After the end of World War II, the only two superpowers left in the world were the United States and the Soviet Union. With both trying to assert their influence in rebuilding destroyed European nations, tensions flared between communist Russia and capitalist America; this was the cause of the start of the Cold War in 1945. During the Cold War, the US and USSR competed to assert capitalism or communism—respectively—on the newly rebuilding economies in Europe. As the Cold War dragged on into the 1950’s, Americans became increasingly worried about communism and keeping the world safe for democracy. The American “Red Scare” of the 1940’s and 50’s gripped the hearts of Americans and sent the nation into a panic; federal employees were investigated
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In an analytical essay on Kennan and the Containment policy, author Will Morrisey wrote that Kennan “compared the isolation of Western diplomats from Russian society by the Soviet regime to the behavior of the Nazis toward foreign diplomats in the 1930’s” (3). After this, Stalin expelled Kennan from the Soviet Union, and the Eisenhower administration failed to renew his ambassadorship, which in turn caused Kennan to lash out against Eisenhower and the US government (Grottfield 5). This marked the end of Kennan’s diplomatic …show more content…
In an Interview about Kennan and the Cold War Policy, Peter Reddaway, a former director of the Kennan institute in Washington, expressed his belief that Kennan regretted the intensity of the Containment Policy in the end. He said, “I think that, on this issue, what he said about practicing democracy presenting an example, which other countries can follow as they wish, is highly relevant. He believed that if Americans developed a respect for the culture of other countries, then we would understand why they did what they did and we would be less likely to go to war” (Reddaway). Kennan seemed to feel that there were better ways to handle the Soviet conflict that would have resulted in shortening the war later on. However, Kennan never directly said this to anyone, so it remains unclear about how he felt about the containment policy after the
In an analytical essay on Kennan and the Containment policy, author Will Morrisey wrote that Kennan “compared the isolation of Western diplomats from Russian society by the Soviet regime to the behavior of the Nazis toward foreign diplomats in the 1930’s” (3). After this, Stalin expelled Kennan from the Soviet Union, and the Eisenhower administration failed to renew his ambassadorship, which in turn caused Kennan to lash out against Eisenhower and the US government (Grottfield 5). This marked the end of Kennan’s diplomatic …show more content…
In an Interview about Kennan and the Cold War Policy, Peter Reddaway, a former director of the Kennan institute in Washington, expressed his belief that Kennan regretted the intensity of the Containment Policy in the end. He said, “I think that, on this issue, what he said about practicing democracy presenting an example, which other countries can follow as they wish, is highly relevant. He believed that if Americans developed a respect for the culture of other countries, then we would understand why they did what they did and we would be less likely to go to war” (Reddaway). Kennan seemed to feel that there were better ways to handle the Soviet conflict that would have resulted in shortening the war later on. However, Kennan never directly said this to anyone, so it remains unclear about how he felt about the containment policy after the