The Causes of the Cold War - Essay Example

The Causes of the Cold War History Essay

The Cold War was a political conflict. It appeared because of economic and military competition.

In World War II, the Soviet Union and the USA fought together to defeat the axis powers. However, there was intense tension between the two allies. Simply put, the two parties resented each other because of the reasons best known to them.

Americans resented the Soviet Union because they were aware of the Union's practice of communism. They were also wary of Joseph Stalin, a tyrant ruler in Russia.

On the other hand, the Soviet Union resented America because, in the past decades, the latter refused to include USSR as a legitimate figure in the international community.

Similarly, American's delay in entering World War II had a significant impact on Russia. In essence, it led to the deaths of millions of Russians. Obviously, the end of the War did not rule out the hostility and distrust that the two countries shared. What's more, the end of the War led to even more grievances between the two states.

After the War, the Soviet Union felt a need to expand in Eastern Europe. The expansionism saw it as a plan for the Russians to become the powerful nation of the world. Meanwhile, the USSR continued to resent the political leaders of America. What's more, they also resented the approaches that they used to build arms for various aspects of international relations. As such, the tension was hostile on both sides. Therefore, the impact of the Cold War is not a factor that can be blamed on one party only. The truth of the matter is, the War itself was inevitable.

The Containment of the Cold War

At the end of World War II, the Americans thought to implement a strategy that would help them to defeat the Soviet nation. Ideally, they implemented the "Containment Strategy," as there was no way that the two parties would agree. As such, America had to implement a strategy that would stand firm against the Soviets - the "Containment Strategy."

To be more effective, the Containment was supposed to be a policy of the United States of America. Primarily, the Containment was to support people that resisted subjugation. The support was to be enhanced using outside pressure to balance the foreign policy of America for many decades to come.

The Atomic Age of the Cold War

In 1950, the creation of NSC-68 was the recommendation that Truman put forward to contain communist expansion. Up until that point, the recommendation called for an increase in the amount of money that was being used for defense purposes.

To be more specific, political leaders in America encouraged the innovation and financing of state-of-the-earth atomic weapons. Ideally, the weapons were similar to the pieces that were used to end World War II.

In their quest to build this weapon, America began a deadly race to find the piece that would respond to the Soviet's acts of communism. For this reason, Truman made it public that America would build a weapon that could cause massive destruction. The atomic weapon was popularly known as the hydrogen bomb or, better yet, the "super bomb."

The first test of the effectiveness of the hydrogen bomb was carried out on Marshall Island. From the test, the stakes of the upcoming damage were perilously in top numbers.

Furthermore, the impact of the test on the island was not something to be desired. Simply put, the test depicted the fear that would spread across the globe upon the development of the nuclear age.

As one of the impacts, the hydrogen bomb created a fireball that affected at least 25 miles of Marshall Island. More to vaporizing the island, the bomb created a large hole on the floor of the ocean. In a nutshell, the impact of the atomic bomb could massively destroy half of Manhattan with one blow.

Similarly, the tests also had a negative influence on the environment. For instance, the chemical nature of the tests emitted radioactive waste material into the atmosphere.

Typically, the Cold War was part of the domestic lives of Americans. As watch-out measures, people practiced drills and constructed bomb shelters in public places and the backyards of their homes. In other words, the War put significant pressure on the everyday lives of the Americans.

The Space Race - The Extension of the Cold War Into Space

Space was another arena that the two powerful nations extended their competition on. 1957 saw Russia launch the first artificial satellite on October 4th.

The launch of Sputnik (the ballistic missile) came as a big and unpleasant surprise to the Americans. Ideally, the USA saw space as a potential ground to extend their traditions. Therefore, it was crucial for America not to lose the ground to the Soviets.

Similarly, the satellite's demonstration from the Russians depicted the power of their R-7 missile. The weapon was powerful enough to deliver a nuclear warhead into the air space of the USA. As such, the Americans saw it crucial to gather detailed intelligence to beat the military acts of the Soviets.

Following the recent explorations into space, the USA launched its first satellite in 1958. The US army designed the device under the instructions of Wernher von Braun, a rocket scientist.

1958 also saw Dwight Eisenhower signed an order that dedicated NASA to space explorations. Even with that implementation, the Soviet Union was way ahead of them. In April 1961, the Soviets sent their first man (Alan Shepard) into space to carry our explorations.

After the event, the USA took a quick initiative and landed its first man on the moon. Consequently, Nail Armstrong won the space race for America on July 20th, 1969. During the race, both the Soviets and the USA astronauts were pictured differently. The USA astronauts were heroes, while the Soviets were depicted as villains. Their description came about due to their thirst to defeat America and prove that the communist system had power.

The Atomic Bomb Drop in Japan

Another major event progressed the World War in 1945. At the beginning of the year, America hit Japan with its first Atomic Bomb. The act of the Americans cashed intense animosity from the Soviets.

The Cold War on American Soil

1947 saw the Cold War being brought home differently. HUAC- the House Un-American Activities Committee put forth a hysteria that presented the USA as a partaker of the communist system.

Many people in the Hollywood movie industry renounced their political beliefs. Many people lost their jobs because of testifying against each other. Consequently, the actors, writers, and directors were blacklisted from going back to their jobs for more than a decade. The association accused them of taking part in subversive activities.

The accusations of HUAC also reigned on Americans who worked in State Departments. Following the probe, anti-communist political leaders conducted investigations on several workers of the Federal government. Many of those employees lost their jobs, and even worse, were prosecuted.

The Development of the Soviet Threat Abroad

The battle against subversion in America drew attention to the Soviet Threat that was extending abroad. The first military action in North Korea took place in June 1950. As much as North Korea was being backed by Soviet, the Koreans stirred up a battle of their own. They invaded their western neighbor. Political leaders in America saw it as a strategy of carrying out communist campaigns to gain power in the world.

As such, Truman deemed that sitting back and not intervening was not an option. Following the event, he sent the US military to Korea. However, the Korean War did not last long. It dragged and finally ended in 1953.

In 1955, West Germany gained membership in the 'North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The association permitted Western Germany to remilitarize. The Soviets reacted to it with the Warsaw Pact. It was a defense organization among various countries. These included the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Eastern Germany. The Pact's response has raised more battles across nations. The disputes affected President Kennedy's hemisphere with many overwhelming issues. Two invasions - the 'Cuban crisis' and 'Bay of Pigs' proved that the communist threat was real and unstable.

The End of the Cold War

Many political leaders had the desire to end the Cold War. During President Richard Nixon's time in office, he presented ideas to end the Cold War. As one of the ideas, Nixon presented the need to implement new approaches to international relations. He also recommended that diplomacy should be used to create an understanding among nations. To that end, Nixon encouraged the UN to recognize the Chinese government even though it was a communist system. Following his suggestions, the trip to Beijing in 1972 saw him develop diplomatic relations with the state.

With more efforts to end the Cold War, Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev (the Soviet premier) signed the "SALT" treaty. Simply put, the treaty prohibited the two states from manufacturing nuclear missiles. The move would be a big step towards the reduction of the threats of nuclear war.

Despite Nixon's numerous efforts to end the Cold War, all was in vain. The War heated up once more. This time, it was under the leadership of Ronald Reagan. Like other political leaders, Reagan also recognized the threat of communism on the freedom of the citizens of the two states. As such, he provided military and financial aid to anti-communist political states all over the world.

Even as Reagan took office, the Soviet Union was slowly disassembling. The disintegration was as a result of the development of economic challenges and the USSR's political ferment.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev went into the office and implemented two major policies. The policies reshaped the relationship of Russia with the rest of the world. Subsequently, the Soviet's influence on the Eastern parts of Europe started to wane. 1989 saw all communist governments replace their states with a non-communist system. Ideally, the Berlin Wall was one of the major symbols of communism in the Cold War. November of the same year finally saw the wall being destroyed. The event led to the unification of Germany in 1990. By 1991, the Soviet Union had disintegrated completely. In other words, the Cold War was over. From the baseline, the Cold War was somewhat inevitable. Well, who is to blame other than a fundamental struggle between two different economic and political systems?

More Insight Into the Real Causes Behind the Cold War

Generally, the Cold War was not caused by the military disagreements that arose between Americans and the Soviets. Although the battle was evidently depicted at the end of World War I, the War began officially at the Yalta Conference in 1985. Generally, the aspects that resulted in the Cold War were many. However, the causes of the War can be summed up as:

• A disagreement between capitalism and communism.
• The passion and urge of Russia to spread the system of communism in the world.
• The dislike between president Joseph Stalin and President Truman.
• Russia's intense fear of the invention of America's atomic bomb.
• America's intention of keeping its nuclear information a secret.
• Russia's fear that America would launch an attack on them at any time.
• The fight for Russia to secure the Western part of its border, and its expansion in the Eastern part of Europe.