Overview and Causes
The Cold War was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1991. Their relationship first began to unravel because of events during WWII. The United States was willing to help England, but not the Soviet Union. Also, while the US was fighting extremely hard battles in Japan, the Soviet Union would not join in until the US planned to use the atomic bomb and there was little fighting left to do. After WWII, the economy of the US was thriving, while the Soviet Union's was suffering. The Yalta and Potsdam conferences further amplified the distrust between the two countries. At Yalta, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin discussed what would happen to countries that Germany conquered during WWII. At Potsdam, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin decided issues concerning the surrender of Japan and the end of WWII.
Conflicts between the two countries began because of the differences in their forms of government. After WWII, the US wanted to rebuild Germany, maintain capitalist governments in Europe, and to stop the spread of Communism. The Soviet Union wanted to rebuild their economy, improve their living conditions, create new alliances, and spread their government. They also used Poland, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Germany, and Czechoslovakia as buffer countries. In a Communist government, there are no social classes or competition, unlike in a capitalist government. Instead of the "survival of the fittest", everyone is equal in a Communist government. Luxury items do not exist in a Communist government. The government completely controls, instead of the people having power, as in a capitalist government. To deal with Communism, the US decided to use the policy of containment. One example of this policy in place was the Truman Doctrine, in which the US sent money and military resources to Greece and Turkey to assist them in their protection against becoming Communist.
Conflicts between the two countries began because of the differences in their forms of government. After WWII, the US wanted to rebuild Germany, maintain capitalist governments in Europe, and to stop the spread of Communism. The Soviet Union wanted to rebuild their economy, improve their living conditions, create new alliances, and spread their government. They also used Poland, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Germany, and Czechoslovakia as buffer countries. In a Communist government, there are no social classes or competition, unlike in a capitalist government. Instead of the "survival of the fittest", everyone is equal in a Communist government. Luxury items do not exist in a Communist government. The government completely controls, instead of the people having power, as in a capitalist government. To deal with Communism, the US decided to use the policy of containment. One example of this policy in place was the Truman Doctrine, in which the US sent money and military resources to Greece and Turkey to assist them in their protection against becoming Communist.