Cold War again.....

The past few days in class we have been discussing the events that started the Cold War. Fear and mistrust seem to be a major part of the tension between the United States and Soviet Union. As Nicole stated “Communism was not trusted by the West, and democracy not trusted in the East”, but as I stated in my previous post these tensions were caused by economic factors. I don’t think that either the US or USSR were overly worried about the whole idea of different ideologies spreading but the fact that the spreading of the others ideas meant less power, and less power meant less money. Being on top was the major driving force behind many actions taken by each nation and the production of nuclear weapons contributed to this idea: the dropping of the atomic bomb did end WWII but it was also a display of power by the United States. This display of power sparked the nuclear arms race which made tensions rise even higher.  

The Cold War

The Cold War was caused by a combination of economic interests and the need for power. Tensions arose even before World War II when the United States and the Soviet Union decided to form an alliance against Nazi Germany, but this alliance was basically formed just to defeat Germany not because either nation was interested in staying alliances. After World War II this alliance ended and the fight to gain unclaimed territories and spread their beliefs began. The United States ended the World War II by dropping the Atomic bomb which sparked the beginning of the Cold War. The nuclear arms race started to take effect and nations such as the United States and Soviet Union started creating nuclear weapons. At this point I think that leaders were doing all they could to keep their nation safe. After the war nations were looking for economic security and to ensure safety and gaining as many followers and territory was how leaders planned on accomplishing this.