Running head: WORLD WAR II THROUGH THE 1970’S
World War II Through the 1970’s
Dave Clark
Professor L. Peralta
HIS 105: Contemporary US History
02 December 2012
CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance received in its presentation is acknowledged and disclosed in the paper (at the end). I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas, or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared specifically for this course and has not been used for another course (and will not be) either in whole or substantial part.
NAME AND DATE: Dave Clark, 02 December 2012
For over four decades of the twentieth century after the conclusion of World War II, a condition of Cold War and intense enmity between two super powers (United States and USSR) dominated the world stage. International relations everywhere and domestic policy in numerous nations pivoted around this long heated and contested rivalry. Josef Stalin (General Secretary of the Soviet Union Communist Party’s Central Committee) and Harry S. Truman (President of the United States) meet at the Potsdam conference in July 1945. Diplomacy between the two countries quickly degenerated into mutual distrust, military and nuclear buildup leading to the Cold War which would span nine presidencies and nearly fifty years (Truman Library, 2004).
While ideology cannot entirely explain the origins of the cold war, it may help explain why it became so enduring and contentious. The Soviet Union envisioned a world-wide global revolution leading to a Communist utopia and the United States believed in democracy and private enterprise. As their World War II coalition melted away in the face of growing political disagreements, the rhetoric of both nations turned shriller and argumentative, making faith in negotiations and treaties virtually non-existent.
In 1947, an article entitled "The Sources of Soviet...