With everything you have read and as we talk about the origins of the Cold War, I want to spend some time developing our understanding so we can begin to formulate our own perspectives. We will begin this process by identifying what you believe, at this point, to be the primary social, political, and economic causes of the Cold War. Second, in your view, is there a primary cause? If so, what is it? If not, why not? Third, is either the USSR to blame, the US to blame, both to blame, or is nobody to blame for causing the Cold War?
Since you may be thinking about this for the first time, your opinions may be subject to change over time, and that is okay. If your opinion does not change, that is fine as well. As long as your perspective is based on sound logic and fact, this is a success. To help facilitate this process, review and comment on a minimum of 3 of your classmates posts. This should help you question your own perspective and form a better, more conclusive understanding. I am genuinely looking forward to reading what you have to say!
I believe the origins of the cold war date back to WWII. US/USSR relations during the war turned into strong tension from the war in the Pacific, including the US' use of the atomic bomb. Instead of allowing Russia to help finish the war, Truman had Russia hold off for just a few weeks longer. In that period, the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war. The USSR felt that the United States had wanted the glory of winning the war, which caused hard feelings. The US didn't want communist success in the war, either. Total losses on the Allied side were greatest for Russia, which was another cause of the bad feelings that Russians felt towards the US. Soviets also felt threatened by the US' nuclear technology. No one else in the world had such powerful weapons, but Russia definitely had the resources to make them, and they weren't going to live with such a powerful threat right in Alaska's backyard.
I think a lot more of the tension of the Cold War came from post-war Europe's poor economic state. The new countries that were established from war-broken boundaries were vulnerable to USSR implementation of Communism. Western Europe was most succeptible because of the much worse conditions they faced than Eastern Europe. Germany was a point of great alarm and conflict because of the Berlin wall. The wall literally divided Communism from Germany's newly developed government. The wall was also considered part of the Iron Curtain, containing Communism on the East side of it.
The US fear of Communism was probably the largest factor to cause tension in the war. The US took preventative measures to block out Communism from spreading to the vulnerable states in post-war Europe. It wanted to make sure that Communism was not spread to Latin America and South America, because they could be strongly affiliated with Soviet Russia.
All in all, I think the US is really to blame for the start of the Cold War, because the US developed the A-Bomb and the US took strong measures (ex. Marshall Plan) to keep Communism out of countries.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Prezi summary
My prezi focused on Total war and the aspects of total war in WWII. The war was considered a total war because of the many ways the war affected not just the people fighting. Many people on the homefronts were killed. Fighting took place in cities and farms, so more than just soldiers were taken out. Advancing technology allowed each military to be relentless and bomb/nuke/take out hundreds of thousands of people in matters of days.
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