resulted in one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The belief that freedom and democracy would die undercommunist rule caused the United States to start a conflict thatwould last for decades. The decisions made by the United Statesin W. W.
II caused tensions to rise between the U. S. and theSoviet Union. Fear of Communism in capitalist nations, causedthe United states government to use propaganda to raise ColdWar anxieties. Furthermore, the American media influenced theattitudes of Americans, making a hatred of communism spreadthough the nation. Thus, the United States caused the conflictknown as the Cold War, through its political policy andpropaganda.
The political relations going on in Europe during anddirectly after World War II had an enormous effect on laying thefoundation for the Cold War. War time conferences such as Yaltaand Terhran harshened the relationship between the communistsand the capitalists. At the end of W. W. II American policytowards the Soviets changed drastically.
The change in presidentin 1945 caused relations with Russia to worsen. Furthermore,other political contributions to the Cold War entailed the TrumanDoctrine and the Marshall Plan. The division of Europe betweenthe west and east drew physical borders which outlined that thewar of misinformation that had began. Also treaties of the postwar world further separated the two super powers of the worldfor the decades to follow. The waging of hot wars through othercountries also strengthened Cold War hatred.
(1)The first of the cold war tensions arose out of W. W. IIconferences between the Soviet Union, America and, GreatBritain. Tehran, the first major conference which lead America tostart the Cold War, included all three of these nations. At thisconference the reshaping of post-war Europe was discussed (2)Later in February of 1945, the big three met again at Yalta. Atthis conference European boundaries, German reparations, andPolish elections were agreed upon.
(3) Stalin, the Russian leader,agreed to hold free and fair elections. Later after Roosevelt, whoattended these conferences, died Truman became president. Heaccused the Soviet leader, Stalin, of not holding up to hisagreements at Yalta. (4) Stalin wanted to use Poland as a bufferzone to prevent any future invasions from happening through thisarea. During W. W.
II the Soviets had lost 27 million, and Stalinmade it clear that in no way would he allow this to happenagain. (5) Stalin responded to Truman’s accusation with thefollowing words, “I am ready to fulfill your request and doeverything possible to reach a harmonious solution. But youdemand too much of me. In other words, you demand that Irenounce the interests of security of the Soviet Union, but Icannot turn against my country. “(6) On the other hand, AmericanGeneral Lucius Clay, who was stationed in post war Germanycommented ” we must have the courage to proceed quickly withthe establishment of a government for western Germany. .
. 42million Germans in the British and American zones representtoday the strongest outpost against Communist penetration thatexists anywhere. “(7) At this response Truman changed hisattitude toward the Soviets with the words, ” there isn’t anydifference between the totalitarian Russian government and theHitler government. “(8) Furthermore, America decided to keepStalin out of the loop about the Manhattan project, whichfurthered distrust, because Stalin learn about the bomb throughespionage.
Truman’s change in attitude toward Stalin, from thatof FDR’s negotiation with “Uncle Joe” to one committed tostopping the Soviet cause, led to the creation of a new Americananti-Soviet political policy. The Truman Doctrine, the name given to the policyestablished by Truman, would soon arise in American foreignpolicy. This Truman Doctrine came out of a speech the Trumangave to a joint session of congress. It was the response Trumangave to Britain, which delcared that they no longer could givemilitary and economic aid to Greece. (9) In this speech Trumanfinally gave the Cold War official status, by stating the threatthat the Soviet government had on national security.
InTruman’s actual words he said, “I believe that it must be thepolicy of the United States to support free peoples who areresisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or byoutside pressures. “(10) Congress, knowing that Great Britainwould no longer give aid the Turkey and Greece, realized thatthese nations would soon turn to communism. Thus, theydecided to appropriate four hundred million dollars to help in theaid of Turkey and Greece. (11). To support Truman’s policySenator Author Vandenburg stated ” its time to scare the hell outof the American people with tales of communism on themarch. “(12) Thus, America was further contributed to cold warissues by committing to stop the spread of communism in areasof the world very remote from them.
America’s next political actions further caused the ColdWar to escalate. In 1947, George C. Marshall the Secretary ofthe state at the time gave a speech at Harvard university whichreveled his plans for the an after war economy. Marshall askedthat all of the countries of Europe communists and capitalistsalike to draw up a plan for economic recovery from the war. (13)The Soviets refused to participate, because they saw it asAmerica using money to buy its way into good terms with Europe.
In the words of the Soviet foreign minister Molotov, the Marshallplan was “nothing but a vicious American scheme for usingdollars to buy its way. “(14) In the end, the United States sent 13billion over to Western Europe to support economic recovery. (15)The Soviet Union saw this as an American attempt to keep any ofthese countries from turning to communism, which would closethem off as US markets. Thus, the Marshall plan furthercontributed to a Soviet cause to continue waging a Cold War. In1949 America helped to organize a treaty against communism. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO included thefollowing nations : Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland,Italy, the Netherlands, Luxemberg, Norway, Portugal , the UnitedStates.
This treaty showed a clear division of Communismverses Capitalism, and it declared that an attack against one ofthese nations would be an attack on all of them. (16) Thus, theUnited States used this treaty to escalate the cold War byshowing the Soviet Union that all of the NATO countries sidedwith the US in the Cold War. Finally, the United states wagedhot wars through other nations; instead in actually declaring waragainst the Soviet Union. These hot wars in Korea and again inVietnam. Both of these wars resulted from the United Statestrying to contain Communism from spreading throughout theworld. (17) Thus, all of the United States’ political actions furthercontributed to the Cold War cause.
The political actions Of the United States from the time ofW. W. II onward caused the Cold War conflict. The conferences ofW. W.
II set the tone for a time period of distrust between theSoviet union and the United States. With a new president inoffice Cold War policy was officialy began. Furthermore, fromthat point on the policy of the United States delcared itself asanti-Communist from that point on. Thus, to get the Americanpublic to side with the government on the issue of communism,America turned to the use of propaganda. The United States used propaganda and other influences toget the American public scared of communism and in support ofthe cold war.
First congress began to use HUAC to stop filmsfrom having to much of a communist appeal to them(18)Furthermore, HUAC investigated people for being communistspies. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenburg and Alger Hiss, peopleaccused of being communist spies suffered conviction. Thiscaused the anti-Communist attitude in the United States to growtremendously. Thus, the American government used a federalorganization to further the public’s hatred of communism.
Nextan American Senator named Joseph R. McCarthy would lead aseries of trials against communists in the United States. (19)Most of the people that Macarthy accused of being communistreached conviction. This happened despite the fact that many ofthe accused were not in fact communists.
(20) This situation hascompares to the Salem Witch trials; notably like the witch trialthe main outcome of the Macarthy trial srtuck fear into Americanpublic. Thus, the McCarthy trial increased anti-Communisthatred in the US and scared anyone out of committing tocommunist party for fear of their life. Therefore, the McCarthytrials acted as form of US propaganda, which gathered Americansupport for the Cold War against the Soviets. Moreover, withthe publication of George Orwell’s book 1984, anti-communistpropaganda increased. This book showed the United Statesunder a communist dictatorship.
Thus, as propaganda this bookincreased the general anticommunist attitude of the Americanpublic. (20) Moreover, Hollywood began to produceanti-Communist films such as The Red Menace, which increaseda fear of communism in the United States. (21) Thus, the actionsof the American government, journalist, and media increased thegeneral anti-Communist support for the Cold War. The American media also contributed to the Cold Warpropaganda in and out of the United States.
American journalistswould commonly make up stories of communism in the UnitedStates in an effort to sell papers and to continue feelings ofanti-communism. (22) Also a radio station called Radio Onebegan to broadcast an anti communist message in Europe. (23)These radio broadcasts defamed the Soviet Union andcommunism and supported democracy and the United States. These broadcasts blatantly attempted to degrade communism,that they were never allowed to be transmitted in America. (24)Therefore, the overall actions of the United States clearly reportspropaganda to increase support for the Cold War, whichdominated American foreign policy for decades.
The United States caused the Cold War by the politicaldecisions that in made and through its use of propaganda. Thepolitical decisions made by the United States from W. W. II onwardcaused the Cold War to start and to continue for decades.
Moreover, the government’s use of propaganda at home ralliedthe American public in an anticommunist attitude, whichsupported the countries political decisions. Thus, the UnitedStates caused the conflict between Democracy and Communism. BibliographyBIBLIOGRAPHYCayton, Andrew, and Elizabeth Israels Perry, and Allan M. Winkler.
America Pathways to thePresent . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,1995. Dudley, William. ed. The Cold War Opposing View Points. San Diego: Greenburg Press Inc.
,1992. Gaddis, John Lewis. We Now Know Rethinking the Cold War. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1997.
Glynn, Patricia. Closing Pandora’s Box. . New York : Harper Collins, 1992.
Snyder, Alvin A. Warriors of Disinformation . New York: Arcade Publishing, 1995. Yoder, Edwin M. , Jr.
Joe Alsop’s Cold War . Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press,1995. Endnotes1 Andrew Cayton and Elizabeth Israels Perry, and Allan M. Winkler, America Pathways tothe Present , (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,1995. ) p.
7172 William Dudley, ed. The Cold War Opposing View Points, (San Diego: GreenburgPress Inc. , 1992. ) p143 Dudley 144 Dudley 1255 Dudley 1256 Cayton 7207 John Lewis Gaddis, We Now Know: REthinking the Cold War,(Oxford : Clarendon Press,1997. ) p. 1198 Cayton 7219 Dudley 1710 Cayton 72411 Cayton 72412 Dudley 1813 Cayton 72414 Cayton 72415 Cayton 72516 Cayton 72517 Patricia Glynn, Closing Pandora’s Box.
, (New York : Harper Collins, 1992. ) p. 13518 Gaddis 2319 Edwin M. Yoder Jr. , Joe Alsop’s Cold War, (Chapel Hill : The University of NorthCarolina Press, 1995. ) p.
2320 Glynn 13521 Cayton 73322 Yoder 2223 Alvin A. Snyder, Warriors of Disinformation , (New York: Arcade Publishing, 1995.)p.22124 Snyder 224
