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Cold War Dbq Essay

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After the events of World War II, there was growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1946. This growing tension developed into the Cold War, which would dominate American foreign policy. Foreign policy changed within the beginning years of the Cold War, as both the US and Soviet Union wanted to assert their power without creating international conflict and devastation.

The beginning of the Cold War resulted in the alliance of the Allied Powers breaking down, as the Soviet Union displayed aggressive behavior towards facing issues during World War II. This aggressive behavior of the Soviets caused the Allies to be apprehensive in attending matters with the USSR. Additionally, Truman had made mistakes on …show more content…

The US advocated for capitalism and democracy, as they helped other smaller countries, such as Japan and Puerto Rico, emplaced these policies into their government systems. The Soviet Union enforced their ideals of communism and totalitarianism onto the other countries of their control, such as eastern Germany, Hungary, and Austria. Nikita Khrushchev stated, “[allies] desire to force their will on other countries by economic and political pressure, [by] threats and military provocation prevailed” (Doc 5). He stated that the US, Britain, and France were forcing capitalism onto the smaller countries of western Europe. Additionally, the USSR viewed that these countries were encircling them with capitalism, as perceived in the map in Document 6. This influence that both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to establish within weaker European countries caused further tensions in the Cold …show more content…

In an article by George Kennan, he stated that we “must continue to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner in the political arena” (Doc 2). He continued, implying the impossibility of peaceful coexistence with the USSR (Doc 2). This impossibility of peaceful coexistence hinted at the eventual conflict that would come in the future. The United States wanted to charter against the Soviets. In the creation of NATO, they drew up a treaty stating, “The parties to this Treaty...are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their people, founded on the principle of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law” (Doc 3). The Allied countries had used ideas from their faults of World War II with Germany. They learned to never appease an aggressive country, as it would lead to further aggressiveness. In response to NATO, the Soviet Union drew up The Warsaw Pact, and forced it upon the Allies. This showed the taking of sides, but if either side would make a move, war will break out (Doc 4). In relation to future events, this formation of the pact instigated further tension as both countries felt the need to assert their

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