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Period: to
Cold War
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Policy Of Containment
The Policy of Containment is conceivably the policy that angered the Russians and might have started the conflict. The Americans recognized how quickly Communism was expanding and felt as though it was their responsibility to act on it and stop their expansion. The Russians saw this, not as a defensive strategy, but instead as indirect attacks on Russia by economically colonizing European nations so they would side with America on the impdending conflicts. -
Kruschev's rise and reign
Kruschev's political career will forever be tainted by the shocking mishandling of the Cuban Missile Crisis however, in truth, he was probably one of the stronger leaders for the USSR. He was scathing of Stalin's reign and his brutality whilst in power. Other than that, he was viewed as a pragmatist by American leaders until the Cuban Missile Crisis. This view of him was enhanced by his ability to strengthen foreign relations and his ability to modernize the USSR. -
Space Race
The Space Race was a major source of tension in the cold war, not so much from a military standpoint, but moreso because it showed the pride that the Russians had and their unquenchable desire to prove themselves superior to the Americans. This desire was reciprocated by the Americans and so began the war of words that was The Space Race. A race in which both nations wanted to 'boldly go where no man has gone before.' -
The Rise of The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall essentially saw Germany's capital split into 2 parts, West and East Berlin. The putting up of this wall was significant because it provided a tangible example of the 'iron curtain' and symbolized the divide of idealogies. The East was communist, the west was capitalist. It was also significant in a literal sense. There were large numbers of highly trained people going from East to West for money which showed America they were winning the war and also getting more good workers -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was concievably the point of the highest tension across the span of the Cold War period. America had missiles deployed in Turkey, in other words within range of the USSR so the USSR could be wiped out by the press of a button. Kruschev came up with a solution to this issue by deploying missiles in Cuba so America could be wiped out by the press of a button also. Each nation was hugely worried about the possiblity of impending doom and this stress only heightened tensions -
SALT Treaty
The signing of the treaty, in the short term, served to lighten tensions at the time of the first treaty being signed whilst also giving the leaders and people of the affected nations a level of piece of mind as the threat of nuclear, whilst not totally gone, would be significantly lessened.
