After World War II, the United States and Soviet Union had a very tense relationship. They both had land claimed in Europe, and the conflicting ideology between capitalism and communism strained tensions between the two superpowers. The US wanted territory and influence over the land in Europe to expand their trade routes, and since they had atomic weapons, they couldn’t stay out of world events; they were an international influence over many nations. The US also helped Europe rebuild after the war. The Soviet Union was unstable after WWII, but their economy was booming, just like in the US. The Marxist ideology of the Soviet Union caused a hatred against the United States. Although the US and Russia aren’t as different as before, the Cold War still had a major effect on the United States because it introduced new military strategies for peace and defense, created newer weapon technology, and directly led to the beginning of the Space Race.
Before the Cold War, WWII had just recently ended. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States joined the war to fight against the Axis powers, which consisted of Germany, Japan, Italy, and a few other smaller nations. The US fought along with the Allies, who were Britain, the Soviet Union, France, and China. America and the Soviet Union were the primary world powers after the war had ravaged the lands of Europe and China. Even though they were allies in the war, conflicting ideas soon began to spark. The Soviet Union believed in Marxism, which is a political theory that manages social class by distributing money equally to every citizen. Capitalism is a system where every person gets their own money and spends it on what they want. Both economic systems thought they were dominant, and this created conflict between the nations because both were power hungry and wanted territory.
Another reason for the conflict is because the Soviet Union’s economy and structure were collapsing. The war had left nations in Europe and Asia wartorn with millions of workers dead, millions of dollars of owed money, and the need for leadership. Joseph Stalin, the communist leader of the Soviet Union at the time, wanted to end the world of capitalism and replace it with communism. This happened after the Russian Civil War, when many Russian civilians rebelled against the government and the wealthy elites, due to the starving and poorness of the average citizen. The United States, who occupied neighboring nations, believed capitalism is the best economic system because you can have your own personal money. Also, we knew Stalin was a terrible dictator and killed millions of his own citizens if he thought they were against communism. This is one of the many problems that are directly caused from living under an autocratic ruler. Autocracy also conflicts with democracy, the political system of the US. This stirred even more tensions between the USSR and America. The US and Soviet Union were heading towards a possible conflict.
The Cold War was an event in history that is remembered as the closest humanity got to full-blown nuclear warfare. WWII left the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world divided on who gets what territory and which political, governmental, and economic systems are applied where. There is no true day when the Cold War began. Some argue it started when the US-Soviet Union meetings in Berlin ended, while others say it began as early as when the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan.
The United States, France, and Britain controlled regions of East Germany, whilst the USSR occupied West Germany. Eventually, the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to prevent Eastern Germans moving west. This is one of the first major events that happened that caused conflict to ensue.
Fidel Castro, Cuba’s leader at that time, announced that his country would join the Soviet Union. In January of 1961, President Eisenhower broke relationships between the US and Cuba due to increasing tensions. Cubans who had fled to the US after Castro was elected were trained by the US military to invade Cuba. About 1,300 Cuban refugees invaded the Bay of Pigs on April 16, 1961. It was a humiliating loss for the US, as they were highly outnumbered and surrendered within 24 hours of landing. Castro was paranoid because he thought that there would be another American assault on Cuba, so he got the USSR to put missiles in Cuba.
The Soviet Union knew America had nukes planted in Turkey, and were afraid the US had first-strike capabilities. Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR’s leader, approved a plan to put nuclear-tipped missiles into Cuba. In 1962, Soviet engineers began secretly putting missile installations into Cuba. On October 15, a US spy plane saw the installations with pictures, and this scared the US. President Kennedy ordered small spy missions on Cuba every two hours. The USSR sent the US two letters. The first tried to make an agreement that they would remove their missiles from Cuba if the US promised to not invade Cuba. The second one was more assertive and demanded for the US to take the missiles from Turkey back in exchange for them removing the missiles from Cuba. However, the US ignored the second one and promised not to invade Cuba. Khrushchev finally agreed to his side of the deal, trusting the US, and removing their missiles from Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest we’ve ever been to nuclear war due to a lack of clear communication between the conflicting nations. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US and Soviet Union realized that their communication issue could’ve ended very tragically. Therefore, they created a phone between Kennedy and Khrushchev so they can instantly talk and discuss what their individual nations are doing instead of just guessing.
There were many effects of the Cold War due to the world’s closeness to nuclear annihilation. The Cold War directly caused the space race, created new defense strategies and policies as to hopefully not run into this situation again, and revolutionized military technology. First of all, when the Cold War’s nuclear arms race paused in about 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first ever man made satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around Earth. The United States then joined in as to show off and not get too far behind the Soviets. The first few launches that took place in the US were embarrassing failures, but they began to start catching up. However, the Soviet Union then beat the United States again with the first man launched into space. Kennedy and the United States were humiliated, so he commited us to be the first to make it to the moon, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard” (Kennedy).
Due to the Cold War, new strategies were created as to not let this happen again. One is called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). This strategy was introduced in the Eisenhower and Kennedy era when the Soviets and United States battled to have stronger and more sneaky nuclear weapons to outdo the other. Therefore, this policy ironically contributed to the arms race and the Cold War itself, almost like a chain reaction. Afterwards, president Jimmy Carter practically abandoned MAD by introducing the Strategic Defense Initiative, which tried to instill a missile defense system that would, in theory, create a “shield” around the US and shoot any Soviet missiles that were fired at us. Although it still hasn’t been put into place, this shows how the Cold War changed our defense strategies. Additionally, on the 26th of July in 1963, President Kennedy addressed the nation on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. After we learned from our mistakes from the arms race, Kennedy announced this treaty, which bans nuclear tests above ground. He said it wouldn’t prevent conflict, but it would be a “step towards peace” (Kennedy). This treaty is sti
ll alive today, as it encourages peace around the world.
One piece of military technology that was changed greatly in the Cold War were ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are missiles that have a ballistic trajectory to deliver a warhead to a target. These are very effective because they travel high above the atmosphere and come back down at a steeper angle, and travel very quickly. Since they have such a high trajectory, they are able to travel above the atmosphere. This makes it very hard to intercept them, because the only way to shoot them down is either when they’re launched or when they’re descending. It has been described as trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. Another trait that makes them so effective is they travel very quickly, which makes them even harder to defend against. Ballistic missiles are primarily broken down into five different range missiles; short range ballistic missiles (SRBM), medium range ballistic missiles (MRBM), intermediate range ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). Each of these were developed during the Cold War by the US and Soviet Union so they can intimidate the other and win the psychological war game. Today, ballistic missiles are still a large part of the United State’s military force, with us having roughly 500 ballistic missiles, along with many more warheads.
The Cold War had a very large effect in US history because it kicked off the Space Race, introduced new and better technologies, and created new defense plans and treaties. Since the US and Soviet Union faced off and almost used nuclear weapons, we have competed to get to space first, get the first man into orbit, and get the first man to the moon. The Space Race is what created NASA and our modern space exploration plans today. Even now, the majority of our knowledge of outer space directly relates to the Cold War’s fierce intimidation tactics between the US and the Soviets.
In conclusion, the Cold War had a very large effect on the history of the United States. During the war, especially the Cuban Missile Crisis, there was a fear of nuclear war. After the Cold War was over, the United States made the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The Cold War had the US make new technologies that stand even today due to their strength and superiority over most nations. Finally, the Cold War led directly to the Space Race with the US and Soviet Union, and this is why we’ve explored space the extent we have today. The Cold War affected major aspects of our history and even modern knowledge and technology. Therefore, it had a large effect on the history of the United States.
Works Cited
Ball, Dewi I. “Mutual Assured Destruction: Cold War.” World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2018, worldatwar.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1300245. Accessed 20 Mar. 2018.
Kauffman, Jill. “Nuclear Freeze Movement.” Issues & Controversies in American History. Infobase Learning, 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 14 Feb. 2018. http://icah.infobaselearning.com/icahfullarticle.aspx?ID=107354
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald. Speech. 12 Sept. 1962. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/MkATdOcdU06X5uNHbmqm1Q.aspx.
Simpson, Charles. “Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles: Cold War.” World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2018, worldatwar.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/757613. Accessed 19 Mar. 2018.
Windhausen, John D. “Cold War.” The 1960s in America, edited by Carl Singleton, Salem, 1999. Salem Online.