The Cold WarDemocracy vs. Communism

How Did the Cold WarAffect the American Way of

Life?

What does the term “Cold War” mean?

The term “Cold War” is used to describe a state of political hostility and military rivalry between nations

that stops short of open warfare.

following World War II, tensions between the United States, its allies and the Soviet Union were high. As a

result the period in history from1945 to 1991 is given the name

“The Cold War”

Much of the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union stemmed from

philosophical differences between their political views.

Let’s look at the differences between Communism and Democracy?

Communism is a type of government in which its goal is to form a society where everything is

shared equally, all people are treated equally and there is little private ownership. In a communist society, the government owns and controls most

everything including property, means of production, education, transportation, and

agriculture. It is a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled

by a totalitarian state dominated by a single political party.

Democracy respects individuals' right to own property and means of

production. People are free to create their own political

parties, and hold elections which are free of coercion and

fair to all. It supports capitalism, in which individuals

can open and run their own businesses. In a democracy, every person is equal, and

they have the right to work to support themselves and to move up or down the social

ladder. In a Democratic society, all people have the right to

“ Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”

Although the United States and the Soviet Union were the major players during the Cold War, many other countries were also affected by this world

wide tension. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were never involved with each other in any military conflicts but flexed their muscles through armed

conflicts of smaller countries. The most notable of these conflicts were the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 and War in Vietnam from 1964 to 1973. In both of these conflicts, troops from the United States and its United Nations

allies were attempting to prevent the spread of communism.

These conflicts were fought because the allies felt if they did not stop the Spread of communism in these

vulnerable countries it would spread fromOne country to the next. This idea was given the name

“The Domino Theory”

During the Cold War, there were several incidents that strained the relationship

between the U.S. and the Soviet Union even further.

In 1957 the Soviet Union put the first man-made satellite into orbit around the

Earth. This alarmed the U.S. military and politicians because they felt if the

Soviets could launch a missile into space they might be able to launch a nuclear

weapon to the United States. This event also had a detrimental effect on the

morale of the American people. There was great fear that a nuclear attack

on the United States from the Soviet Union was a real threat.

In an effort to monitor military build-up in the Soviet Union, the United Statesand several allies instituted a program to use high altitude “spy planes” to

photograph Soviet military bases. In 1960, a U-2 spy plane was shot down overthe Soviet Union and its pilot captured. Initially the U.S. reported it was

a weather plane that had wandered off course. The Soviets produced photographsrecovered from the U-2 showing several military instillations. U.S. President

Dwight Eisenhower finally admitted the airplane was on a spy mission but refusedto offer an apology to the Soviets. Again, tensions ran high between the two counties.

The closest the United States and the Soviet Union came to nuclear war was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After U.S. President John F. Kennedy placed nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy, Soviet president Nakita Khrushchev made a deal with Cuban president Fidel Castro to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. The United States discovered

thepreparation of missile sites in Cuba when in October of 1962 an

American U-2 spy plane photographed the construction sites. Tensions between the two countries ran high and the possibility of nuclear war

was imminent. Presidents Kennedy and Khrushchev eventually negotiated an agreement in which the U.S would remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey and Italy while the Soviets would do the

same in Cuba.

This constant threat of nuclear war caused the American public to make drastic changes to the way they went about their everyday

lives. Many built underground bomb shelters, learned to “duck and cover”, and became involved in the Civil Defense. Americans were

truly afraid the U.S.S.R. would attack at any time.

As time passed, both countries became more involved with domestic disputes and the threat of nuclear war became less

prevalent. Eventually the U.S.S.R. began to unravel. Like dominoes, eastern European communist dictatorships fell one by one. Communist regimes were ousted in Poland,

Hungary, Rumania and Czechoslovakia. In December 1991, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia itself declared independence

and the Soviet Union was dissolved.

Americans found it difficult to get used to the idea of no Cold War. Since 1945, Americans were born into a Cold War culture that

featured backyard bomb shelters, spy planes, a space race, a missile crisis, the Berlin Wall and

Soviet dominance in eastern Europe.

But to most Americans, the enemy had been beaten.