The Cold War Essays -- World History Communism

Following World War Two, two distant political governments emerged to dictate the direction the world would take. These two governments consisted of Communism and Democracy which stared untrustingly at each other and staunched economic growth with their excessive military budgets. In the end though, Democracy would prove to be the preferred government archetype for the general population of the world. During World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union along with their allies were united to defeat Nazi Germany. After the war however the two nations began to distrust each other after negotiations on how Europe should be governed. These negotiations called the Yalta Conference in 1945 consisted of the big three, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. It established that Germany and Austria were to be divided into four parts of occupation as well as the capitals of Berlin and Vienna. Later that year the Potsdam Conference was attended by Truman, Atlee, and Stalin, which fell through over the East-West hostility which made it difficult for the council to reach a unanimous decision. As Russia sought to dominate the whole of Eastern Europe as a defense against invasion, the United States wanted Democracy for the European people. It was during this time that the cold war began and the iron curtain came down across Eastern Europe. The Cold War in the United States came from the fear that Communists intended to take over all of Europe. Seeing that Communist governments were established in Poland, Bulgaria, and Hungary by the Soviet army, along with local communists setting up their own governments in Albania, Yugoslavia, and the United States began her policy called the Truman Doctrine. This Doctrine was est... ...rappled with questions about her new place in the world. The collapse of the Soviet Union ended the division of Europe into two opposing camps and united Europe with the sole purpose and shared commitment to capitalism and democracy. In the end of this entire struggle communism fell and democracy was governed the majority of the world for the first time. Works Cited McKay, et al. A History of World Societies volume C. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2009 "ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION 1945-1960." TheCorner. @HW Poon, 1979. Adapted by TK Chung. Web. 08 Jan. 2011. . Betts, Raymond F. "Europe in Retropsect: The Decade of European Recovery - The Cold War & Bipolarization." Britannia: British History and Travel. Web. 08 Jan. 2011. .