It has become common today to underestimate the clash during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, as there was no actual fighting between these countries. However, the Cold War was a time of strong tension primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union, which affected many countries around the world. During World War II, the USSR and U.S were allies fighting against Hitler and the axis powers. Nevertheless, the political differences between the Soviets and the Americans intensified after the WWII as both nations tried to spread its own ideology for global domination. During the Cold War, these nations did not directly drop bombs on each other or fire missiles, but created immense tension by testing their own
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Soviet Union and United States had contrasting views of how to treat of Germany After the WWII, Stalin wanted huge reparations of goods and services from Germany for use in reconstructing their war damaged economies, as Soviet Union also suffered the largest military casualty of over 15 million during the WWII. Yet, the Cordell Hull’s advisors feared that the indiscriminate extraction of reparations would wreck what remained of the German’s economy, thereby ruining efforts to promote democratic institutions and possibly burdening the U.S with a massive relief operation. This meant that economic collapse in Germany might threaten the recovery of Europe as a whole, causing endangerment of the department's goal of reviving a multilateral system of world trade. In the whole situation, Soviet Union did not really tolerate democracy in areas under their control, and suggested that Soviet Union was unlikely to help out Germany recover from the war. For United States, as Harry S. Truman took over the presidency, Truman was eager and determined to stop communism in Eastern Europe. He strongly believed that countries have their right to choose their own style of government, free trade, open markets, and a strong, rebuilt …show more content…
As a result, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed, joining the United States, Canada and ten other Western European nations in a military alliance. Chiefly, an attack on any member nation would be deemed an attack on all of them. The alliance created a political balance of power between the East and the West as the Western countries believed that the Soviet Union and the eastern countries would not attack them. More importantly, for United States, the alliance helped the reorganization and expansion of United States’ domestic national security bureaucracy. For instance, Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially recognized, and organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Security Council (NSC) were
Soviet Union and United States had contrasting views of how to treat of Germany After the WWII, Stalin wanted huge reparations of goods and services from Germany for use in reconstructing their war damaged economies, as Soviet Union also suffered the largest military casualty of over 15 million during the WWII. Yet, the Cordell Hull’s advisors feared that the indiscriminate extraction of reparations would wreck what remained of the German’s economy, thereby ruining efforts to promote democratic institutions and possibly burdening the U.S with a massive relief operation. This meant that economic collapse in Germany might threaten the recovery of Europe as a whole, causing endangerment of the department's goal of reviving a multilateral system of world trade. In the whole situation, Soviet Union did not really tolerate democracy in areas under their control, and suggested that Soviet Union was unlikely to help out Germany recover from the war. For United States, as Harry S. Truman took over the presidency, Truman was eager and determined to stop communism in Eastern Europe. He strongly believed that countries have their right to choose their own style of government, free trade, open markets, and a strong, rebuilt …show more content…
As a result, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed, joining the United States, Canada and ten other Western European nations in a military alliance. Chiefly, an attack on any member nation would be deemed an attack on all of them. The alliance created a political balance of power between the East and the West as the Western countries believed that the Soviet Union and the eastern countries would not attack them. More importantly, for United States, the alliance helped the reorganization and expansion of United States’ domestic national security bureaucracy. For instance, Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially recognized, and organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Security Council (NSC) were