Democracy During The Cold War Essay

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Promoting Democracy: That’s what America did during the Cold War The end of World War II brought a combination of relief, joy and solemnity for the Americans in victory, however this atmosphere turned to anxiety quickly in 1945 as America’s wartime ally, the Soviet Union, suddenly became its enemy in the next forty-five years. This ongoing global conflict which arose from the fight between Capitalism and Communism, divided the formerly allied nations and sparked an intense battle for world supremacy. During the Cold War, the United States successfully promoted the value of democracy and inhibited Communist expansion. In this way, American’s action at home and abroad supported its democratic principles. It is pretty obvious that the Cold …show more content…

On June 24, 1948, Berlin Blockade occurred as the Soviets Union blocked all rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. Without going to war or giving up the city of Berlin, the only option was to try and fly in all the supplies. In this way, a plan named Berlin Airlift began on June 26, carried in more than one million tons of supplies in total. The Soviets persisted with the blockade until May 1949. By then, however, it was apparent to everyone concerned that the blockade had been a diplomatic fiasco for the Russians. In addition, the astonishing success backfired against the Russians by highlighting the advanced technology of the United States. By the time the Soviets ended the blockade, West Germany had transformed into a symbol of democracy and freedom in the fight against Communism. Furthermore, the Korean War, the first military action during the Cold War, gave the U.S. a great opportunity to appear strong against communism and to promote democracy. Overshadowed by WWII, the Korean War has often been called America's "forgotten war," though like Vietnam it was part of a larger Cold War struggle to extinguish communism. In 1950, North Korean communist troops invaded South Korea, which was an American ally. Seeking to protect the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and to prevent the spread of communism in Asia, President Harry Truman committed American troops as part of a

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