Excerpt From An Essay On The Cold War
If you’re struggling to figure out how to write your history paper on the Cold War, or any topic, you’ve come to the right place! Cold War essay topics can seem endless, but the writing becomes easier once you choose one: such as causes of the Cold War. Essay writing doesn’t have to be a hassle! Check out the following sample of an essay on the Cold War:
The Cold War
The cold war refers to a period of history in which the United States and NATO, comprising the Western Bloc, and the Soviet Union and surrounding holdings, comprising the Eastern Bloc, stood against one another in a tense military standoff. It is called the “Cold War” because neither side ever actually raised arms against each other, however, the threat of war remained ever-present. The Cold War lasted from the signing of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. This paper will explore how the looming threat of war affected the development of American economic and ideological beliefs.
The terms Western and Eastern Bloc could easily be replaced by capitalist and communist as these political and ideological differences formed the basis of the disagreements between both factions. In the United States, a capitalist society, communism became a feared term. People could be detained and questioned under suspicion of belonging to the communist party, and reporting suspicious behavior from your friends and neighbors was actively encouraged. This created a culture of fear which caused people to acquiesce to the economic ideals of the state or risk losing their careers, liberty, or even their lives. It was easy to play on people’s fear in the years directly following World War II. The phrase “communist witch hunt” is often used to describe the process by which people were named and questioned under suspicion of belonging to the Reds—a name commonly used to refer to communists.
The American society was held under a threat of violence during the Cold War, causing people to become suspicious of one another. Conforming to state economic and political ideals became necessary to avoid persecution. The resulting culture of fear reinforced the value of capitalism within the American mindset, and directed the continued development of the economic system towards such within the United States. While no battles were fought, the tensions between factions lasted for decades and left an indelible mark on the pages of history.
