The Cold War (1947-1991)
Unfinished business between the U.S. and the Soviets was left at the end of WWII. The two superpowers shared different ideologies. The U.S. represented capitalism & democracy, while the Soviet Union represented communism.
Many claim the Cold War started in 1917 when the Bolshevik Revolution occurred. The Bolsheviks promised people no war, food and prosperity because they believed all war was imperialistic. They declared themselves as “the dictatorship of a proletariat”. After this event the Soviets claimed that communism and capitalism were mutually exclusive. Others claim the Cold War started at the end of World War Two in 1945, when there were two superpowers left and both had competing ideological systems that they wanted to expand in order to become the singular world power. The powers did not want to use military force due to the threat of mutually assured destruction of nuclear weapons and needed to explore new ways to show dominance with the use of policies and technology.
Many claim the Cold War started in 1917 when the Bolshevik Revolution occurred. The Bolsheviks promised people no war, food and prosperity because they believed all war was imperialistic. They declared themselves as “the dictatorship of a proletariat”. After this event the Soviets claimed that communism and capitalism were mutually exclusive. Others claim the Cold War started at the end of World War Two in 1945, when there were two superpowers left and both had competing ideological systems that they wanted to expand in order to become the singular world power. The powers did not want to use military force due to the threat of mutually assured destruction of nuclear weapons and needed to explore new ways to show dominance with the use of policies and technology.
Communism
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“We have to get tough with the Russians. They don’t know how to behave. They are like bulls in a china shop. They are only 25 years old. We are over 100 and the British are centuries older. We have got to teach them how to behave.”
- US President, Harry Truman (1945) “America has been in existence for 150 years and this is the level she has reached. We have existed not quite 42 years and in another seven years we will be on the same level as America. When we catch you up, in passing you by, we will wave to you.” - USSR Premier, Nikita Khrushchev (1959) |
"The fear of communism in the United States was a manifestation of political anxiety over the infiltration of international influences, namely tied to Soviet Russia, during the 20th century. The philosophical basis of this fear was based on the significant differences between capitalism and communism as economic systems."
- Ethan Lazuk, Demand Media |
The fear of Communism was also driven by the Red Scare which was the potential fear and rise of Communism. After the Bolshevik Revolution the first Red Scare happened in 1919 when authorities discovered a plan for mailing 36 bombs to prominent members of the US political party. The second Red Scare occurred in the McCarthy era (1939-1945). Many people were thought to be communists and many people suffered punishments in trial and destroyed many careers. Laws then declared this unconstitutional and dismissed punishments .
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U.S. Policy towards Communism
In 1947, diplomat George F. Kennan wrote an article explaining his opinions and views of the Soviets, which shaped the policy of the United States, it convinced President Harry Truman that Communism was a threat to the United States. Kennan called for a strategy of containment of soviet expansionism. As he writes in his 1947 article, "The Sources of Soviet Conduct":
"The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies ... Soviet pressure against the free institutions of the Western world is something that can be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points..." |
While outright conflict was not what the Soviets had in mind they were vigilant for the use of other foreign policy tools. This forced the United States to exert their superiority in non-military techniques, such as technological superiority in space.
America's Reaction To Sputnik (1957)
Sputnik 1 launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, which only broadcasted radio pulses, shocked America. Many thought that with this advancement of technology the Soviets could reach powerful ballistic missiles to the U.S. Sputnik had created the view of “American weakness, complacency, and a "missile gap," which led to bitter accusations, resignations of key military figures…... National insecurity, wounded national pride, infighting, political grandstanding, clandestine plots, and ruthless media frenzy were but a few of the things the United States had to overcome to bounce back from the blow dealt to the nation by Sputnik.” - Paul Dickson, Author of Sputnik: The Shock of the Century