Introduction
The Cold War came as a consequence of conflict between capitalist and communist communities. Severe strife between non-communist and communist countries caused the Cold War. People named the war “Cold War” simply because the battle never caused hot or armed violence. During the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into four regions: dominated by America, France, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Berlin was also divided into four zones. Lack of harmony in the unity of Germany marked the beginning of the Cold War. Many conflicts led to the Cold War. For example, when America intended to bombard Japan, the USSR got disappointed because the United States had secretly generated bomb missiles. Moreover, Britain‘s Atlee, Truman and Churchill became annoyed when Stalin signed a boundary accord (treaty) with Poland. This paper examined origin and course of the Cold War from its beginning.
Two Dominant Forces
Two powerful coalitions got established due to consequences of the Second World War. Capitalist democracy and the United States formed the first coalition, while Communism and the Soviet Union held the other coalition. Whilst the two powers did not directly battle, they caused ideological, economic, and military rivalry that prevailed during the twentieth century. The starting point of the Cold War originated from the Russian Revolution (1917) that generated Soviet Russia. The establishment of Comintern, a society devoted to promote the progress of communism, brought fear and mistrust between America and Russia.
In 1948, Russia ruled Romania, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary. The American associates felt disappointed because fair election pledged by Stalin during Yalta Conference was never realized. American affiliates also got annoyed due to the use of new international strategy of containment that promoted communism in regions, where communism already influenced. The Truman principle, during 1949, claimed that the United States would support non-communist nations in order to oppose communist involvement. The Marshal strategy focused to provide enormous quantity of the American financial support to non-communist nations in order to rebuild themselves. Impacts of the Second World War affected developing countries.
The western affiliates incorporated West Germany to establish (GFR) German Federal Republic; nevertheless, USSR responded by creating blockage in Berlin. All basic commodities and other human needs had to be transported through airline to West Berlin. This had being happening till 1949. In addition, the communist influence of Moa Zedong became dominant in China which caused more tension of the Cold War. The strife between capitalism and communism caused the Cold War, contradicting world views of capitalism and communism led to the Cold War. Intransigent attitude between capitalism and communism caused the Cold War. The Soviet Union became worried about its safety after being attacked twice during the twentieth century.
The United States developed and utilized Atomic Bomb to invade Japan in 1945. In the same year, USSR planned to generate Atomic Bomb for its protection. Both the United States and USSR created large arsenal missiles. In 1952, America developed Hydrogen Bomb, and USSR created a similar bomb in 1955. This influenced West Germany to partner with NATO to re-arm itself. Russia reacted by forming an alliance with its neighbor nations, establishing the Warsaw Mutual Defense Pact (WMDP). Further, the Soviet Union used missiles to create Sputnik 1 to revolve around the world. America responded by introducing satellites in space. The two nations endeavored to involve in space race as a way of expressing their technological supremacy.
Berlin Blockade
The construction of Berlin wall in1961 also was the reason of the Cold War. The open boundary between the West and East Berlin allowed European people to run away from the Soviet authority. This caused harmful economic effect in Eastern Europe; Soviet Union felt political embarrassment due to such impact. East Germany used barbed wire to block West Berlin from East Berlin. Later, East Germany built the Berlin Wall to substitute the barbed wire. From1961 to 1981, people made 37,800 victorious escapes across the Berlin Wall from the east to the west.
Cuban Missiles
Cuba realized that America planned to assault her, therefore, requested the Soviet Union to provide military support for her safety. USSR, thus, supported Cuba by giving its materials for making missiles. President Kennedy knew that Cuba planned to launch missile attack in America, thus, advised USSR to withdraw her troops and weapons in Cuba. The United States managed to establish naval blockade. Eventually, USSR withdrew her weapons, however, Cuba criticized the plan. America perceived that the Soviet Union’s development intimidated the developing countries on the Earth. American Congress and President Truman granted $ 500 million meant for generation of technical development projects in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The four projects aimed at strengthening and supporting the developing countries in order to hamper development of communism. America and its allies formed a coalition against the Soviet involvement in promoting its influence. In 1949, America and its partners formed the North Atlantic Accord to fulfill their ambition. The Soviet Union later responded by establishing an opposing treaty called the Warsaw Pact. Nuclear weaponry became rampant because many nations competed for weaponry race.
Vietnam War
The Cold War led to the Vietnam War when the United States opposed the spread of communism in South-East Asia. The Soviet Union supported communist states, in fact, armed the Vietnam civilians to fight against the Americans. The strife in Vietnam originated from impacts of the Second World War. Ho Chi Minh, a leader in Vietnam, became a communist member, hence, promoted communism in the nation. Nevertheless, the United States opposed the development of communist empires in Asia. President Truman ensured that the United States would support governments to revolt against communism during 1954. The American solders involved in the Vietnam War in order to terminate the progress of communism. American troops invaded Vietnam because the United States worried that Vietnam would be overwhelmed by the spread of communism.
Nixon Administration
Nixon Richard became American president during the period of the Vietnam War; he only served for one term (1969-1974). President Nixon introduced several policies during his tenure. However, President Nixon disliked foreign policies; he wished to abolish the American New Deal. President Nixon knew about the tension of the Cold War between Russia and America, yet, he engaged in an open interaction with Russia and China. President Nixon strategized with the Soviet Union to promote space exploration, weaponry race, and multilateral trade. Nevertheless, this contradicted American focus during the Cold War since the United States discouraged any relation with the Soviet Union. American people, therefore, declined to vote for President Richard Nixon in his second term. The Cold War became more intense as superior nations competed for weaponry race. Many people worried about their lives since nuclear attacks became frequent.
Conclusion
The Cold War marked strife between USSR and America with their respective partners. The respective nations expressed the Cold War through industrial advancement, military alliance, technological expansion and innovation of weapons. Involvement in such activities caused anxiety and competition among warring coalitions. The Cold War contributed to many conflicts and development of nuclear arms and caused many international crises.