Cold War Influence 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.