How Did The Cold War Affect The History Of America

Cold War effects on The History of America The Cold War was conflict between the two superpowers of the world, the United States of America and the Soviet Union. The war escalated due to antagonist principles between the United States, illustrating capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, representing communism and authoritarianism. Due to the fact they were two dominant world powers after WWII, contention between the Americans and Soviets became a global problem. Further, the Cold War is different from most wars in the aspect that it was more of a propaganda war as a war with military engagements. For instance, the Korean and Vietnam Wars are great illustrations of military interference by the Americans in the hope of ending communist expansionism. Nonetheless, these wars did not have long periods of time to impact American domestic and foreign policy that the social, political, and economic battles of …show more content…
As a result, the U.S. became the world’s dominant economic power. This constant consumerism during the war illustrated the superiority of the American way of life to communism. Americans used its economic might as a weapon against the Soviets in the Cold War. In response, the Soviets increased their military spending and eventually went bankrupt attempting to keep up with the Americans. Within six years the Soviet empire had collapsed and the Cold War ended.
The Cold War involved many aspects of American social and cultural life, from the civil rights movement to survivalism.The nuclear threat and the communist activities lead to the creation of the National Defense Education Act and the rise of mistrust of the government by both liberals and conservatives. Moreover, the war embedded fear in Americans. Americans dreaded and hated the thought of war against the Soviets. The war basically changed America's’ way of