The Cold War

Many people have heard or read about the Cold War, and most know that there was no actual fighting during the period of this “War” between the US and the USSR. What many don't know, however, is when or how it all began. The Cold War was the relationship that developed mainly between the US and the USSR after World War Two. There were many situations that both powers had to face and make important decisions trying to keep the peace. This War dominated international affairs for decades and many important circumstances occurred that many would call crises such as the Korean War, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Missile Crisis, etc.

One of the main reasons the Cold War began was because of America's fear of a Russian attack and Russia's fear of an American attack. Both had the technology to attack and take over the other country, but neither wanted to start another war for power. Although Russia and the US fought as Allie's in World War II, the friendship didn't last after the war. They had only become allies since both their enemies happened to be the NAZI's at the time.

The Russians also had trust issues with the US after the news about the bombings at Hiroshima reached Moscow. They were afraid of this new weapon and didn't know how many America had. Also, the Americans had something to be afraid of too. The Russians had a vast army in the field (The Red Army supremely led by Georgy Zhukav).

Although there were many important events during the cold war, one of the significant occurrences was the Korean War, which began in June of 1950. The Korean War was the time when the Cold War became a global conflict. In 1945, Korea was freed from the Japanese but US troops stayed there until 1946 when it was split at the 38th parallel. North Korea, led by Kim Il Sung, was communist and South Korea, led by Syngman Rhee, was capitalist, meaning the two countries basically hated each other.

There were three main reasons the Korean War began. First off, President Truman, who was president of the US at the time, was interested in the Far East. There seemed to be a sort of domino effect since Europe wasn't the only place where communists were coming to power. This was happening in the Far East as well. China became communist in 1949 and Truman believed that if one country fell to communism, the others would follow, like a line of dominos. He was worried that if Korea fell, the communists would capture Japan.

After Truman realized the US was in a competition for world domination with the USSR, he supported South Korea. By doing this, America was able to fight communism without directly attacking Russia. The second cause of this was Stalin's involvement in the Far East as well. Kim Il Sung visited Stalin in 1949, and persuaded him to believe that he could ...