Overview and Causes
The Cold War was a period of time from 1947 to 1991where the United States and the Soviet Union tried to outdo each other in everything.
During WWII the Soviets and the Americans were allies but their relationship began to unravel. When the US entered WWII they went to the Western front with England instead of helping the Soviets on the Eastern Front. In return the Soviets did not help the US on the Pacific front later like they promised. The lack of support for each other caused there to be a lack of trust as well. The ideological differences between the US, a Democracy that used Capitalism, and the Soviet Union, a Communist nation, did not help their relations. Capitalism/Democracy and Communist governments are almost polar opposites. Capitalism/Democracy is a people controlled, class society, based on competition and survival of the fittest. The want of luxury items pushes people to work harder and climb the ladder. Communism, on paper, is a government controlled, classless society that focuses on cooperation. A Communist society has no luxury items, everyone is treated equally.
Close to the end of WWII Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union held conferences to discuss what would happen once the war ended. The Yalta Conference was attended by Roosevelt, from the United States, Churchill, from Britain, and Stalin, from the Soviet Union. The three discussed many issues including the Soviet Union’s involvement in the Pacific front, where the line would be between Germany and Poland after the war, the Polish government after the war, the United Nations, and the Allied occupation of Germany. At the Potsdam conference many of the same issues were discussed as at the Yalta conference, however the same people were not present. Stalin represented the Soviet Union, and Truman replaced Roosevelt for the United States. Churchill represented Britain at the beginning of the conference, but was replaced halfway through by the new Prime Minister, Attlee. They once again talked about the Allied control of defeated Germany, the Soviet Union joining the war in the Pacific, and where the border would be between Poland and Germany. At the Potsdam conference they discussed reparations as well. The Soviet Union wanted money from Germany for the damages they received, but the United States and England did not want to make the same mistake as they had after WWI.
The United States and the Soviet Union continued to be at odds because of their different post war goals. The United States wanted to spread Democracy, stabilize Germany, and keep peace. The Soviet Union on the other hand, wanted to spread Communism, reclaim their land, build their army, and stop Democracy from spreading. Since most of Western Europe was Democratic, the Soviet Union feared an attack. In order to prevent such an event the Soviet Union set up the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain was a group of Communist countries controlled and bordered by the Soviet Union. It consisted of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria.
The United States policy for dealing with the Soviet Union was not very accommodating. The United States practiced containment. They wanted to stop Communism at all costs. Two examples of containment are the Truman Doctrine and sending men into Korea to prevent the spread of Communism.
During WWII the Soviets and the Americans were allies but their relationship began to unravel. When the US entered WWII they went to the Western front with England instead of helping the Soviets on the Eastern Front. In return the Soviets did not help the US on the Pacific front later like they promised. The lack of support for each other caused there to be a lack of trust as well. The ideological differences between the US, a Democracy that used Capitalism, and the Soviet Union, a Communist nation, did not help their relations. Capitalism/Democracy and Communist governments are almost polar opposites. Capitalism/Democracy is a people controlled, class society, based on competition and survival of the fittest. The want of luxury items pushes people to work harder and climb the ladder. Communism, on paper, is a government controlled, classless society that focuses on cooperation. A Communist society has no luxury items, everyone is treated equally.
Close to the end of WWII Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union held conferences to discuss what would happen once the war ended. The Yalta Conference was attended by Roosevelt, from the United States, Churchill, from Britain, and Stalin, from the Soviet Union. The three discussed many issues including the Soviet Union’s involvement in the Pacific front, where the line would be between Germany and Poland after the war, the Polish government after the war, the United Nations, and the Allied occupation of Germany. At the Potsdam conference many of the same issues were discussed as at the Yalta conference, however the same people were not present. Stalin represented the Soviet Union, and Truman replaced Roosevelt for the United States. Churchill represented Britain at the beginning of the conference, but was replaced halfway through by the new Prime Minister, Attlee. They once again talked about the Allied control of defeated Germany, the Soviet Union joining the war in the Pacific, and where the border would be between Poland and Germany. At the Potsdam conference they discussed reparations as well. The Soviet Union wanted money from Germany for the damages they received, but the United States and England did not want to make the same mistake as they had after WWI.
The United States and the Soviet Union continued to be at odds because of their different post war goals. The United States wanted to spread Democracy, stabilize Germany, and keep peace. The Soviet Union on the other hand, wanted to spread Communism, reclaim their land, build their army, and stop Democracy from spreading. Since most of Western Europe was Democratic, the Soviet Union feared an attack. In order to prevent such an event the Soviet Union set up the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain was a group of Communist countries controlled and bordered by the Soviet Union. It consisted of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria.
The United States policy for dealing with the Soviet Union was not very accommodating. The United States practiced containment. They wanted to stop Communism at all costs. Two examples of containment are the Truman Doctrine and sending men into Korea to prevent the spread of Communism.