Answer to Question #243991 in History for NEO

Question

Discuss the causes that led to the beginning of the Cold War from 1945, including the ideological

conflict between both the United States and the Soviet Union, the emergence of nuclear

weapons, and the fear of communism in the United States.

Answer 1

Cold war was one of the most momentous events of the 21^st century which was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union after the WWII. The major catalyst of the war was the ideological conflict between the US and Soviet Union. During the time, the Soviet Union was communist nation which was govern by the principles of collectivism or socialism while on the other hand, the US was a modern liberal democracy nation based primarily on the principles of individualism. This implies that the Soviet Union was placed on the far-left side of the economic spectrum, while the US position on the right side. This ideological difference created conflict between the two nations since the Soviet Union tried to expand communism to other regions and the US sought to stop it with its policy of containment.

The emergence of nuclear weapons also caused the Cold War. WWII did not officially end in the Pacific Theater until the atomic bombing of Japan in Aug 1945. The US had developed the atomic weaponry through the program of Manhattan Project. The US was the only State in the world to contain the atomic weapons and as such the Soviet Union was not in a position to militaristically challenge US hence worked to develop their own atomic weapons. This created insecurity dilemma and the two nations never trusted each other escalating the Cold War.

The fear of communism was also a major cause of the Cold War in which the American feared its spread in the world. After WWII, both Greece and Turkey were faced with financial crisis, and because of its proximity to Soviet Territory, it was feared that they could fall into the Soviet sphere of influence and become communist.