The Cold War was a period of tension between Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The Cold War got its name from the countless empty threats from both sides. The tensions between the communists and non-communist countries started even before World War 2 ended. This war was a fight over spreading or containing communism. The Soviets wanted to spread communism and Great Britain and the Untied States wanted to contain communism in Korea and Latin America. By doing this the United States supported third world countries that were vulnerable to communism by aiding them with weapons and military coups. The Soviets wanted to spread communism to gain communist allies. Consequently America feared the Domino Theory, which was coined Eisenhower. The Domino Theory stated that if one state in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect . At the Yalta conference, in 1945, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, promised free elections in eastern European countries.
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These elections were not followed through which caused greater tensions between the Western democracies and the USSR. At the Yalta conference their new president, Harry Truman, represented the United States while Joseph Stalin represented the Soviet Union, and Clement Atlee represented Great Britain. In this meeting the Nuremberg Trials were discussed and Truman also warned Stalin of the Americas possession of the atomic bomb. The latter being one of the many empty threats made in the Cold War. Growing differences were apparent in this meeting when free elections and buffer states were brought up. The Iron Curtain, established by the Soviet Union, divided the Soviet Union and its Eastern European controlled countries from the independent countries of Europe. Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, made the speech that began the Cold War. Later that year, George Keenan, an American diplomat, wrote an article anonymously saying that Soviet policymakers were deeply committed to the destruction of America and the American way of life . Keenan also stated that creating the Containment Policy, which was the belief that if the Communist nations are contained they will soon shrivel up and die off, this would stop communism. With the threat of the spread of Communism, President Truman passed the Truman Doctrine that stated that the U.S. would give $400 million in funding to Greece and Turkey to aid their resistance of communism. Providing Greece and Turkey money to block communism was the United States’ way of doing their part and keeping communism out of countries who could not stand there ground against more powerful communist countries. The United States did not only provide money to countries that could possibly fall to communism, but also to countries that were in economic crisis mainly in Europe. In 1948, president Truman signed the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was a plan that provided $12 billion funding for the reconstruction of Europe. The United States provided this money not only to help reconstruct Europe, but also to help prevent Western Europe from falling into an economic collapse. The United States helped out many countries with these polices. These policies showed the commitment the United States government was willing to go to stop the spread of communism. During the Cold War spies were used for the first time to gain secrets of rivaling countries. Several trials were held as the result of spying. The trials of Alger Hiss and the Rosenberg’s sparked the madness of the thought of communist infiltrating the United States. One senator, Joseph McCarthy, took this further and declared that there were two hundred and five communist spies working within the United States government. This accusation created paranoia and the rise of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was the searching of communistic people working in the government . People started accusing others who did not share or agree on the same views as them as communists. All these accusations led to the second Red Scare. The exaggerated and uncontrollable accusations of following the communist doctrine became known as the Red Scare. The Red Scare led to a
These elections were not followed through which caused greater tensions between the Western democracies and the USSR. At the Yalta conference their new president, Harry Truman, represented the United States while Joseph Stalin represented the Soviet Union, and Clement Atlee represented Great Britain. In this meeting the Nuremberg Trials were discussed and Truman also warned Stalin of the Americas possession of the atomic bomb. The latter being one of the many empty threats made in the Cold War. Growing differences were apparent in this meeting when free elections and buffer states were brought up. The Iron Curtain, established by the Soviet Union, divided the Soviet Union and its Eastern European controlled countries from the independent countries of Europe. Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, made the speech that began the Cold War. Later that year, George Keenan, an American diplomat, wrote an article anonymously saying that Soviet policymakers were deeply committed to the destruction of America and the American way of life . Keenan also stated that creating the Containment Policy, which was the belief that if the Communist nations are contained they will soon shrivel up and die off, this would stop communism. With the threat of the spread of Communism, President Truman passed the Truman Doctrine that stated that the U.S. would give $400 million in funding to Greece and Turkey to aid their resistance of communism. Providing Greece and Turkey money to block communism was the United States’ way of doing their part and keeping communism out of countries who could not stand there ground against more powerful communist countries. The United States did not only provide money to countries that could possibly fall to communism, but also to countries that were in economic crisis mainly in Europe. In 1948, president Truman signed the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was a plan that provided $12 billion funding for the reconstruction of Europe. The United States provided this money not only to help reconstruct Europe, but also to help prevent Western Europe from falling into an economic collapse. The United States helped out many countries with these polices. These policies showed the commitment the United States government was willing to go to stop the spread of communism. During the Cold War spies were used for the first time to gain secrets of rivaling countries. Several trials were held as the result of spying. The trials of Alger Hiss and the Rosenberg’s sparked the madness of the thought of communist infiltrating the United States. One senator, Joseph McCarthy, took this further and declared that there were two hundred and five communist spies working within the United States government. This accusation created paranoia and the rise of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was the searching of communistic people working in the government . People started accusing others who did not share or agree on the same views as them as communists. All these accusations led to the second Red Scare. The exaggerated and uncontrollable accusations of following the communist doctrine became known as the Red Scare. The Red Scare led to a