Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Origins of the Cold War
I think that Soviet and U.S. tensions developed as a result of the tensions prior to the first world war. American mistrust developed during World War I because of the Soviet Union’s premature departure, leaving the Western Allies alone against the Central Powers. These tensions were unresolved entering World War II. The main goal of the Soviets was to defend against a strengthened German attack, and to do this they aligned with the United States and the Allies. These differing ideological nations were able to be unified against a common enemy. At the end of the war with Germany defeated, the differences between these two emerging world powers were evident. Each had different economic goals, as the United States left the war not severely affected economically but the Soviet Union needed to rebuild their economy. The US had the goal of stopping communism, which clashed with the Soviet goal of spreading communism. The introduction of nuclear weapons further fueled the fire between the two. The Cold War rose out of the unresolved issues and effects of the first two world wars, and was further escalated by the arms race and technological need to be number one. Without a common threat, the two nations were unable to work together.
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I agree with Brianna, Cold War tensions originated before World War I with the Russian Revolution. World War I and II definitely escalated the tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S.. Capitalism vs. Communism also played a part, as did the dropping of the atomic bomb which started the arms race. As Brianna said, unresolved issues and escalated tensions prevented the two powers from getting along.
ReplyDeleteYeah... you guys basically said it all. But to add to it, the U.S.S.R. also didn't want a rebuilt a fascist Germany because Stalin feared that the U.S. would fight against them with Germany as one of its allies. Was this thinking valid? Maybe, but then again Germany was completely destroyed and how would the world stand back and let Germany rebuild itself again? Not likely. So yes, unresolved issues, escalating tensions for military weapons and the U.S.S.R.'s fear of trusting the U.S. and vise-versa led to the start of the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteTensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. started during the World Wars, but those tensions alone were not the only cause of the Cold War. Economics must be considered, as they were the drive behind the like and distaste of communism and capitalism, which most would agree to be major factors in fueling the Cold War. The foundation of powerful countries lies in economics and having a good economy. Both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. needed a strong economy to be successful, it was the way in which their economic ideologies differed that heightened the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above comments; however I have changed my mind slightly since I posted my original comment. I have come to believe that the aforementioned factors, although significant, are rooted in the deep mistrust between the Soviet Union and the United States. It is this mutual distrust that fuels tensions arising out of World War I and II, and heightens the ideological differences of communist vs. capitalist nations. The leaders of the Soviet Union throughout their history, primarily concerned with holding onto their complete and absolute power, saw any sort of differing view as a threat. This was elaborated on in the reading by George Kennan. This feeds into the belief that capitalist nations are conspiring against the communist nations. I think that although there are many important factors that contribute to the outbreak of the Cold War, without the paranoia of the Soviet Union the conflict would not have escalated to such a large scale. Other factors such as economics are more prevalent at certain moments, such as immediately following World War II.
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