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2 pages/≈550 words
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Style:
MLA
Subject:
History
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Topic:
War over ideas
Essay Instructions:
Because the United States and the Soviet Union never confronted each other in an all-‐out military campaign,the period from 1945-‐1991 we often refer to the Cold War as a “war over ideas.” More specifically, it was a conflict between competing philosophies about how to best organize human society: free market capitalism and democratic governance or one-‐party state-‐directed socialism. In this essay, assess whether or not both the Soviet Union and the United States stuck true to their political ideologies. How, if ever, did the two Cold War superpowers contradict their own ideals? Where and when did these
events occur? Or did either one of these superpowers successfully
propagate their political message abroad? Was one “victorious” over another?
Essay Sample Content Preview:
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Did the Soviet Union and the United States stick true to their political ideologies?
The two did not stick to their political ideologies since they encountered resistance from different quotas on many occasions thereby loosening their stands on various aspects. Some of these examples include: Elections and freedoms; the political movements in the Soviet Union lead to the abandonment of the held ideology of no elections and freedoms of speech. These were introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader in 1985 (The Cold War Museum, 2008). The leadership at that time underestimated the power of the non Russians at that time. Communism; the economic policies of the Soviets were unable to meet the needs of the sate. This lead to gradual economic decline and hence, communism, which they had fought to instill never took firm grip and was eventually lost.
Did they contradict their own ideals?
They contradicted their own ideals on a number of occasions: The United States was accused of supporting communalism outside the country in an attempt to please other nations. For example Robert Taft blamed Truman for seeking a congress "dominated by a policy of appeasing the Russians abroad and of fostering communism at home" (Naranjo, 2003). The US policy of freedom of speech and personal freedoms was seen to be contradicted when actors in the television industry were blacklisted because of their stance that seemed to support the Soviet Union polices. The US policy of democracy was also seen to be contradicted when JK Kennedy made attempts to assassinate the president of Cuba. This was however not to happen but instead he was assassinated himself (The Cold War Museum, 2008). One of the ideologies was the need for survival for the fittest. However, they started assisting other nations that lacked the financial and military abilities to resist the Soviet Union. This was mainly aimed to curb the spread of communism (Naranjo, 2003).
Did either one of these superpowers successfully Propagate their political message abroad?
Neither of the two was successful in propagating their policies abroad. These efforts often resulted in wars and conflicts. For instance, the president of the United States, JK Kennedy tried to end the procommunist leader in Cuba in 1961, by sending Cuban exiles to invade Cuba (Naranjo, 2003). However, Castro, the president of Cuba at that time turned to the USSR for economic aid and protection. This eventually pushed the US and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war.
In addition, the Soviets tried to propagate their communist agenda across many countries but this did not work. For example, the government of Estonia in 1987 demanded for autonomy by organized mass dissent (The Cold War Museum, 2008). These were followed by many other protests outside Russia and hence the Soviet policies were not spread. As a result, it led to its collapse. The Marshal plan in Germany also met a lot of resi...
(Institution)
(Course)
(Tutor)
(Date)
Did the Soviet Union and the United States stick true to their political ideologies?
The two did not stick to their political ideologies since they encountered resistance from different quotas on many occasions thereby loosening their stands on various aspects. Some of these examples include: Elections and freedoms; the political movements in the Soviet Union lead to the abandonment of the held ideology of no elections and freedoms of speech. These were introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader in 1985 (The Cold War Museum, 2008). The leadership at that time underestimated the power of the non Russians at that time. Communism; the economic policies of the Soviets were unable to meet the needs of the sate. This lead to gradual economic decline and hence, communism, which they had fought to instill never took firm grip and was eventually lost.
Did they contradict their own ideals?
They contradicted their own ideals on a number of occasions: The United States was accused of supporting communalism outside the country in an attempt to please other nations. For example Robert Taft blamed Truman for seeking a congress "dominated by a policy of appeasing the Russians abroad and of fostering communism at home" (Naranjo, 2003). The US policy of freedom of speech and personal freedoms was seen to be contradicted when actors in the television industry were blacklisted because of their stance that seemed to support the Soviet Union polices. The US policy of democracy was also seen to be contradicted when JK Kennedy made attempts to assassinate the president of Cuba. This was however not to happen but instead he was assassinated himself (The Cold War Museum, 2008). One of the ideologies was the need for survival for the fittest. However, they started assisting other nations that lacked the financial and military abilities to resist the Soviet Union. This was mainly aimed to curb the spread of communism (Naranjo, 2003).
Did either one of these superpowers successfully Propagate their political message abroad?
Neither of the two was successful in propagating their policies abroad. These efforts often resulted in wars and conflicts. For instance, the president of the United States, JK Kennedy tried to end the procommunist leader in Cuba in 1961, by sending Cuban exiles to invade Cuba (Naranjo, 2003). However, Castro, the president of Cuba at that time turned to the USSR for economic aid and protection. This eventually pushed the US and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war.
In addition, the Soviets tried to propagate their communist agenda across many countries but this did not work. For example, the government of Estonia in 1987 demanded for autonomy by organized mass dissent (The Cold War Museum, 2008). These were followed by many other protests outside Russia and hence the Soviet policies were not spread. As a result, it led to its collapse. The Marshal plan in Germany also met a lot of resi...
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