The Cold War

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Cold War began as WWII was ending when, at Yalta in 1945, the principal allies, which included the Soviet Union, England and the United States, were dividing up the spoils. The author points out that a profound result of the Cold War was seen in domestic politics in America, as the politics of anticommunism rather than the politics of liberalism emerged to dominate American political life through the demagoguery of the junior U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Joe McCarthy. The paper relates that the hippie movement of the 1960s was a reaction and a protest against the Cold War, the nuclear build-up of the superpowers, and the "military establishment".

Table of Contents
Origins and Background
Beginning and Issues
Foreign and Domestic Policy Initiatives
McCarthyism
Civil Rights Movement
Anti-War Movement

From the Paper:

"Poland was a prize that the Soviets wanted because of its geographical proximity to the Soviet Union. But for England and France, both of whom had declared war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland, the thought of another "totalitarian country in control of Poland" was "unthinkable." And so this was the first crisis of the new Cold War: in fact, during the Yalta conference in February 1945, the Red Army of the Soviet Union already occupied Poland, so, what was Roosevelt to do - go to war with Stalin, right after the American and the Soviets had fought together to defeat Nazism?"

More papers on The Cold War:

• Article Review # 122091 : "Review of "The Cold War: What do we Now Know?"
• Analytical Essay # 66991 : "The Cold War"
• Book Review # 124367 : "The Cold War"
• Comparison Essay # 56723 : "Dr. Strangelove" and the Cold War in America"

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