(History) Intro of Cold War

REASONS FOR THE COLD WAR @p0stc4rds_

THE MAIN GODDAMN REASONS IDEOLOGICAL CONFLICTSThey followed two very different belief systems and believed the other one was wrong and wanted to make sure their belief system SUPERPOWER RIVALRY USA and USSR were the two most dominant powers that emerged from the war and immediately went into a rivalry to prove who was the stronger one RIVAL BLOCS After the war, the two were so overpowered that a conflict between them could end in nuclear war, so they decided to fight through proxy wars and ally themselves with groups of countries creating rival blocs

TABLE OF CONTENTS iDEOLOGICAL CONFLICT01 WW2 TREATMENT03 SUPERPOWER RIVALRY + RIVAL BLOCS02 MANIFESTATIONS OF COLD WAR04

IDEOLOGICAL CONFLICT 01

IDEOLOGICAL CONFLICTS BETWEEN USA/USSR USA’S GOV By a democratic system of government USA’S ECON Had a free-market economy US VISION Democracy + capitalist, sustain social + economic conditions that create political self-determination USSR’S GOV By an authoritarian system USSR’S ECON Had a command economy USSR VISION Communists who wanted to incite world revolution and destroy capitalism

SUPERPOWER RIVALRY 02

HOW DID THE SUPERPOWER RIVALRY COME ABOUT Many casualties + high amount of damaged infrastructure made the previous world powers (France, UK) unable to have resources to maintain their positions as superpowers, leaving a power vaccum Since Hitler was removed as a common enemy, there was no further need for the USA and the USSR to remain allies post WW2, and both went to strengthen their political and economic influence to be better than the other to make sure the other does not surpass them in influence DEVASTATION OF EUROPE AND RISE OF THE SUPERPOWERS END OF WARTIME ALLIANCE

RIVAL BLOCS: the two were so overpowered that a conflict between them could end in nuclear war, so they decided to fight through proxy wars and ally themselves with groups of countries, creating rival blocs Stalin established a ring of satellite states around the USSR through ‘salami tactics’ to defend the USSR and its sphere of influence, but the USA saw it as an aggressive pursuit of global communist influence Through Kennan’s Long Telegram -> US foreign policy shifted to containing the USSR’s aggressive spread of its dominance and influence in Eastern Europe ESTABLISHMENT OF SOVIET SATELLITE STATES IN EASTERN EUROPE END OF WARTIME ALLIANCE

WW2 TREATMENT 03

TLDR OF USSR’S POOR TREATMENT FROM ALLIES DURING WW2 Action Reaction Perceived delay in opening a second front to relive USSR forces from pressure of German attacks in 1943 Stalin viewed as being done to minimise Allied casualties even though it was done when there was an acceptable likelihood of its success Disagreements during Yalta Conference (Feb 1945) + Potsdam Conference (Aug 1945) Could not come to a compromise about issues like control of Poland + Germany’s economy + land splitting of Germany + German reparations Americann nuclear monopoly + dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan +USA only notified USSR after 1st successful test Aroused Soviet suspicion + Truman used the bomb to end the war swiftly and to gain political leverage over the USSR but led to a nuclear arms race Churchill gave his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in March 1946 about the political divide between the Soviet/Western Europe sphere of influence Strengthened the view of the Western powers of the USSR hostility towards them