What were the causes of the cold war and why?

Answer 1

The biggest reason was America's fear of Soviet Union (more specifically, communism). However, many factors played into the start Cold War, which lasted from 1946 until 1991.

Politically:

-Germany and the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan is the greatest act of national charity in the history of the United States. Once WWII had ended, Germany was split into two sections (East Germany and West Germany) by the Berlin wall. Europe controlled the West and Soviet Union controlled the East. Since the war had taken place of European and Soviet Union lands, they suffered the most. The U.S. suffered little, so they gave away free supplies to help Europe rebuild. Soviet Union refused help for themselves and for its occupied territories (because the U.S. asked only that they be allowed to look at the books, which Stalin did not want). The U.S. sent supplies over, anyway and Stalin gave up trying to keep them out.

-This is in the technological part, but it's also political. The U.S. did want to scare Soviet Union with the atomic bomb.

-NATO. This is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was meant to "keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down" according to General Lord Ismay. It was comprised of twenty six members: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portgual, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The problem with America's alliance with NATO is that they were trying to pass themselves off as neutral, but you can't be neutral and be part of an alliance against Soviet Union. Soviet Union countered this with the Warsaw Pact, but this broke up once the communist countries fell.

-The Suez Crisis. Egypt was attacked by Britain, France, and Israel, which infuriated the U.S. They demanded that the invasion stop, which they eventually did.

Economically:

-The Marshall Plan can fall into this category, too. All of the countries helped by the Marshall Plan turned to capitalism.

Technologically:

-Sputnik. Most claim that this is the largest reason behind the Cold War. However, it was not just because Soviet Union threw a large satellite into the air. Americans were afraid that if the Soviet Union could get a satellite up in the sky, then they could build a bomb and get that up there, too. It was Soviet Union aggression that made Sputnik so terrifying. This pushed the U.S. and Soviet Union into the Arms Race in the 1950's and 1960's.

-The atomic bomb. America is the only country in history to drop the bomb. Once Soviet Union saw the bomb, they felt threatened by its power. They tried to build a bomb just like it. Once the U.S. caught wind of this, they began working on a hydrogen bomb.

Ideologically:

-The U.S. was afraid of communism. They believed in a "domino theory," which meant that once one country fell to communism, they would all fall. Their answer for this was containment (which actually played into Stalin's hands). They became stronger militarily to keep themselves and others from falling to communism.

The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

RECAP

- Western fear of soviet and communist ideologies;constitutional support {rights to life liberty and pursuit of happiness / does not tolerate communist dictatorships.}

- Leads to Mr.X's proposal of containment, ; inturn the marshall plan and the arms race

- Nuclear Weapon - USSR paranoia, the growth of ICBMs{the launch of sputnic}

- Creation of Nato ; anti - communist/soviet organization. ;us membership

- Creation of the Warsaw pact.
Stalin wanted to further spread communism throughout the world, and it turned into a conflict between the U.S.S.R. vs. U.S. and Britain. No fighting was present, it was all agreements and compromises.
During World War II, the crisis had been so huge that necessity made strange bedfellows in rebutting the Third Reich's onslaught. Two nations that were diametrically opposed to each other's government came together to end the war. Russia, the communistic stronghold, and the United States, the bastion of democracy, joined forces to save Europe from Hitler's push to control all of Europe under German control.

Unfortunately, when World War II ended, the friendly relations did not last.

What Are the Reasons Why the Cold War Started?

At the close of World War II, the two major superpowers in the world were Russia and the United States. The rivalry between the two contributed to the start of the Cold War.

The ideological philosophies of the two countries couldn't have been more different. The United States supported free election by the people to form the government while the Communist party formed Russia's government. Citizens in the United States enjoyed freedom of speech, press and assembly. The Communist party did not allow free speech, assembly of people or freedom in the press. The differences amount to the vast discrepancy between democratic government versus totalitarianism.

While Russia wanted to shield her circle of influence from participating in the free trade of the world, the United States wanted all countries to be able to participate in free trade. The benefits of free trade for all countries were the driving force for the United States position, whereas the Russians wanted to shield their controlled countries from the contamination of democratic ideas.

Events That Caused the Cold War

Other than these philosophical differences, what are the reasons why the Cold War started? President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine and introduced the Marshall Plan in 1947. This was a direct affront to the Russian government. It promised to support free people that were resisting the subversion of their government by a minority or outside influence.

This doctrine was particularly aimed at the resistance of the attempted conversion of Greece to a Communist government. Turkey was also being driven by the attacks of guerrilla forces towards a Communistic government. The United States sent military aid to these countries to uphold the governments already in power at the time.

This doctrine contributed to hostilities between the US and Russia and contributed to starting the Cold War.

Stopping the Spread of Communism

The expansion of Russian influence in Eastern and Western Europe was not well received in the United States and also played a role in the Cold War. Following World War II, Russia quickly solidified its control over the countries of Eastern Europe. As it supported the radical factions in France and Italy, the elections were influenced for Communistic candidates.

The United States could not let this trend continue unrestrained. Not only were countries in Western Europe being recruited to Communism, but independent countries in Africa were as well.

The Russians were also not cooperating with the agreements of the Potsdam Conference that ended the war and were demanding major reparations to Russia for damages incurred during World War II.

The United States had detonated the first atomic bomb just prior to the Potsdam Conference and felt they had the power to take a strong resistance to the Russian expansion and influence on independent or free countries.

Setting the Stage for War.

What are the reasons why the Cold War started?

All of these philosophies and actions set the stage for the Cold War. The first actual event that "started" the Cold War was President Truman's distrust of the Communists and sending aid to the countries of Turkey and Greece. From that point on, there was a Cold War in effect with Russia. Spies were the troops of choice and each side began to monitor the actions of the other side.

Through out the next fifty years, people lived in the fear that at some point the United States and Russia were going to start a war that would end in nuclear attacks. These would result in the altering of our planet on a global scale. Everyone, no matter which side you were on, would pay the price for that response, which thankfully never came.

Answer 2

The main reason for of the cold war was the need for the major superpowers to make their citizens feel assured that they were technologically advanced and prepared for any breakout of a new war. Each superpower wanted to flex military muscle to prevent the other one from attempting war with them.

Answer 3

The Cold War had many causes, the most important of which was the fear on the part of both sides that causing a "hot" war might lead to the destruction of everyone involved. Other causes include exhaustion from World War II and a commitment to working indirectly, not directly, to advance national causes and overcome enemies.

Answer 4

Wars USED to be fought to win. The invention of atomic weapons, when both parties are armed with them, will no longer allow fighting to win. The only result when total war is fought (total war=fighting to win) is "Mutually Assured Destruction" for all parties involved. Atomic Age warfare is now LIMITED to LIMITED WARS: Conventional Weapons only...Korean and Vietnam Wars. Atomic Weapons created the cold war.

Answer 5

The main cause was the suspicion between the democratic West and the communist Soviet Union. Despite being allies during the second world war, after the war the Soviets slammed down the Iron Curtain - so began the cold war.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Atomic weapons.

Answer 8

the united states