Cold War DBQ

World War II dramatically changed the United States turning it from an isolationist nation to a superpower, ready to lead the world. However, the war also affected the internal landscape of the country; as tensions increased between the United States and the Soviet Union, so did tensions between democracy and communism. During the 1940s and 1950s, a hysteric fear of communism swept the United States, as many Americans felt that communism was on a path of total take over, threatening the existence of the United States. Fear of the threat of communism filled the United States following World War II due to the planting of the roots of communist fears before the end of the war, the spread of communism throughout the world, and propaganda and internal

The United States was easily taken advantage of in a manner that could have been detrimental if on a wider scale. Containment was labeled as an example of “the bankruptcy of American policy” due to this reason as well as its ineffable consequences (Document A). One seeks support from their allies during taxing times, and not once did the United States receive aid from other nations while fighting merciless battles for people in which they had no previous association. The American people had become neglected as government attention was diverted off of American soil for an unfair amount of time. Overall, other nations’ lack of concern towards increased communism nations implicitly revealed the pointlessness of containing dictatorships in lands where the people possessed no motivation whatsoever to defend

A War of Ideas: Capitalism V.S. Communism With tension rising in Berlin, Germany, between Capitalism and Communism, a war of hostility broke out: the Cold War. The Cold War was a war between the western democracy capitalist United States and the totalitarian communist Soviet Union. These two superpowers held the fate of the world in their hands. Tension rose to an unbearable level during the Cold War, almost entering into World War III.

The Cold War was a war full of politics and beliefs along with brutal fighting. Communism was seen as a major threat to the United States. The Soviet Union was trying to, at the time, influence other countries of its communist beliefs in hopes of gaining allies and resources. The Soviets expanded after WWII and the Americans feared this, adding tense to their “alliance.” The Soviet Union’s main targets were Europe but also to gain global exposure and power as well.

“In 1994, the Soviets tested an atom bomb of their own.” (History.com Staff, "Cold War History"). This act caused President Truman to spend more money on the army and defense of the United States and panic and hysteria spread to the minds of the people of our country. “...and the world lived under the threat of thermonuclear war for the first time.” (History.com Staff, "Soviets explode atomic bomb").

After the Second World War, America and the Soviet Union were involved in a political war, although no actual combat took place, there was always impending war hanging over the Americans and Soviets. The growing power within the Soviet Union stirred both government and citizen awareness of the increasing threat to the cultural well-being of the United States. When reviewing the powers of the Soviet Union George Kennan stated, “The Soviet Union is a political force committed to the belief that there is no way to get along with the United States, and they believe it is desirable and necessary that the internal harmony of our society be disrupted…” (Kennan Document 1). The Soviets wanted to destroy the balance of the United States government

Between the years of 1947 and 1991 the USSR and the United States remained in a long period of tension known as The Cold War. This war was a state of political and economical in proxy wars such as the space race and the arms race the lead to the weakening of American society and laws. Marking the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed due to their economic failure and their approach to the space race. As the Cold War intensified there was a significant increase in infrastructures and military, a shift in education, and there was an overall fear in society. Education in the United States began to focus on science instead of general education in an attempt to try and win the “space race” against the Soviet Union.

McCarthyism created tension between Americans due to paranoia, patriotic influence, and greed. Clearly, McCarthyism influenced and allowed paranoia to settle itself within the American mindset. McCarthyism was the one key factor in revealing the Communist influence on American soil, and the detonation of the atomic bomb in Soviet Russia caused Americans to begin falsely

Could you imagine living in a time of constant fear of nuclear war? For many people living today, this was once a daily reality. From 1945 to 1991, the two world superpowers, the United States and the USSR clashed in a series of ideological political battles that completely changed and defined the post-WWII world. This was known as the Cold War. After founding and developing Marxist ideologies over two world wars, the USSR naturally wanted to spread communism across the world.

The U.S. formed the House of Un-American Activities, which checked just about every foreign person for them being a spy. This action made every foreigner a suspect. On top of that the HUAC would attack anyone in their way and claim it was justified because they feared the Communists invading their nation. So domestic wise the

he first chapter of The Cold War: A New History begins by comparing the United States to the U.S.S.R. and talking about the similarities between the two. It also talks about Communism and how Marx deemed it necessary in order to build up the economy. Lenin tried to implement Communism in Russia. They were not quite ready for that kind of system, so Stalin tried to modernize the economy. The U.S.S.R. had more casualties in World War II, but things were not necessarily looking great in America either.

Some historians believe the Cold War was inevitable because of the hostilities from both America and the Soviet Union after World War II. America believed that the USSR was an expansionist country trying to spread an evil, communistic idea throughout the world. Although the countries never directly fought against each other, as they only fought in proxy wars, there was still extreme conflict. The United States responded to the Soviets actions in Germany, Europe, and their national actions. These responses were justifiable, or so many Americans at the time believed.

The Red Scare was intimidating and shocking and Americans did not want that to spread by nativism to take over the U.S (Doc 1). Bolshevism was thought to drag down civilization in a mess caused by WWI (Doc 7). Bolsheviks were causing negativity in America, caused strikes and negatively influenced the social ideas of Americans (Doc 8). The spread of communism caused Americans to come together and show what kind of nation they really are. Patriotism and nationalism arose to counter other beliefs and immigrant biases.

After the end of the Second World War in 1945 another war, the Cold War, emerged. The Cold War was a power struggle between communism and capitalism. Many capitalist Americans were terrified of Communists and the chance of being hurled into a nuclear war. The American fear of communism, “the red scare”, caused many citizens to become paranoid.

People lived in constant anxiety of America falling to Communist control. The fear of infiltration rose when Mao Zedong led Communists to take control of China as well as the Soviets detonating the atomic bomb. This caused the anxiety and fear to increase because even some American Scientists didn’t believe that the Soviets had the expertise to do so. American citizens began to believe that communist spies had been able to steal American technology. The detonation of the bomb started drills throughout America.