Notes
Causes of the Cold War
- War of ideologies
- Communism vs. democracy (capitalism) (east vs. west)
- Causes:
- Nationalism - both USA and USSR take actions throughout Cold War to protect their interests
- Imperialism - Many old imperialist nations are gone, USA and USSR take over this role worldwide. (Eg. Vietnam and Afghanistan)
- Fears and Concerns - West feared a Communist revolution worldwide (cominform replaced comintern)
- Russia fears counterrevolution from within helped by money from the west.
- The Domino Theory - a metaphor that the USA used to describe the fear of allowing countries to go Communist and then their neighbours would follow course (eg. Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe)
- Satellite States and the Iron Curtain - Many Eastern European states (that Russia had occupied) became puppet communist governments.
- The Department of Defence - includes all facets of military
- The National Security Council - advises President of matters concerning defence
- The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - espionage and intelligence collection
Summary
The Cold War paranoid much of the US, because of the fear of communist revolution worldwide. USA believed in "The Domino Theory" which was a metaphor used to describe the fear of countries becoming communist, and their neighbor countries would follow. USA was extremely concerned, so they introduced: The Department of Defense, The National Security Council, and The Central Intelligence Agency.
Quote
"You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one. I don't believe in little plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet a situation which we can't possibly foresee now." - Harry S Truman
subjunctive question
What would the world look like today if communism did spread worldwide?