Cold War Essay, Research Paper

The conflict in ideologies between capitalism and communism

resulted in one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century.

The belief that freedom and democracy would die under

communist rule caused the United States to start a conflict that

would last for decades. The decisions made by the United States

in W.W.II caused tensions to rise between the U. S. and the

Soviet Union. Fear of Communism in capitalist nations, caused

the United states government to use propaganda to raise Cold

War anxieties. Furthermore, the American media influenced the

attitudes of Americans, making a hatred of communism spread

though the nation. Thus, the United States caused the conflict

known as the Cold War, through its political policy and

propaganda.

The political relations going on in Europe during and

directly after World War II had an enormous effect on laying the

foundation for the Cold War. War time conferences such as Yalta

and Terhran harshened the relationship between the communists

and the capitalists. At the end of W.W.II American policy

towards the Soviets changed drastically. The change in president

in 1945 caused relations with Russia to worsen. Furthermore,

other political contributions to the Cold War entailed the Truman

Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The division of Europe between

the west and east drew physical borders which outlined that the

war of misinformation that had began. Also treaties of the post

war world further separated the two super powers of the world

for the decades to follow. The waging of hot wars through other

countries also strengthened Cold War hatred.(1)

The first of the cold war tensions arose out of W.W.II

conferences between the Soviet Union, America and, Great

Britain. Tehran, the first major conference which lead America to

start the Cold War, included all three of these nations. At this

conference the reshaping of post-war Europe was discussed (2)

Later in February of 1945, the big three met again at Yalta. At

this conference European boundaries, German reparations, and

Polish elections were agreed upon.(3) Stalin, the Russian leader,

agreed to hold free and fair elections. Later after Roosevelt, who

attended these conferences, died Truman became president. He

accused the Soviet leader, Stalin, of not holding up to his

agreements at Yalta.(4) Stalin wanted to use Poland as a buffer

zone to prevent any future invasions from happening through this

area. During W.W.II the Soviets had lost 27 million, and Stalin

made it clear that in no way would he allow this to happen

again.(5) Stalin responded to Truman?s accusation with the

following words, ?I am ready to fulfill your request and do

everything possible to reach a harmonious solution. But you

demand too much of me. In other words, you demand that I

renounce the interests of security of the Soviet Union, but I

cannot turn against my country.?(6) On the other hand, American

General Lucius Clay, who was stationed in post war Germany

commented ? we must have the courage to proceed quickly with

the establishment of a government for western Germany…42

million Germans in the British and American zones represent

today the strongest outpost against Communist penetration that

exists anywhere.?(7) At this response Truman changed his

attitude toward the Soviets with the words, ? there isn?t any

difference between the totalitarian Russian government and the

Hitler government.?(8) Furthermore, America decided to keep

Stalin out of the loop about the Manhattan project, which

furthered distrust, because Stalin learn about the bomb through

espionage. Truman?s change in attitude toward Stalin, from that

of FDR?s negotiation with ?Uncle Joe? to one committed to

stopping the Soviet cause, led to the creation of a new American

anti-Soviet political policy.

The Truman Doctrine, the name given to the policy

established by Truman, would soon arise in American foreign

policy. This Truman Doctrine came out of a speech the Truman

gave to a joint session of congress. It was the response Truman

gave to Britain, which delcared that they no longer could give

military and economic aid to Greece.(9) In this speech Truman

finally gave the Cold War official status, by stating the threat

that the Soviet government had on national security. In

Truman?s actual words he said, ?I believe that it must be the

policy of the United States to support free peoples who are

resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by

outside pressures.?(10) Congress, knowing that Great Britain

would no longer give aid the Turkey and Greece, realized that

these nations would soon turn to communism. Thus, they

decided to appropriate four hundred million dollars to help in the

aid of Turkey and Greece.(11). To support Truman?s policy

Senator Author Vandenburg stated ? its time to scare the hell out

of the American people with tales of communism on the

march.?(12) Thus, America was further contributed to cold war

issues by committing to stop the spread of communism in areas

of the world very remote from them.

America?s next political actions further caused the Cold

War to escalate. In 1947, George C. Marshall the Secretary of

the state at the time gave a speech at Harvard university which

reveled his plans for the an after war economy. Marshall asked

that all of the countries of Europe communists and capitalists

alike to draw up a plan for economic recovery from the war.(13)

The Soviets refused to participate, because they saw it as

America using money to buy its way into good terms with Europe.

In the words of the Soviet foreign minister Molotov, the Marshall

plan was ?nothing but a vicious American scheme for using

dollars to buy its way.?(14) In the end, the United States sent 13

billion over to Western Europe to support economic recovery.(15)

The Soviet Union saw this as an American attempt to keep any of

these countries from turning to communism, which would close

them off as US markets. Thus, the Marshall plan further

contributed to a Soviet cause to continue waging a Cold War. In

1949 America helped to organize a treaty against communism.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO included the

following nations : Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland,

Italy, the Netherlands, Luxemberg, Norway, Portugal , the United

States. This treaty showed a clear division of Communism

verses Capitalism, and it declared that an attack against one of

these nations would be an attack on all of them.(16) Thus, the

United States used this treaty to escalate the cold War by

showing the Soviet Union that all of the NATO countries sided

with the US in the Cold War. Finally, the United states waged

hot wars through other nations; instead in actually declaring war

against the Soviet Union. These hot wars in Korea and again in

Vietnam. Both of these wars resulted from the United States

trying to contain Communism from spreading throughout the

world. (17) Thus, all of the United States? political actions further

contributed to the Cold War cause.

The political actions Of the United States from the time of

W.W.II onward caused the Cold War conflict. The conferences of

W.W.II set the tone for a time period of distrust between the

Soviet union and the United States. With a new president in

office Cold War policy was officialy began. Furthermore, from

that point on the policy of the United States delcared itself as

anti-Communist from that point on. Thus, to get the American

public to side with the government on the issue of communism,

America turned to the use of propaganda.

The United States used propaganda and other influences to

get the American public scared of communism and in support of

the cold war. First congress began to use HUAC to stop films

from having to much of a communist appeal to them(18)

Furthermore, HUAC investigated people for being communist

spies. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenburg and Alger Hiss, people

accused of being communist spies suffered conviction. This

caused the anti-Communist attitude in the United States to grow

tremendously. Thus, the American government used a federal

organization to further the public?s hatred of communism. Next

an American Senator named Joseph R. McCarthy would lead a

series of trials against communists in the United States.(19)

Most of the people that Macarthy accused of being communist

reached conviction. This happened despite the fact that many of

the accused were not in fact communists.(20) This situation has

compares to the Salem Witch trials; notably like the witch trial

the main outcome of the Macarthy trial srtuck fear into American

public. Thus, the McCarthy trial increased anti-Communist

hatred in the US and scared anyone out of committing to

communist party for fear of their life. Therefore, the McCarthy

trials acted as form of US propaganda, which gathered American

support for the Cold War against the Soviets. Moreover, with

the publication of George Orwell?s book 1984, anti-communist

propaganda increased. This book showed the United States

under a communist dictatorship. Thus, as propaganda this book

increased the general anticommunist attitude of the American

public.(20) Moreover, Hollywood began to produce

anti-Communist films such as The Red Menace, which increased

a fear of communism in the United States.(21) Thus, the actions

of the American government, journalist, and media increased the

general anti-Communist support for the Cold War.

The American media also contributed to the Cold War

propaganda in and out of the United States. American journalists

would commonly make up stories of communism in the United

States in an effort to sell papers and to continue feelings of

anti-communism.(22) Also a radio station called Radio One

began to broadcast an anti communist message in Europe.(23)

These radio broadcasts defamed the Soviet Union and

communism and supported democracy and the United States.

These broadcasts blatantly attempted to degrade communism,

that they were never allowed to be transmitted in America.(24)

Therefore, the overall actions of the United States clearly reports

propaganda to increase support for the Cold War, which

dominated American foreign policy for decades.

The United States caused the Cold War by the political

decisions that in made and through its use of propaganda. The

political decisions made by the United States from W.W.II onward

caused the Cold War to start and to continue for decades.

Moreover, the government?s use of propaganda at home rallied

the American public in an anticommunist attitude, which

supported the countries political decisions. Thus, the United

States caused the conflict between Democracy and Communism.

Cayton, Andrew, and Elizabeth Israels Perry, and Allan M. Winkler. America Pathways to the

Present . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,1995.

Dudley, William. ed. The Cold War Opposing View Points. San Diego: Greenburg Press Inc.,

1992.

Gaddis, John Lewis. We Now Know Rethinking the Cold War. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1997.

Glynn, Patricia. Closing Pandora?s Box.. New York : Harper Collins, 1992.

Snyder, Alvin A. Warriors of Disinformation . New York: Arcade Publishing, 1995.

Yoder, Edwin M., Jr. Joe Alsop?s Cold War . Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press,

1995.

Endnotes

1 Andrew Cayton and Elizabeth Israels Perry, and Allan M. Winkler, America Pathways to

the Present , (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,1995.) p.717

2William Dudley, ed. The Cold War Opposing View Points, (San Diego: Greenburg

Press Inc., 1992.) p14

3Dudley 14

4Dudley 125

5Dudley 125

6Cayton 720

7John Lewis Gaddis, We Now Know: REthinking the Cold War,(Oxford : Clarendon Press,

1997.) p.119

8Cayton 721

9Dudley 17

10Cayton 724

11Cayton 724

12Dudley 18

13Cayton 724

14Cayton 724

15Cayton 725

16Cayton 725

17Patricia Glynn, Closing Pandora?s Box., (New York : Harper Collins, 1992.) p.135

18Gaddis 23

19Edwin M. Yoder Jr., Joe Alsop?s Cold War, (Chapel Hill : The University of North

Carolina Press, 1995.) p.23

20Glynn 135

21Cayton 733

22Yoder 22

23Alvin A. Snyder, Warriors of Disinformation , (New York: Arcade Publishing, 1995.)p.221

24Snyder 224