Cold War DBQ

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America has many reputations. It can be seen in many different perspectives. To some people it lives up to being the defender of the free world and democracy. Some people may think that America is hypocritical. The image the country portrays depends on the time and place in its history. During WWII it played a big role in defeating the axis power. Without America’s involvement the results would have been drastically different. Post WWII America became one of the most influential countries of the time and got into a power struggle with the Soviet Union. This struggle would be known as the Cold War. The Cold War changed a lot of attitudes and put the world on edge. At home the country had its own power struggles between race and the threat of …show more content…
Years of segregation and unfair treatment was bound to lead to opposition and demand for change. You would think America would have caught on to the internal injustice of their country, but they just allowed it to happen. Citizens had to advocate for themselves to bring attention to the issue. In document 27-3, Fannie Lou Hamer recounts violent acts of racial oppression done to her. All she wanted was to register to and she got beat for it. She had every right by law to register to vote and she was punished. The law was supposed to protect her rights, but a highway patrolman and chief of police made her suffer. Those who were put in charge to protect citizens did the opposite for her. She was treated horribly just because of the color of her skin. Policemen weren’t the only ones fighting against equality. Congressmen did …show more content…
It was America versus the Soviet Union. It was Communism versus Democracy. It was a power struggle. Mostly it was an overreaction and misunderstanding of Soviet intentions. America had this intense fear of the spreading of communism. Many of the issues of the war were created by American paranoia. They were so afraid of the Soviet Union filling the role of Germany as their enemy that they antagonized them. Their fear of communism cost them billions of dollars and got them involved in wars they had no business being in. They used the title of policeman of the world to abuse their power. In document 25-2 Walter Lippman challenges America’s containment policy. He calls out the U.S for their misuse of power. He brings attention on America taking advantage of countries they do not care about just to push their political agendas. They had no real interest in helping Korea with its civil war, but since he Soviet Union was involved they had to be too. This happened in countless other places as well. America got involved in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba in spite of communism. They did not care that the people of these countries wanted independence. They put puppet leaders in charge of countries they knew nothing about and ended up choosing leaders who were corrupt and terrible. They were supposed to be the defenders of the free world and democracy and they were just being hypocrites. America perceived communism as evil and anything that

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