During WWII, the Soviets were allies with the Allied powers. However, after the war ended, democratic countries were in a cold war against Soviet-run Communist nations that clearly wanted to spread communism throughout Eastern Europe. Many occurrences had Americans concerned about the expansion of communism, from the blockade of West Berlin by the Soviets in 1948, to Mao Zedong’s taking over of China in October 1948. Even though Americans were afraid of the spread of communism, they assumed that they had the upper hand militarily because of the atomic bomb. However, Americans’ security was crushed after a US spy plane picked up high levels of radioactivity near Siberia on September 3, 1949. This discovery was followed by the deciphering of
