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Factors that gave rise to the cold war
The importance of the truman doctrine for the development of the cold war
Factors that gave rise to the cold war
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President Harry Truman came into office right at the end of World War II, after the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. Almost immediately after becoming president, Truman learned of the Manhattan Project, and had to decide whether or not to use the atomic bomb. With the advice of James Byrnes, Secretary of State, Truman decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan, in part to demonstrate America’s power to the world and gain a political advantage in Europe (Offner 294). After World War II ended, there were negotiations about Germany, and it was decided that Germany would be split into two halves; the western half would be controlled by the United States and its allies, while the eastern half would be controlled by the Soviet Union. This situation led to increased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union because of the two nations’ different political and economic systems. 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, raises 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 be... ... middle of paper ... ...d War, but because he overstates his case so much, his argument is only able to take some of the blame off of Truman. When considering both articles at the same time, however, they provide valuable insight about answering the question. After reading both articles, the question that remains is “How much of the Cold War was Truman responsible for.” Works Cited Gaddis, John Lewis. “We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle. 14th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 302-308. Offner, Arnold. “‘Another Such Victory’: President Truman, American Foreign Policy, and the Cold War.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle. 14th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 291-301.
Both Truman’s and Eisenhower’s governments were engaged in the Cold War, and contributed to increased tensions with Russia. Truman was the initiator of the containment policy, which was implemented throughout the duration of the Cold War. This policy was put into effect in order to prevent the spread of communism.
Truman?s approach to Cold War politics was practical and logical, but it was too reactionary by nature. Truman failed to see that it was inevitable for the U.S. to eventually fight against the Soviets; in fact, one Soviet diplomat even said this himself as a rationalization for seizing more lands. The Truman Administration clearly realized that the Soviets had engaged in a struggle for power, a Cold War, so why then didn?t Truman do everything in his power to eliminate this...
Crockatt, Richard. The fifty years war : the United States and the Soviet Union in world politics, 1941-1991. London; New York; Routledge, 1995.
Truman’s accomplishments in his domestic policy were impressive, considering the hardships the nation was experiencing as World War II came to an end, and the resistance of Congress (which was greatly made up of Republicans and conservatives) to liberalism. The president was able to pas...
“Was Truman Responsible for the Cold War”, well, according to author Arnold A. Offner, his simplistic answer is an obvious “yes.” “Taking Sides” is a controversial aspect of the author’s interpretation for justifying his position and perception of “Truman’s” actions. This political approach is situated around the “Cold War” era in which the author scrutinizes, delineates, and ridicules his opponents by claiming “I have an ace in the hole and one showing” (SoRelle 313). Both authors provide the readers with intuitive perceptions for their argumentative approaches in justifying whether or not “Truman” contributed to the onset of the “Cold War.” Thus far, it would be hard-pressed to blame one single individual, President or not, for the “Cold War” initiation/s. Information presented shows the implications centered on the issues leading up to the Cold War”, presents different ideologies of two Presidents involving policy making, and a national relationship strained by uncooperative governments.
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...
The end of World War II presented an opportunity for Winston Churchill to regain some of the power and influence that the Imperialistic British Empire once possessed. Churchill took advantage of the trust and respect that the American public and President Truman shared about his character. He saw Truman's lack of political experience as an opportunity to restore British imperial authority. Winston Churchill tainted Harry Truman's beliefs and preservations about Russia, because his personal agenda and imperial policy where vital to the supremacy of the British Empire. Churchill manipulated Truman and the American public. He caused them to believe that Russia was a legitimate threat to the free world, thus he created the origins of the Cold War.
Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War OUTLINE: Introduction- 1. Definition of ‘Cold War’ and the Powers involved 2. Perceived definition of ‘start of Cold War’ 3. Iron Curtain Speech, Truman Doctrine and Berlin Blockade as significant events that caused strife between both powers, but which triggering off the start of the Cold War Body- 1. Iron Curtain Speech (1946) - A warning of Soviet influence beyond the acknowledged Eastern Europe - Churchill’s belief that the idea of a balance in power does not appeal to the Soviets - Wants Western democracies to stand together in prevention of further
Truman supported the aggressive containment of the Soviet Union. He knew communism wasn’t the American Dream. He feared losing control of the nation’s visions that were directly opposite of those expressed by the Soviet Union. In America Through the Eyes of its People, Truman in his doctrine of 1947 says that “one’s way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guaranties of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.” (Page 211) His premise summarizes what the events of the Cold War and Civil Rights Movements, together, made possible. This doctrine clearly defined the things that the mixture or melting pot of American people valued more than fighting amongst themselves because of superficial issues like race, and made America refocus on what was really important, losing all these valuable rights under communist
An Era of Fear. Truman had just demonstrated the raw power of the nuclear bomb, in order to end World War II, in 1945. The cost of war had immediately changed; the world had seen that whole cities could be obliterated within seconds. This would send a paralyzing shock through the world. After World War II, the world was split between two economic idealities, Communism and Capitalism.
As the Cold War era heated up, Presidents began to become more and more nervous in the hot seat, and this is where we see the trend of seemingly bungling, clandestine presidencies with leaders who didn’t know how to effectively spread themselves across the issues at home and overseas. Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all had fairly similar policies aimed to promote racial integration, expand Social Security, contain the Soviet threat to the Eastern Bloc, and rebuild postwar Europe under an American democratic influence.1 Truman’s actions are more so admirable than anything when one considers the immense stress and disapproval he was under for the majority of his two terms; none the less, he still proved to be a very adept leader, and did not merely wish to carry out things correctly, but to do what was correct.2 Having to pick up from was immediately faced with the difficult decision of whether to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, and his ultimate, and highly controversial, decision to use the bomb led to the unconditional surrender of the Japanese and the official end of WWII for America.... ... middle of paper ... ...1 (2006): 59–74. Pach, Chester J., and Elmo Richardson.
War.” Unipolar Politics: Realism and State Strategies after the Cold War. Eds. Ethan B. Kapstein and Michael Mastanduno. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 1-27.
Taubman, William. Stalin's American Policy: From Entente to Detente to Cold War. New York: Norton, 1982. Print.
Truman caused the Cold War and, in 1962, Kennedy resolved its greatest crisis. By agreeing to this statement the Marshall Plan Program helped rebuild the nations after the destruction that occurred during WWII. Truman Doctrine: Put America in a position of war, since it called for America to help any sovereign nation that was under the attack of communism or the Soviet Union. It called for the containment of communism after WWII. Increased Hostility toward the Soviets: After WWII, the Soviets and America had different ideology in which they both believed would be the future of the world. America not wanting to conform to the ideology of the Soviets, started to fight against their communist ideologies. Essentially caused an arms race: With America
The year is 1947 the world has just gone through its second Great War. This time in life is confusing for all the countries involved in the war. Everyone is trying to rebuild from what they have lost. Vulnerable are the weak ones to a higher super power country that would be hungry to take over. But there is no time to waste! The Cold War was just heating up between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, which is now known as the country of Russia. The United States of America felt a perceived need for protection from fear of the Soviet Union taking over all of Western Europe and perhaps even our own country one day soon. The current president of this day in age was a man named Harry S. Truman. President Truman felt that the country