The Cold War Essay -- History, The Communist Bloc

At the conclusion of World War II, the United States of America emerged as the savior of Europe and became one of the leading global political powers of the subsequent age. Behind the â€Å"iron curtain† of Easter Europe, however, another superpower, the Soviet Union, which was seemingly the exact opposite of the United States in every way imaginable, exerted its force to instill and defend communism in its surrounding satellite states. The ideologies of these two countries displayed myriad incompatibilities, and over a period spanning the next four decades, the Soviet Union and the United States of America attempted to gain military, political, and social advantages over each other in order to preserve their systems of life. Especially with the advent of nuclear weapons and warfare, both of these nations saw the other as a perilous threat not only to the continuation of the ideals of democracy in America and Communism in The Soviet Union, but also to the lives of their inn ocent civilians. Countless numbers of historians have argued over the question of which superpower initiated the conflict, which Walter Lippmann coined â€Å"The Cold War† in his book of the same title, but a consensus has not yet been reached. In general, however, the events of the Cold War, which thankfully did not result in a military conflict, followed a specific pattern: The United States’ paranoia over the expansion of the Communist bloc encouraged them to develop new weapons and exert their influence in numerous struggles in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Soviets, seeing this American initiative as a threat, also escalated their weapons and military programs. Essentially, the origins of the Cold War can be traced back to the Russian Revolution of ... ...ation out, but rather those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest nation on earth has had to offer (Newman and Schmalbach 588). Due to this influx of anti-communist paranoia, the Loyalty Review Board, which performed investigations and background checks on over three million federal workers, was created. Additionally, the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 outlawed citizens from supporting any form of totalitarian government, established restrictions for confessed Communists, and created detention camps for those who did not comply. Lastly, the Un-American Activities Committee, which was created in 1939 to find Nazis, was reactivated in the forties to do the same for Communists. As already mentioned, paranoia was so hectic that this organization searched for Communists in the Boy Scouts and in the Hollywood industry (Newman and Schmalbach 559).