The Cold War
The conflict in ideologies between capitalism and communism resulted in one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The belief that freedom and democracy would die under communist rule caused the United States to start a conflict that would last for decades. The decisions made by the United States in W.W.II caused tensions to rise between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. Fear of Communism in capitalist nations, caused the United states government to use propaganda to raise Cold War anxieties. Furthermore, the American media influenced the attitudes of Americans, making a hatred of communism spread though the nation. Thus, the United States caused the conflict known as the Cold War, through its political policy and propaganda. The political relations going on in Europe during and directly after World War II had an enormous effect on laying the foundation for the Cold War. War time conferences such as Yalta and Terhran harshened the relationship between the communists! and the capitalists. At the end of W.W.II American policy towards the Soviets changed drastically. The change in president in 1945 caused relations with Russia to worsen. Furthermore, other political contributions to the Cold War entailed the Truman Doctr
ed conviction. This caused the anti-Communist attitude in the United States to grow tremendously. Thus, the American government used a federal organization to further the public's hatred of communism. Next an American Senator named Joseph R. McCarthy would lead a series of trials against communists in the United States.(19) Most of the people that Macarthy accused of being communist reached conviction. This happened despite the fact that many of the accused were not in fact communists.(20) This situation has compares to the Salem Witch trials; notably like the witch trial the main outcome of the Macarthy trial srtuck fear into American public. Thus, the McCarthy trial increased anti-Communist hatred in the US and scared anyone out of committing to communist party for fear of their life. Therefore, the McCarthy trials acted as form of US propaganda, which gathered American support for the Cold War against the Soviets. Moreover, with the publication of George Orwell's book 1984,! " we must have the courage to proceed quickly with the establishment of a government for western Germany...42 million Germans in the British and American zones represent today the strongest outpost against Communist penetration that exists anywhere."(7) At this response Truman changed his attitude toward the Soviets with the words, " there isn't any difference between the totalitarian Russian government and the Hitler government."(8) Furthermore, America decided to keep Stalin out of the loop about the Manhattan project, which furthered distrust, because Stalin learn about the bomb through espionage. Truman's change in attitude toward Stalin, from that of FDR's negotiation with "Uncle Joe" to one committed to stopping the Soviet cause, led to the creation of a new American anti-Soviet political policy. The Truman Doctrine, the name given to the policy established by Truman, would soon arise in American foreign policy. This Truman Doctrine came out of a speech the Truman gave ! anti-communist propaganda increased. This book showed the United States under a communist dictatorship. Thus, as propaganda this book increased the general anticommunist attitude of the American public.(20) Moreover, Hollywood began to produce anti-Communist films such as The Red Menace, which increased a fear of communism in the United States.(21) Thus, the actions of the American government, journalist, and media increased the general anti-Communist support for the Cold War. The American media also contributed to the Cold War propaganda in and out of the United States. American jo
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cold War, Soviet Union, Salem Witch, Marshall Secretary, Marshall Plan, Author Vandenburg, United American, WWII Soviets, cold war, British American, Alger Hiss, soviet union, american public, caused cold, support cold war, caused cold war, support cold, contributed cold war, political decisions, decisions united, political actions, contributed cold, truman doctrine, political decisions united, united caused conflict,
Approximate Word count = 1720
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
