Superpowers: The Cold War

The Cold War was a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted from 1947 to 1991. While there were no direct military operations or battles between the two, billions of dollars were used to fund the war and millions of lives were lost. Following WWII, the United States was attempting to prevent the spread of the USSR’s Communist power in Africa, Asia, and the rest of Europe. Americans viewed communism as a threat to democratic freedom. Diverse theaters such as Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Cuba were used as the culmination of the disagreements between the two superpowers (“The Cold War Erupts” 1-2). While battles waged on all over the globe, there were battles commencing within America such as the case of Alger Hiss. Alger Hiss was born on November 11, 1904 in Baltimore, Maryland (Sentman 168). He attended Baltimore City Colleges, John Hopkins University, Harvard University, and then earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1929. Also in 1929, Alger married Priscilla …show more content…
The most famous of the cables, dated 30 March 1945, describes ALES, the cover name for an American agent who had been working for Soviet military intelligence since 1935, attended the Yalta conference, and then gone on to Moscow where Soviet Foreign Minister Vyshinsky thanked him for his work. Of the Americans at Yalta who then went to Moscow with Secretary of State Stettinius, only Hiss fits this profile (Ehrman, 6).
In conclusion, the case of Alger Hiss exemplifies the peak of the Red Scare. Due to the paranoia of Communism in America, many government officials were accused of being a Communist or being in the Soviet spy ring. Alger Hiss maintained his claim of innocence until his death in 1996. Regardless if Alger Hiss was innocent or guilty, this case opened up a long lasting distrust between American citizens and the