The Cold War, lasting from 1945-1991, was a global conflict that resulted due to problems conflicting ideologies and mutual distrust between the Soviet Union and the United Sates. Stalin wanted to spread communism in Eastern Europe and create alliances while Roosevelt and Churchill rejected his views. Though it began with a couple of disagreements, it turned into a war that would define the 20th century. Many countries crossed paths in disputes and rebellions. Each was motivated by national interests and believed in imposing its policies on others.
As the war dragged on, new conflicts arose. Stalin sent the Red Army to help local Communists destroy opposing parties in Eastern Europe. The United States responded with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan to strengthen democratic governments. The existence of the atomic bomb was a constant threat between the two countries. In 1948, Soviet troops blocked railroad and highway access to into Western Berlin. For more than a year, the Western Powers delivered supplies by cargo planes. As tensions grew, the Soviet Union and the United States formed military alliances to ensure national security; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization consisted of the U.S., Canada, and ten other countries while the Warsaw Pact consisted of the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries that would form what was known as the “Iron Curtain.”
The war eventually spread to Southeast Asia, Latin America, and European colonies in Africa. European colonies in Africa took advantage of the feud between the U.S. and the Soviet Union; they demanded independence and sought support from the one the powers. Soviets helped Fidel Castro to take over Cuba. U.S. President John F. Kennedy supported Cuban exiles in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. In 1962, the Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. In Southeast Asia, the Soviet Union and the United Sates fought in the Vietnam and Korean War on opposing sides supporting different governments.
During the war, many rebellions took place. Many of the Eastern European countries were unhappy with Soviet Policies and in Vietnam the Vietnamese wanted to put an end to foreign influence. Uprisings against the Soviet Union occurred in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Afghanistan. Some were successful and some were not. The one in Hungary and Czechoslovakia were brutally crushed while the Afghan resistance forced the Soviets to withdraw their troops. The Northern Vietnamese forces waged guerillas wars; In 1968, guerilla forced came out of the jungles and attacked U.S. and Southern Vietnamese troops on Tet, the New Year.
Differences in ideologies and mutual distrust were the main causes of the war. The West and the Soviet Union were ruled by two very different forms of government. The United States was a democracy where people had a capitalist economy, elected representatives, and political leadership valued freedom and prosperity. The Soviet Union, China, and other countries that clung to hard-line communism had a command economy; political decisions were made by the Communist Party, and political leadership valued obedience, discipline, and economic security. These contrasting systems greatly influenced many regions; The United States and the Western powers experienced booms in their market economy. In China, Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution were complete failures resulting in the death of millions due to famine and killings by the Red Guard. The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia slaughtered, worked to death, and starved a third of the population. Hundreds of thousands fled under harsh communist rule in Vietnam. The Soviet Union’s economy halted and was unable to support the race of arms. As communism declined, the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991. The Cold War truly defines the meaning of a revolution.
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