Impact of the Cold war on the U.S.
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How did the Cold War affect the United States from 1945 to the late 1960s? In your answer, consider the effects on foreign policy (especially the Vietnam War)
The cold war took place from 1947 to 1991, and it was a rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States. The relationship between the two countries was tensed. The Americans feared that society’s communism would spread to America and its allies. It also was worried about joseph’s Stalin’s tyrannical rule. Soviet, on the other hand, resented America because it refused to recognize the USSR as a member in the international community and to fail to respond to their call during the world war II in the time leading to deaths of many Russians, leading to a lot of tension distrust and enmity between the two countries. This cold war affected the U.S. in so many ways. These include the red scare, expansion of the civil rights movement, and entry to the Vietnam war.
The Vietnam war
One of the major effects of the cold war is the U.S. joining the Vietnam War. The reason the U.S. joined in the fight against Vietnam is the fear of communism. The U.S. believed in capitalism, where equal rights and opportunities ought to be granted to all people for the economy to succeed. However the communism mentality supported ownership of the government by the majority power. Soviet Union was spreading to Asian countries and this led to increased tension in Americans who joined the war to avoid the Soviet Union from ruling the world. In the Vietnam War, Americans who dies were almost 60,000. The Vietnam War was opposed by many civilians who viewed the war as immoral. People felt that the U.S. was sacrificing U.S. soldiers, yet the threat of communism had not been proven. Moreover, the people who had been sent to the war were mostly African Americans and young men who were at risk. Other Americans also felt that the government wasn’t being transparent about the war. The Americans lost their confidence in the government . The war-affected the U.S. economy in that the country produced goods specifically for military support and not consumer goods. Vietnam war also forced interests in the U.S. to increase, and also restrictions were also put on how consumers and companies would use their money. The free markets no longer operated freely.
Civil rights movement
Between 1950 and 1960, the civil rights movement emerged. It campaigned for equal rights for black Americans. It was a plea that the blacks be recognized and protected by the Constitution. The civil war had succeeded in the abolishment of slavery, but discrimination against black Americans still prevailed as African Americans were still victims of racism and violence. Moreover, they were denied their civil rights. The cold war affected the U.S. by encouraging the abolition of the civil rights movement to maintain its reputation. As stated earlier, the US was a capitalist, while the USSR was a communist. Capitalism is all about equality and justice among the society. Therefore, the civil rights movement went against the U.S. ideology of capitalism. The civil war caused a lot of political pressure on the U.S. government to heed to the protestants’ grievances and promote equality for all so that it could maintain its reputation as a capitalist, aa superpower, and more powerful than USSR.
The Red scare
The red scare means the spread of fear of communism ideologies. The red scare was so devastating in the cold war that the government was willing to sacrifice the Bil of Rights just to get people to tell on each other. The red scare is market by one famous leader, Senator Joseph McCarthy. He was a strong anti-communist, who spent half a decade trying to expose government officials who could be in the communist movement as they posed a risk of overthrowing the government. McCarthy was so brutal that people did not question him. He conducted interrogation He appealed to the public, telling them that he had a list of 205 communists- government officials who were also involved in government policymaking. He also caused people to lose jobs. McCarthyism had a great impact on American politics and culture. It intensified unnecessary suspicion in government. He caused tension amongst the Americans who now thought that the government was filled with traitors who tried to bring down the government. He also triggered tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union, which was the main reason behind the U.S. joining the Vietnam War. McCarthy summoned many people to testify against the communist supporters. The witnesses who were writers and movie directors were blacklisted from getting jobs or public services, even if they could not be linked to the communist movement.
The cold war and its influence on war strategies used in the Vietnam war
The cold war also influenced the tactics that the U.S. military used in the Vietnam war. These tactics included the escalation, bombing, and artillery. Before the cold war, the U.S. was beginning to enjoy economic development, and a period of nuclear proliferation emerged. By 1945, the U.S. and the Soviet Union began to compete who had the most supremacy in atomic weapons. The availability of atomic bombs during the cold war influenced the tactics used by the Ameican Amry ib the Vietnam war. The two countries later entered the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons war treaties to stop the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.
References
History.com. (n.d). Vietnam War. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history
History.com .(2019). Joseph McCarthy. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
History.com. (2009). Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
History.co. (2017). Atomic Bomb History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/atomic-bomb-history