Essay on Causes and Effects of the Cold War

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Causes and Effects of the Cold War The Cold War, though never involving any fighting on either side, resulted in one of the biggest scares the U.S. society and government had ever experienced. The Cold War was all in all an extended period of political and military tensions between the United States and our allies in the Western Bloc, and the pre-existing Soviet Union and their allies involved in the Warsaw Pact. If not had been dealt with very carefully, the Cold War would’ve gained a new name after much likely nuclear warfare between world powers. This caused the U.S. to put a new step in their strategy to contain communism. The U.S. started taking the side of any anti-communist country that the USSR tried to gain control of. This was…show more content…
The U.S. along with other countries that were anti-communist at the time, in turn with their collaboration in the Berlin Blockade, formed NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Association). NATO was meant to contain the Soviet Union’s power after World War II, after they showed significant signs of spreading their influence and rule after the Berlin Blockade and the coup of Czechoslovakia. This began a long term agreement between countries willing to collectively defend each other in the case of an outside country attacking one of the involved members. Further military tensions began with the Chinese war, when the U.S. ended up supporting the losing side of the war. This resulted in the Soviet Union’s control over China as communist groups in China gained more control. The U.S. then responded by gaining a number of military bases by forming a series of alliances with countries such as Japan, Austrailia, and New Zealand. The Korean War then followed when Kim II-Sung’s forces in North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, however, backed South Korea due to the Soviets previous boycotting UN meetings. The U.S. and other allied countries in this conflict unfortunately lost this battle, and Kim Sung became an ultimate dictator. Near the end of the war, however, Stalin died, resulting in major changes in power for both the USSR and the U.S. With President Eisenhower being inaugurated in 1953, the containment strategy that Truman had instituted was changed for a more

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