Causes of the cold war essay

Causes of the cold war essay

Causes of the Cold War Essay Essay Example. Firstly, one of the direct causes of the Cold War was the Yalta Conference in February , at this point Stalin’s diplomatic position was greatly strengthened by the physical fact that the Red Army occupied most of eastern Europe. In the Yalta conference the Big Three powers were represented by Stalin, Roosevelt and blogger.comted Reading Time: 8 mins One nation tried to reduce the power of other. The competitiveness between the Super Powers led to the Cold War. The main cause of the Cold War is a difficult to expound. The Cold War is the name that was given to the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War Two Essentially, such scholars held the Soviet Union responsible for the onset of the Cold War by undermining the Second World War alliance between East and West, increasing the level of military confrontation between Russia and America, and acting aggressively to promote the imposition and spread of Communism in Europe and elsewhere

Causes of the Cold War Essay: Writing “A” grade on Historical Themes

To people whose lives had long been circumscribed, if not terrified, by Cold War-related events, the remarkable disintegration of the Soviet Union, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, and the reunification of Germany signified the end of one era and the beginning of another.

Any explanations for the demise of the Cold War depended, of course, upon answers to another fundamental question: Why and how did the Cold War begin? The fact that for fifty years histories of the Cold War were written from within that warit has been argued, causes of the cold war essay, made perspective hard to achieve. In the post-Cold-War era, it has been possible for the first time to 'step outside' the object of study itself and view the half-century of confrontation between East and West in a more balanced and rational way than has perhaps been feasible before.

This process of reassessment has been aided by the opening of archives, most dramatically those in the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, that were formerly off-limits to scholars from outside those countries and to causes of the cold war essay of those within them and a parallel, if more limited and less enlightening, release of Cold War information from Western archives.

The result has been a process of revision and reassessment of the Cold War reflecting its closure as 'current affairs' and its admission to the category of 'history'.

Among the most significant areas to be re-examined by historians in this new climate has been the question of the origins of the Cold War itself; as the quote from Thomas Paterson with which this paper begins suggests, the ending of the Cold War naturally led many to turn anew to the question of how it began. Related to that question is the issue of what kept it going over five decades of ceaseless confrontation and tension.

The end of the Cold Causes of the cold war essay has freed scholars from the tendency to reflect the ideological divisions underpinning the confrontation in their own work causes of the cold war essay to seek to attack or to support particular Cold War positions rather than to analyse and understand from a position of impartiality.

The ideological nature of Cold War history itself is reflected in the forms the historiography has taken since the late s. As Thomas T. Hammond noted inthe historiography of the origins of the Cold War passed through three chronologically defined and ideologically distinct phases, which can be called 'traditionalist', 'revisionist', and 'post-revisionist'.

Each reflected the cultural and political attitudes prevailing in the wider Cold War context of the particular era in which it flourished. Essentially, such scholars held the Soviet Union responsible for the onset of the Cold War by undermining the Second World War alliance between East and West, increasing the level of military confrontation between Russia and America, and acting aggressively to promote the imposition and spread of Communism in Europe and elsewhere.

It was thus argued that the United States was correct in its policy of containment towards the U. And the Eastern Bloc, and that the American position was essentially a defensive one forced upon it by the hostility and aggression of the Communist East. The 'traditionalist' position came under increasing assault during the s by 'revisionist' historians who reflected what can be called the ascendant cynicism of the era towards the United States and its values, both within America and abroad.

The experience of Vietnam played an important role in promoting a disillusionment with U. diplomacy and foreign policyand a tendency to see the Soviet and American 'empires' as morally comparable. From being perceived as the defender of freedom against Soviet aggression and war-mongering, causes of the cold war essay, the United States was increasingly seen as an aggressive imperialist and militarist nation itself, sustaining the Cold War for selfish economic and strategic reasons rather than as a guarantor of liberty in a world threatened by totalitarianism.

During the s, revisionism in turn began causes of the cold war essay be questioned by historians who argued causes of the cold war essay to seek to Such 'post-revisionism' can be understood as an expression of prevailing discontent with rigid ideological positions and tendency to seek for fragmented and contingent rather than cohesive and causal explanations of events. In this paper, the preceding tripartite categorization is essentially the basis for discussionwith additional attention paid to developments since the end of the Cold War.

The concept of the U. As an aggressive power that had to be contained by the West, led by the U. policy making immediately after the end of the Second World War. From favoring a combination of persuasion and enticement as the basis of a continuing workable relationship with the Soviets, the American political and military leadership were increasingly convinced by those who argued for a tougher line in the face of what they saw as endemic Russian hostility and untrustworthiness, and the ultimate Soviet aim of defeating and destroying the capitalist West and establishing global Communism.

The leading figures in this respect were George Kennan, Dean Acheson and Averill Harriman, all of whom contributed importantly to the concept of global ideological confrontation that became a foundation of the Cold War. This interpretation can be found in a number of prominent historians of the 'traditionalist' school during the early Cold War, such as William Hardy McNeill and Herbert Feis, both of whom argue that Stalinist Russia was essentially responsible for the climate of wartime co-operation giving way to one of postwar hostility and suspicion.

McNeill and Feis contend that the West could not trust Stalin to co-operate on the vital postwar issues of European and global securityreconstruction and economic co-operation once he broke his promise to ensure popularly-elected governments in Eastern Europe and dragged his heels on issues such as the future of Berlin and the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Austria and Iran. McNeill contends that such Soviet causes of the cold war essay doomed any attempt for postwar peaceful cooperation between the U.

And the Americans. Wartime unity had been entirely dependent on the existence of a common enemy in the form of Nazi Germany and Stalin's preparedness to summon up traditional Russian nationalism; with Germany defeated and the war over, Stalin reverted to Bolshevik ideology and the basis of the allied coalition crumbled as Soviet actions made clear their intention of tightening their grip on Eastern Europe and expanding their influence elsewhere. For McNeill and Feis, the Cold War was thus inevitable because of the expansionary nature of Soviet Communism, and the United States had no choice but to adopt a strategy of confrontation and containment.

Norman Graebner summarized this position, and his generation of historians' essential approval of it, in his study, Cold War Diplomacy: Measured by the limits of national power, American foreign policy served the country well during the first fifteen years of the postwar era. United States leadership, both Democratic and Republican, accepted the warning of Winston Churchill that the Soviet Union, heavily armed and traditionally aggressive, posed a danger to Western security.

If those who determined national policy never agreed on the character and extent of the Russian threat, they chose to build and maintain the Atlantic Alliance as the surest guarantee against Soviet expansion and the recurrence of war.

A variant of this rather one-sided interpretation places the Cold War in the context of great power rivalry as much as expansionist Communism. Hans Morgenthau's In Defense of the National Interest of was a pioneering work in this respect, and the thesis was further influentially developed by Martin Herz's study, Beginnings of the Cold War and Louis Halle's The Cold War as History of These authors saw the Soviet Union's desire to establish a sphere of influence causes of the cold war essay Europe, and to exploit it free of external interference, as the key element in the development of Cold War hostilities.

This interpretation modified the sometimes unbalanced 'blaming of the Soviets' that characterized McNeill and his followers, but tended to be equally hostile towards the East and equally positive about the importance of the American-led West maintaining a front against Communism. As early asthe traditionalist thesis was under assault from historians who were sceptical causes of the cold war essay U. leadership in the Cold War world.

Causes of the cold war essay that year, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy was published by William Appleman Williams. This work inverts the traditionalist model, arguing that in the postwar years it was the Soviet Union that was flexible and willing to negotiate and the United States that was rigid and doctrinaire, causes of the cold war essay, and that it was…. Bibliography Ball, Simon J.

Davis, Nigel, 'Rethinking the Role of Ideology in International Politics During the Cold War', Journal of Cold War Studies 1, 1 Feis, Herbert, From Trust to Terror: the Onset of the Cold War, New York W. Norton, Gaddis, John Lewis, The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, New York: Columbia University Press, The report takes on a tone almost encouraging that to happen.

It was very much the public mood of the time that would have supported that initiative. That the world came so close to the use of nuclear confrontation during the Cuban Missile Crisis is indicative of this, and it was only the ability of JFK to resist.

Typically, Japanese marry before a Shinto altar and are buried, after cremation, causes of the cold war essay, in a Buddhist funeral. Many people, young and old, pay a New Years visit to a Shinto shrine and visit family graves once or twice a year, causes of the cold war essay. Young couples take their children to a Shinto shrine at the shichi-go-san festival to celebrate the ages 3, 5, and 7. For funeral and periodic memorial services, a family invites, causes of the cold war essay.

However, in the end, they were unable to stop the war despite their best efforts. The war happened anyway, in spite of the best intentions and actions to prevent it. T he actions of the various governments were reactions to events that they had tried their best to prevent.

They did not make a full-blown effort to convince their people of the need for war, until the war had. Scott paints a vivid picture of the social history of the area; lack of lumber for support, lack of trained people to help with the safety issues and a lack of understanding their new regime. Scott also describes what we know now as the Soviet double standard; the propaganda of healthy workers building a socialist paradise coupled with the reality of millions dying of cold and hunger.

However, Scott. Strategy -- Rulers, States and War It is very difficult to look at the history of humanity and define a number of common, yet intangible philosophies of action that seem to be part of the overall human condition. One of these intangibles is the human capacity to produce both incredible beauty and horrific evil -- both of which occur during war.

In fact, we may ask -- what is war? Social Constructionism and Historiography of Science In the historiography of science, the debate between intenalists and externalists has been one of the major fault lines over the past century. While many historians are not specialists in physics, chemistry and biology, by training and experience they also consider the political, economic and cultural influences on any institution and organization in a given period, and science his not been exempt from historicism.

Learning Tools Study Documents Writing Guides About us FAQs Our Blog Citation Generator Flash Card Generator Login SignUp, causes of the cold war essay. Download this Term Paper in word format. Excerpt from Term Paper : ¶ … Historiography of the Cold War Why and how the Cold War ended became the question of the day after the Berlin Wall came down in During the s, revisionism in turn began to be questioned by historians who argued that to seek to.

Read Full Term Paper. Cold War Era When We Words: Length: 16 Pages Topic: Drama - World Paper : Post-Cold War Era, Far From Words: Length: 6 Pages Topic: History - Asian Paper : War Without a Cause As Words: Length: 5 Pages Topic: Drama - World Paper : Historiography and Behind the Urals Words: Length: 7 Pages Topic: Drama - World Paper : Strategy -- Rulers, States and War It Words: Length: 5 Pages Topic: Drama - World Paper : Social Constructionism and Its Application to the Historiography Words: Length: 13 Pages Topic: Drama - World Paper :

The Cold War - OverSimplified (Part 1)

, time: 16:04

The Cold War () essay

One nation tried to reduce the power of other. The competitiveness between the Super Powers led to the Cold War. The main cause of the Cold War is a difficult to expound. The Cold War is the name that was given to the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War Two Causes of the Cold War: Essay Writing. The cold war essay is a description of the power standoff between the United States of America, and the Soviet Union. Many students feel challenged by this type of essay. However, by following the right steps and guidelines, it is very easy to ace this type of essay. Understanding that the cold war essay is based on real-life happenings and factual data should be  · Causes Of The Cold War Essay The Cold War began as a struggle between two world superpowers, the USA and the USSR. The Cold War allowed the USA, to expand in many different economic and political explorations. The Cold War led to three different conflicts which were the Korean War, the Cuban missile crisis and the *Vietnam War *