freedom could be infringed. The eighth grade students of 1953 experienced a Red Scare as the thought of the expansion of communism was malignant, but as the Cold War diminished, this fear of communism was minimal. After the Cold War, a new type of fear emerged as terrorism started to become intimidating and this is what students experience in 2016.
The Cold War was a prolonged period of tension and quarrel between two of the world’s most significant forces, the USA, and the USSR. Accordingly, being the two of the world’s greatest superpowers, their years of dispute affected not only them but many nations as well. Hence, the impact that the Cold War had in our world today was greatly significant, and many lessons and values were learned from the Cold War. Therefore, despite the Cold War being a period of fear and terror, it left a greater positive impact, rather than a negative one, in today’s society. The Cold War led to various social changes in many of the countries across the globe.
It was the 1960’s in America, a time of social consciousness, fear, war, distrust in government, and rebellion. It was a time in which bomb shelter ads on TV were common place. It was a time of tension and fears for communism creping though our neighborhoods and infiltrating American ideals. We were at war with a nation. After World War 2, there were two dominant nations, the United States and the Soviet Union. Political ideals and control over Germany would separate the allies into bitter rivals and enemies. The fear of the Soviet’s use of nuclear weapons was constantly in the backs of our minds. It was a global ...