After the devastation of World War II, the entire world anticipated and feared another outbreak of war as tensions increased between two powerful nations, one being the United States, and the other being the Soviet Union. The two countries entered a state of hostility, known as the Cold War, where a quiet battle was fought using fear, propaganda, and threats. For about 45 years, nations across the globe waited as the two major countries continued their rivalry through provocation and rising tensions. The United States, a democratic government, is run by its people and is a direct contrast to the communist government run by the Soviet Union.
Communism, unlike democracy, is a policy where the government owns and controls all property and natural resources. These contrasting ways of life further deepen the rift between the two nations, or superpowers, the main, globally influential countries that influence other nations around them either economically or socially. At the end of WWII, the U. S. decided to bomb Japan twice using nuclear weaponry in hopes to immediately end the war. With the release of this new type of technology, international relations with the U. S. began to collapse and the Soviet Union decided to develop their own nuclear weaponry.
As the rivalry between the superpowers continued to intensify, the threat of another upcoming war also heightened. As more political and economic advancements were made by these superpowers with differing ideologies, the competition for global dominance escalated and tensions only increased as the Cold War eventually ensued. Both the U. S. and the Soviet Union had different goals by the end of World War II, leading both superpowers to make economic and political advancements that further aggravated tensions.
By the end of World War II, allied countries began attending summit iplomacy conferences, where heads of state negotiate face to face. In the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, the Allied powers discussed the splitting of Germany and Berlin, where different forms of government were enforced. With this decision, the U. S. and the Soviet Union began influencing other nations politically. Soon, these influences also became economical. As this global influence was widespread for the Soviet Union, the U. S. decided to take action. At the very start of the Cold War, U. S. President Truman made a speech, announcing the U. S. lan entitled the Truman Doctrine that provided political, military, and economic aid used to counter Soviet expansion, a policy called containment. The U. S. believed that by stopping the spread of Soviet influence, communist governments would eventually fail.
Truman wanted to aid countries to stop the communists who “reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died” (Doc 2). Following the Truman Doctrine, the U. S. Secretary of State, George Marshall, announced his plan for European recovery with economic aid from the U. S. He proposed to provide Europe with 13 billion dollars, in order “to restore normal economic health to the world” and promote “political stability and peace” (Document 3). While this did slow the spread of communism to Western Europe, the tensions between the U. S. and the Soviet Union are not spared as they are aggravated and only worsen with the U. S. attempts to maint n peace. Tensions only continued to increase as the U. S. and Soviet Union competed against each other for global dominance. At the end of World War II, the U. S. recognized the need for the usage of nuclear weaponry.
The technology was developed in secret, a confidential program called the Manhattan Project, and resulted in the droppings of the two nuclear bombs on Japan. With this new technological discovery, the Soviet Union started to build up their nuclear weapons, and the nuclear arms race began. The MAD, or mutually assured destruction, was a policy that stated that any usage of nuclear arms would result in the annihilation of both attacker and defender. This fear kept the superpowers tense, resulting in more competition between the rivaling countries as they tried to beat the other.
The superpowers did not only compete against each other in the nuclear arms race, but also had a space race, and the battle of technology continued. Proxy wars, which were wars that occurred in places that were influenced by superpowers, were initiated, and the people’s fears grew. The two countries were trying to have the most influence across the globe, fighting and controlling all of Europe until “an iron curtain had descended across the continent” (Document 1).
Just as Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, describes, the continent is split in half, with the democratic, U. S. influenced West fighting the communist, Soviet-influenced East, leading to the formation of blocs, or alliances. The West formed the NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the East formed the Warsaw Pact (Document 5). In this global, geographic split, the two superpowers are put under pressure, as they awaited for the other to take action. The two ideologies, communism and democracy, are very different, causing many tensions to rise between superpowers as fear started to seize all of Europe. As described before, democracy is a government run by its people.
Economically, democracy relies on the concept of capitalism, the idea that equal opportunity is given to all and competition is vital. Politically, individualism is supported and the government fights for its people. However, communism is a stark contrast to democracy, with the government controlling almost everything that was once privately owned. Communism believes in an equal outcome for the people, and everything is shared equally. Politically, there is a centralized government, where uniformity is pursued. In this case, the people protect the government for the greater good.
Communism is easily dominated by totalitarian dictatorships, something that democracy directly opposes. In a Soviet perspective of the U. S. ‘s actions, it is described that the U. S. covers their “claims of one power for world domination” by enforcing propaganda, and hiding their wants “to secure a dominant position in the capitalist world” (Document 6). The Soviet Union has different values in their communist government, and as a result, share different views than the American people. Propaganda, information created by the government to promote a biased political view, shows this difference.
In this document, it is clear that the Soviets do not see the U. S. in the same light as Americans do. As fear and stubbornness continue to intensify, “irresponsible statements” and “deepening suspicions” start to form between the two superpowers, as they fight for dominance and power (Document 7). The opposing ideologies get in the way of the other for global domination, and the rift only grows as these differences are acknowledged by the people. These two ideologies that are complete opposites adds to the intensity as perspectives and propaganda influence the way the public sees these opposing governments.
The tensions that were continuously rising at the time only seemed to heighten even more as time passed. When the Cold War broke out, that period of tense relations is further aggravated, setting up the framework of international relations today. The Soviet Union turns into a democratic state after the death of Joseph Stalin, totalitarian dictator, and the country becomes Russia once again. Despite the change in government, the distaste that Russia has for the United States is very clear. This strained relationship that can be seen today is a result of this intensifying clash of ideologies in a fight for global dominance.
