The Cold War/Introduction
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After the Allies had defeated Nazi Germany in 1945, two nations emerged out of the war as world superpowers - the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the Soviet Union or the USSR).
By the end of World War 2, they had earned their place as the strongest countries in the world. But although they had been fighting the war as allies, there were many things which seperated them:
- Economic System - the USA had a capitalist economic system which basically means that the industry is owned by private individuals who can make and keep their profit independently. The Soviet Union had a socialist economic system which made all industry and land owned by the government and the wealth generated from them shared out equally for the population.
- Social System - the USA believed in freedom of speech (for example, criticizing the government) and personal belief and freedom of the press and that each citizen had their own right to excercise this and express it without getting shot or arrested. The Soviet Union believed in censorship of things undesirable and potentially dangerous to the government, and control of the media and citizens.
- Election Process - the USA believed in free, multi-party elections which allowed all types of parties no matter how far right or left they were, to be represented and allowed to be voted for in elections, and the party which won the majority of votes by the population would get into power. The Soviet Union only allowed one type of party in the election process.
[edit] So what was the problem?
They might have been fighting the World War 2 hand in hand, but when it was over and there was no common enemy to unite against, so they soon fell out and bore an ideological against each other which lasted for the next 40 years or so and became known as the 'Cold War'.
The fundamental problem was their ideologies:
- The USA was a fundamentally capitalist society. They believed in a free market, and in freedom to earn social status, power and respect.
- The USSR was a communist state. They believed in the inevitability of world revolution - the passing of power into the hands of the people. This meant that, in creating this society, everyone had to be equal.
As a result, they were enemies; the USA wanted to secure its position in the world, whereas the USSR wanted to spread its ideology across the world.
The Cold War
Introduction - Background - Strategy - Truman Doctrine - Marshall Plan - Berlin Blockade - Korean War - Hungarian Uprising - Cuban Missile Crisis - USSR under Gorbachev - USA under Reagan - Arms Race - Space Race
Cover - Contents - Study Guide
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by kazinur idiris
