In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
Defining "Cold War"
1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a speech at a college in Missouri. He described relations with the Soviet Union in this way:
A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organization intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytizing tendencies....
We understand the Russian need to be secure on her western frontiers from all renewal of German aggression. We welcome her to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world. Above all, we welcome constant, frequent, and growing contacts between the Russian people and our own people on both sides of the Atlantic. It is my duty, however, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe.
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern Europe....
On the other hand, I repulse the idea that a new war is inevitable, still more that it is imminent. It is because I am so sure that our fortunes are in our own hands and that we hold the power to save the future, that I feel the duty to speak out now that I have an occasion to do so. I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines....
From what I have seen of our Russian friends and allies during the war, I am convinced that there is nothing they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for military weakness.
From William Appleman Williams, ed., _The Shaping of American Diplomacy_ (Chicago: Rand McNally and Company, 1956), p. 993.
In 1947, U.S. State Department official George F. Kennan wrote an important article for Foreign Affairs magazine which urged the United States to deal with the Soviet Union in a new way:
...it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.... In the light of the above, it will be clearly seen that the Soviet pressure against the free institutions of the Western world is something that can be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counter-force at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points, corresponding to the shifts and maneuvers of Soviet policy, but which cannot be charmed or talked out of existence.... It would be an exaggeration to say that American behavior unassisted and alone could exercise a power of life and death over the Communist movement and bring about the early fall of Soviet power in Russia. But the United States has it in its power to increase enormously the strains under which Soviet policy must operate, to force upon the Kremlin a far greater degree of moderation and circumspection than it has had to observe in recent years, and in this way to promote tendencies which must eventually find their outlet in either the break-up or the gradual mellowing of Soviet power...
From William Appleman Williams, ed., _The Shaping of American Diplomacy_, p. 996.
Answer the following questions based on the above two readings by Churchill and Kennan:
1. What did Churchill and Kennan believe were the goals of the Soviet Union?
2. What did the authors believe should be the response of the United States to Soviet actions?
3. Historians generally agree that the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began between 1946 and 1947. How do you think Churchill and Kennan would define "cold war?"
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Major Events of the Cold War
________________________________________
Directions: Using American history textbooks, fill in the chart below. In the left column, describe the actions of the Soviet Union and/or other communist nations that led to the reaction of the United States listed in the right column. Describe the re-actions using textbooks and primary resources.
=============================================================
Describe the
Describe the reactions
Communist Action
of the United States
=============================================================
Truman Doctrine (1947)
Marshall Plan (1948)
Berlin Airlift (1948-49)
Creation of NATO (1949)
U.S. enters Korean War (1950)
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Reading A: Truman Doctrine
________________________________________
In 1947, President Harry Truman's message to Congress described a new direction in American foreign policy.
At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one.
One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.
The second way of life is based upon the will of the minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.
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.
I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.
I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.
The world is not static, and the status quo is not sacred. But we cannot allow changes in the status quo in violation of the charter of the United Nations by such methods as coercion, or by such subterfuges as political infiltration. In helping free and independent nations to maintain their freedom,the United States will be giving effect to the principles of the charter of the United Nations.
From Henry Steele Commager, ed., Documents of American History; (New York: Meredith Publishing Company, 1968), p. 525.
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Reading B: Marshall Plan
________________________________________
In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall delivered the following remarks during a commencement address:
The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next 3 or 4 years of foreign food and other essential products-- principally from America-- are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help, or face economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.
The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole....
Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any county or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis as various crises develop.
Any government which maneuvers to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore, governments, political parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the oppositionof the United States.
From Henry Steele Commager, ed., Documents of American History, p. 532.
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Reading C: Berlin Airlift
________________________________________
In 1949, General Lucius Clay, the military governor of American-occupied Germany, advised the U.S. Secretary of the Army that he believed the United States must not be driven from Berlin by the Soviet blockade of that city.
When Berlin falls, western Germany will be next. If we mean... to hold Europe against Communism, we must not budge. We can take humiliation and pressure short of war in Berlin without losing face. If we withdraw, our position in Europe is threatened. If America does not understand this now, does not know that the issue is cast, then it never will and communism will run rampant. I believe the future of democracy requires us to stay....This is not heroic pose because there will be nothing heroic in having to take humiliation without retaliation.
From Lucius D. Clay, Decision in Germany (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1950), p. 361.
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Reading D: Creation of NATO
________________________________________
In 1949, the United States, along with eleven other nations, signed the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments.
They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.
They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.
They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defense and for the preservation of peace and security.
They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty:
ART. 1. The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international disputes in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat of use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations....
ART. 5. The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all; and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
From Henry Steele Commager, ed., Documents of American History, p. 550.
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Reading E: Korean War
________________________________________
In 1950, President Harry Truman issued the following statement describing the decision of the United States government to send troops to South Korea.
In Korea the Government forces, which were armed to prevent border raids and to preserve internal security, were attacked by invading forces from North Korea. The Security Council of the United Nations called upon the invading troops to cease hostilities and to withdraw to the 38th parallel. This they have not done, but on the contrary have pressed the attack. The Security Council called upon all members of the United Nations to render every assistance to the United Nations in the execution of this resolution. In these circumstances I have ordered United States air and sea forces to give the Korean Government troops cover and support.
The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that Communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war. It has defied the orders of the Security Council of the United Nations issued to preserve international peace and security....
I know that all members ofthe United Nations will consider carefully the consequences of this latest aggression in Korea in defiance of the Charter of the United Nations. A return to the rule of force in international affairs would have far reaching effects. The United States will continue to uphold the rule of law.
From Henry Steele Commager, ed., Documents of American History, pp. 554-555.
In what ways did the United States and the Soviet Union conduct a "cold war" beginning in 1946?
________________________________________
Reading F: Quarantine of Cuba
________________________________________
In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke to Americans on radio and television about how the United States would react to evidence of offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba.
Acting, therefore, in the defense of our own security and of the entire Western Hemisphere, ...I have directed that the following initial steps be taken immediately:
First: To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back. This quarantine will be extended, if needed, to other types of cargo and carriers. We are not at this time, however, denying the necessities of life, as the Soviets attempted to do in their Berlin blockade of 1948.
Second: I have directed the continued and increased close [aerial] surveillance of Cuba and its military buildup....
Third: It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.
Fourth: As a necessary military precaution, I have reinforced our base at Guantanamo [Cuba], evacuated today the dependents of our personnel there, and ordered additional military units to be on a standby alert basis.
Fifth: We are calling tonight for an immediate meeting of the Organ of Consultation under the Organization of American States, to consider this threat to hemishperic security and to invoke Articles 6 and 8 of the Rio Treaty in support of all necessary action.... Our other allies around the world have also been alerted.
Sixth: Under the Charter of the United Nations, we are asking tonight that an emergency meeting of the Security Council be convoked without delay to take action against this latest Soviet threat to world peace. Our resolution will call for the prompt dismantling and withdrawal of all offensive weapons in Cuba, under the supervision of U.N. observers, before the quarantine can be lifted.
Seventh and finally: I call upon Chairman Khrushchev to halt and eliminate this clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace and to stable relations between our two nations. I call upon him further to abandon this course of world domination, and to join in an historic effort to end the perilous arms race and to transform the history of man.
From Thomas A. Bailey, ed., The American Spirit: United States History As Seen By Contemporaries, vol. 2 (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1973), pp. 934-935.
Showing posts with label Cold War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cold War. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The complete cold war resource
This is one of the most complete cold war resource listings on the internet. Here you will find the answers to everything you ever wanted to know about the Cold War.
http://gpweb.us/VLColdWarIndex.htm
http://gpweb.us/VLColdWarIndex.htm
Cold War Rosenburg, Hiss, and openheimer cases
The Cold War (1946–1991) had profound effects on American society and culture. Fresh from victory in 1945, Americans quickly disarmed and expected to focus their attention on domestic matters, in particular the adjustment to a peacetime economy and reintegration of millions of soldiers into society. The expansion of Soviet control in Eastern Europe and its acquisition of nuclear weapons in 1949, as well as the triumph of Communism in China in 1948, produced fears of Marxist expansion abroad and subversion at home. Three cases drew attention to the vulnerability of the nation's security because of espionage and treason. These cases reinforced the growing view that the United States was in a struggle for its existence and faced enemies within. During the late 1940s and early 1950s these cases contributed to a Red Scare and McCarthyism as well as to rearmament and foreign policies that defined postwar America.
Rosenberg Case
In the late 1940s American code breakers deciphered Soviet cables indicating that Klaus Fuchs, a British physicist who had worked with Americans on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, had been a Soviet spy. In January 1950 Fuchs confessed to British authorities. He also provided information allowing the FBI to identify the American courier who delivered his information to the Soviets as Harry Gold. Gold confessed and testified that he also picked up material from a second source at Los Alamos, the bomb project's chief site. The FBI identified David Greenglass, a skilled machinist who worked on the implosion fuse for the plutonium bomb, as the second source. He also confessed, as did his wife Ruth; they identified their recruiters into espionage as David's brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg, and David's sister, Ethel Rosenberg, both secret Communists. The Rosenbergs, who denied all, were convicted of espionage and received the death sentence, with prosecutors hoping they would confess to win reprieves and identify other members of the large spy apparatus Julius supervised. Both, however, refused to talk and were executed in 1953. (Fuchs, Gold, and Greenglass served long prison terms.)
Evidence that has appeared since the collapse of the Soviet Union has confirmed Julius Rosenberg's role as a Soviet spy. The Rosenberg case reinforced in the public mind the link between Soviet espionage and sympathy for Communism. The case was particularly inflammatory because it surfaced during the Korean War, when American troops were engaged in difficult combat against Communist soldiers, and because it involved atomic espionage and the unexpectedly swift ability of the Soviet Union to overcome the American atomic monopoly that had existed in 1945. That monopoly had briefly appeared to guarantee American security.
Hiss Case
In 1948 Whittaker Chambers, a journalist, testified to the House Committee on Un-American Activities that in the mid-1930s he had known Alger Hiss as part of a covert Communist network. Hiss was at the time a State Department official; in 1945 he had presided over the founding United Nations conference, and in 1947 he had become head of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Hiss denied the charge and sued Chambers for slander. In pre-trial proceedings, Chambers produced documents from 1938 indicating that Hiss had been a spy turning over State Department documents to Chambers, acting as Hiss's courier to Soviet intelligence. Chambers's documents were turned over to the U.S. Justice Department; a federal grand jury examined them, called Hiss and Chambers as witnesses, and indicted Hiss for giving perjured testimony about how the documents, most from Hiss's State Department office, had come into
Whittaker Chambers speaking before the House Un-American Activities Committee on January 1, 1948. TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
Chambers's possession. In the ensuing two perjury trials (the first ended with a hung jury), Chambers and Hede Massing, another former Soviet courier, testified that they had known Hiss as a Soviet source. Most damning were documents in Chambers's possession, some in Hiss's handwriting, some with Hiss's State Department stamp and initials, and others forensically proven to have been typed on his family typewriter. Hiss denied any sympathy for Communism and produced prestigious character witnesses who testified that someone of Hiss's background and probity could not have committed espionage. Hiss was convicted in 1950 and served nearly four years in prison.
Evidence that has appeared since the collapse of the Soviet Union has indicated Hiss's guilt. In the public mind, the Hiss case established that prestigious members of the government elite could be attracted to Communism and betray the United States.
Oppenheimer Case
J. Robert Oppenheimer, a distinguished theoretical physicist, was the scientific director of the Manhattan Project. He is credited with recruiting the scientific talent needed to design the atomic bomb and coordinating the scientific work with the massive engineering projects required to produce fissionable uranium and plutonium. In 1954 the Atomic Energy Commission, after lengthy hearings, voted not to renew Oppenheimer's security clearance. He was never charged with espionage, and no American security agency ever concluded that he spied. However, according to his own testimony he had been a financial contributor to the Communist Party until 1941. Oppenheimer's wife was the widow of a militant Communist official and his brother a secret Communist Party member. In 1943 Oppenheimer informed security officials that he had been asked to provide information to the Soviets by a friend and identified colleagues whom he regarded as security risks. However, he changed his statement about this incident several times and later repudiated parts of it. He was also ambiguous and unforthcoming when later asked about his relationship to the Communist Party.
Although many scientists regarded Oppenheimer as the victim of paranoia, to much of the public Oppenheimer's unresponsive testimony appeared suspicious. Evidence appearing after the Soviet collapse suggests that Oppenheimer probably was a Communist Party member until 1941, something he denied, but his role, if any, in espionage remains unclear.
Rosenberg Case
In the late 1940s American code breakers deciphered Soviet cables indicating that Klaus Fuchs, a British physicist who had worked with Americans on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, had been a Soviet spy. In January 1950 Fuchs confessed to British authorities. He also provided information allowing the FBI to identify the American courier who delivered his information to the Soviets as Harry Gold. Gold confessed and testified that he also picked up material from a second source at Los Alamos, the bomb project's chief site. The FBI identified David Greenglass, a skilled machinist who worked on the implosion fuse for the plutonium bomb, as the second source. He also confessed, as did his wife Ruth; they identified their recruiters into espionage as David's brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg, and David's sister, Ethel Rosenberg, both secret Communists. The Rosenbergs, who denied all, were convicted of espionage and received the death sentence, with prosecutors hoping they would confess to win reprieves and identify other members of the large spy apparatus Julius supervised. Both, however, refused to talk and were executed in 1953. (Fuchs, Gold, and Greenglass served long prison terms.)
Evidence that has appeared since the collapse of the Soviet Union has confirmed Julius Rosenberg's role as a Soviet spy. The Rosenberg case reinforced in the public mind the link between Soviet espionage and sympathy for Communism. The case was particularly inflammatory because it surfaced during the Korean War, when American troops were engaged in difficult combat against Communist soldiers, and because it involved atomic espionage and the unexpectedly swift ability of the Soviet Union to overcome the American atomic monopoly that had existed in 1945. That monopoly had briefly appeared to guarantee American security.
Hiss Case
In 1948 Whittaker Chambers, a journalist, testified to the House Committee on Un-American Activities that in the mid-1930s he had known Alger Hiss as part of a covert Communist network. Hiss was at the time a State Department official; in 1945 he had presided over the founding United Nations conference, and in 1947 he had become head of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Hiss denied the charge and sued Chambers for slander. In pre-trial proceedings, Chambers produced documents from 1938 indicating that Hiss had been a spy turning over State Department documents to Chambers, acting as Hiss's courier to Soviet intelligence. Chambers's documents were turned over to the U.S. Justice Department; a federal grand jury examined them, called Hiss and Chambers as witnesses, and indicted Hiss for giving perjured testimony about how the documents, most from Hiss's State Department office, had come into
Whittaker Chambers speaking before the House Un-American Activities Committee on January 1, 1948. TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
Chambers's possession. In the ensuing two perjury trials (the first ended with a hung jury), Chambers and Hede Massing, another former Soviet courier, testified that they had known Hiss as a Soviet source. Most damning were documents in Chambers's possession, some in Hiss's handwriting, some with Hiss's State Department stamp and initials, and others forensically proven to have been typed on his family typewriter. Hiss denied any sympathy for Communism and produced prestigious character witnesses who testified that someone of Hiss's background and probity could not have committed espionage. Hiss was convicted in 1950 and served nearly four years in prison.
Evidence that has appeared since the collapse of the Soviet Union has indicated Hiss's guilt. In the public mind, the Hiss case established that prestigious members of the government elite could be attracted to Communism and betray the United States.
Oppenheimer Case
J. Robert Oppenheimer, a distinguished theoretical physicist, was the scientific director of the Manhattan Project. He is credited with recruiting the scientific talent needed to design the atomic bomb and coordinating the scientific work with the massive engineering projects required to produce fissionable uranium and plutonium. In 1954 the Atomic Energy Commission, after lengthy hearings, voted not to renew Oppenheimer's security clearance. He was never charged with espionage, and no American security agency ever concluded that he spied. However, according to his own testimony he had been a financial contributor to the Communist Party until 1941. Oppenheimer's wife was the widow of a militant Communist official and his brother a secret Communist Party member. In 1943 Oppenheimer informed security officials that he had been asked to provide information to the Soviets by a friend and identified colleagues whom he regarded as security risks. However, he changed his statement about this incident several times and later repudiated parts of it. He was also ambiguous and unforthcoming when later asked about his relationship to the Communist Party.
Although many scientists regarded Oppenheimer as the victim of paranoia, to much of the public Oppenheimer's unresponsive testimony appeared suspicious. Evidence appearing after the Soviet collapse suggests that Oppenheimer probably was a Communist Party member until 1941, something he denied, but his role, if any, in espionage remains unclear.
The Truman Doctorine
A presidential message to Congress in March 1947 proposed economic and military aid to countries threatened by a Communist takeover.
In February 1947, Britain informed the United States that it could not longer afford to provide aid to Greece and Turkey. The situation seemed urgent. The Greek monarchy was threatened by guerrilla warfare, and the Soviet Union was seeking to control the Dardenelles in Turkey, a water route to the Mediterranean. The U.S. government feared that the loss of Greece and Turkey to communism would open Western Europe and Africa to Soviet influence. The U.S government also worried that if the Soviet Union gained control over the Eastern Mediterranean, it could stop the flow of Middle Eastern oil.
President Truman responded decisively. He asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey. This was an unprecedented amount of foreign aid during peacetime. He also declared that it was the policy of the United States "to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
Truman's overarching message described two ways of life that were engaged in a life-or-death struggle, one free and the other totalitarian. The United States would help free people to maintain their free institutions and their territorial integrity against movements that sought to impose totalitarian regimes.
The Truman Doctrine committed the United States to providing aid to countries resisting communist aggression or subversion and provided the first step toward what would become known as the Containment Policy.
In February 1947, Britain informed the United States that it could not longer afford to provide aid to Greece and Turkey. The situation seemed urgent. The Greek monarchy was threatened by guerrilla warfare, and the Soviet Union was seeking to control the Dardenelles in Turkey, a water route to the Mediterranean. The U.S. government feared that the loss of Greece and Turkey to communism would open Western Europe and Africa to Soviet influence. The U.S government also worried that if the Soviet Union gained control over the Eastern Mediterranean, it could stop the flow of Middle Eastern oil.
President Truman responded decisively. He asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey. This was an unprecedented amount of foreign aid during peacetime. He also declared that it was the policy of the United States "to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
Truman's overarching message described two ways of life that were engaged in a life-or-death struggle, one free and the other totalitarian. The United States would help free people to maintain their free institutions and their territorial integrity against movements that sought to impose totalitarian regimes.
The Truman Doctrine committed the United States to providing aid to countries resisting communist aggression or subversion and provided the first step toward what would become known as the Containment Policy.
The Cold War
Period: 1950s
In February 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill expressed his belief that world peace was nearer the grasp of statesmen than at any time in history. "It would be a great tragedy," he said, "if they, through inertia or carelessness, let it slip from their grasp. History would never forgive them if it did."
Peace did slip through their grasp. World War II was followed by a Cold War that pitted the United States and its Allies against the Soviet Union and its supporters. It was called a Cold War, but it would flare into violence in Korea and Vietnam and in many smaller conflicts. The period from 1946 to 1991 was punctuated by a series of East-West confrontations over Germany, Poland, Greece, Czechoslovakia, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, and many other hot spots.
The Origins of the Cold War
In March 1946, Winston Churchill announced that "an iron curtain has descended across" Europe. On one side was the Communist bloc; on the other side were non-Communist nations.
One source of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union was the fate of Eastern Europe. The United States was committed to free and democratic elections in Eastern Europe, while the Soviet Union wanted a buffer zone of friendly countries in Eastern Europe to protect it from future attacks from the West.
Even before World War II ended, the Soviet Union had annexed the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and parts of Czechoslovakia, Finland, Poland, and Romania. Albania established a Communist government in 1944, and Yugoslavia formed one in 1945. In 1946, the Soviet Union organized Communist governments in Bulgaria and Romania, and in Hungary and Poland in 1947. Communists took over Czechoslovakia in a coup d'etat in 1948.
Another source of East-West tension was control of nuclear weapons. In 1946, the Soviet Union rejected a U.S. proposal for an international agency to control nuclear energy production and research. The Soviets were convinced that the United States was trying to preserve its monopoly on nuclear weapons.
A third source of conflict was post-war economic development assistance. The United States refused a Soviet request for massive reconstruction loans. In response, the Soviets called for substantial reparations from Germany.
In February 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill expressed his belief that world peace was nearer the grasp of statesmen than at any time in history. "It would be a great tragedy," he said, "if they, through inertia or carelessness, let it slip from their grasp. History would never forgive them if it did."
Peace did slip through their grasp. World War II was followed by a Cold War that pitted the United States and its Allies against the Soviet Union and its supporters. It was called a Cold War, but it would flare into violence in Korea and Vietnam and in many smaller conflicts. The period from 1946 to 1991 was punctuated by a series of East-West confrontations over Germany, Poland, Greece, Czechoslovakia, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, and many other hot spots.
The Origins of the Cold War
In March 1946, Winston Churchill announced that "an iron curtain has descended across" Europe. On one side was the Communist bloc; on the other side were non-Communist nations.
One source of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union was the fate of Eastern Europe. The United States was committed to free and democratic elections in Eastern Europe, while the Soviet Union wanted a buffer zone of friendly countries in Eastern Europe to protect it from future attacks from the West.
Even before World War II ended, the Soviet Union had annexed the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and parts of Czechoslovakia, Finland, Poland, and Romania. Albania established a Communist government in 1944, and Yugoslavia formed one in 1945. In 1946, the Soviet Union organized Communist governments in Bulgaria and Romania, and in Hungary and Poland in 1947. Communists took over Czechoslovakia in a coup d'etat in 1948.
Another source of East-West tension was control of nuclear weapons. In 1946, the Soviet Union rejected a U.S. proposal for an international agency to control nuclear energy production and research. The Soviets were convinced that the United States was trying to preserve its monopoly on nuclear weapons.
A third source of conflict was post-war economic development assistance. The United States refused a Soviet request for massive reconstruction loans. In response, the Soviets called for substantial reparations from Germany.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)