2000 Periodization Paper

After World War II, only two world superpowers remained: the United States of America and the Soviet Union. The contradictory political regimes of the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union were believed to be mutually exclusive which increased bitterness between them. Inevitably, the apparent tension between the two superpowers led to the Cold War which lasted about 45 years. It was war without bloodshed or battle, instead it was a metaphorical war where the U.S and the Soviet Union increased their weapons and fought for political influence, one always wanting to excel or maintain within the range of the other. The United States’ desperate need to contain the communist political ideology from spreading any further and meet the Soviet Union’s increased development of nuclear weapons led to the their involvement in the Cold War. The impact the Cold War had on life during the 1950’s and 1960’s can be measured through the creation of the House Un-American

During the Cold War the powers of the Eastern and Western Bloc were states of tension after World War II. The war between the United States and the Soviet Union had lasted about half of the second century where there were many stages to finish this war. There are several documents and speeches that help explain and support what had occurred during the Cold War. It had brought heightened tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster. The Cold War brought many effect around the world such as economic depression, divisions, and fear.

At the end of the Second World War two major issues were brought to attention. The first was dealing with the destruction of the global catastrophe. The second issue involved the shape of the new world and what political alliances were to be made. And although the U.S. and Russia were “allies” during the war the second issue was the foremost cause of the contention between the world’s two political/economic systems, Capitalism and Communism. The Cold War was basically an ideological catch-22

The forty-five years from the dropping of the atom bombs to the end of the Soviet Union, can be seen as the era of the new conflict between two major states: United States of America (USA) and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). According to Hobsbawm, ‘cold war’ was the constant confrontation of the two super powers which emerged from the Second World War. At that time the entire generation was under constant fear of global nuclear battles. It was widely believed that it could break out at any moment. (Hobsbawm, 1994) The consequences of the ‘power vacuum’ in central Europe, created by the defeat of Germany, gave rise to these two super powers (Dunbabin, 1994). The world was divided into

The recession of 2008 is also called the ‘Great Recession’, said to have begun in December 2007, and took a turn for the worse in September 2008, and it was a severe economic problem expanded globally. This recession affected the world economy, and is said to have been the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression. The decline in the Dow Jones this time was -53.8%. Since the official start of the recession in December 2007, and through June 2010 there have been about 2.3 million homes foreclosed in the United States. In 2012, the state with the most foreclosures in January alone was California, with 51,584 houses being repossessed. Unemployment during this collapse was 8.5%, and continued to increase to about 10% as of 2010. People’s reaction to this recession was a huge decrease in spending and borrowing from banks, but an increase in saving.

The Cold War peaked the interest of the entire globe. Each threat, policy and action that took place had ramifications far more reaching then ever imaginable. The world sat on edge because it feared its own destruction, after the introduction of nuclear warfare at the close of World War II, another World War could result in the Earth’s demise. This fear ran through the hearts and minds of citizens of both the United States and the Soviet Union, but it is the citizens elsewhere that had to pay the consequences for these fears. The “race” to become the premier superpower of the world between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. did not always remain as subsided as many like to believe. Many regions of the world were held accountable

Historians argue that the 1917 Russian Revolution represents a major turning point in world history. Two specific pieces of evidence that support this argument is that the Revolution led to the spread of communism with the formation of the USSR and the emergence of Russia as a world power. Both of the pieces support the argument. The Revolution led to the formation of the USSR, otherwise known as the world’s first nation to base its government on the teachings and writings of Karl Marx. This event would not only be groundbreaking for Russia, but the entire globe. The formation of a communist nation meant a new battle was about to start -- the battle between communism and capitalism. The formation of the USSR would directly lead to the Cold

The Great Ressiosn crisis led to an increase in the home mortgage foreclosures worldwide and caused millions of people to lose their money, their jobs and their homes. It is said to be caused by the result of the subprime mortgage crisis—and in Western Europe. Some of the after effects of the Great Ressesion is the  International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described a “global recession” as a decline in GDP . The graph below shows U.S. residential and non-residential investment that fell because of the GDP during the

During its peak, the Soviet Union was able to influence many other nations across the world. Its position as the global communist superpower gave it the capacity and opportunity to affect the lives of the people within their country and without. The fall of the economy created hard times for the citizens of the Soviet Union and its satellites, leading to unrest and unhappiness, typically blamed on the government. This unrest encouraged the people of the satellites to rebel against their communist leaders, thus, weakening the Soviet power and reputation. Lastly, with disputes erupting over the globe, the way the Soviet leaders handled their foreign relations greatly affected the way their own people and the people of the world viewed communism

The cold war separated the world into two nuclear armed camps and one unbiased one, it kept up the status quo that existed in Germany, and it made the way of new nation states, th rise of new states intice the intention of the two poweres and super rivalry was played out in ordwer to keep and maintain circle of interest. With end of bipolarity a time of peace and solidity and equalization of power has ended, and left the US the main authority of

After the end of World War II, Europe was in ruins. Between bomb damage, economic downturn, and natural disasters such as droughts and blizzards it seemed nearly impossible to restore Europe to its prior greatness. America facilitated the recovery of Europe with military and financial aid and helped prevent the spread of communism, which is proven to overtake even the strongest countries in times of distress. This aid crushed the Soviet dream of a communist Europe, which set off the Cold War. Over the next 45 years, the United States and the Soviet Union would resemble two angry women, avoiding each other at all costs and exploding into a furious rage at the first sight of the other. Many events contributed to and were derived from the Cold War such as the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, the Civil Rights movement, the Space Race, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Assassination, and the hippie movement. Some of the most important questions that could be asked of these events are these: of what significance were they to the Cold War and where would the world be today if they had never happened? Lessons learned from the past affect everything about the future, and without these events, America, and even the world, would not be where it is today.

The early 2000s recession was a decline in economic activity which mainly occurred in developed countries. The decline affect the European Union throughout 2000 and 2001 and the United States during 2002 and 2003. The UK, Canada and Australia avoided the decline, while Russia, a nation that did not experience affluence throughout the 1990s, in fact began to recover from said situation Japan's 1990s recession sustained. This recession was predicted by economists, because the boom of the 1990s (accompanied by both low inflation and low employment) slowed in a few parts of East Asia throughout the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The recession in manufacturing countries wasn't as momentous as either of the two preceding worldwide recessions. Some economists in the United States object to characterize it as a recession since there were no two successive quarters of pessimistic growth. After the comparatively placid

The Global Financial Crisis, also known as The Great Recession, broke out in the United States of America in the middle of 2007 and continued on until 2008. There were many factors that contributed to the cause of The Global Financial Crisis and many effects that emerged, because the impact it had on the financial system. The Global Financial Crisis started because of house market crash in 2007. There were many factors that contributed to the housing market crash in 2007. These factors included: subprime mortgages, the housing bubble, and government policies and regulations. The factors were a result of poor financial investments and high risk gambling, which slumped down interest rates and price of many assets. Government policies and regulations were made in order to attempt to solve the crises that emerged; instead the government policies made backfired and escalated the problem even further.

It is our belief that the Cold War, in fact, represented the apex of a bipolar stalemate and could have existed even in the absence of an ideological hinge. The threshold of inevitability should, therefore, be seen as that date on which the power of the United States and Soviet Union achieved equilibrium, while the relative power of the rest of the world’s major states faded into shadow.

The end of the cold war signified a new era of history that has changed the entire world. The face of Europe and Asia has changed dramatically. Vast changes have been felt socially, politically, and especially economically. Also the effect the cold war had on foreign policy was paramount. The effect of these changes is not only felt across the ocean but can be felt here in America. The goal of this paper is to define what the cold war specifically was, and reflect upon the various choices throughout the world as a result of the end of the cold war.