Historians have disagreed about the origins of the Cold War.
What is your view about the origins of the Cold War?
Interpretations of the origins of the Cold War widely differ from one another, and
historians either point the blame to the USSR, America, or both. The origins of the
Cold War 1945-49, consisted of the breakdown of relations between the two world
superpowers, America and Capitalism, a political ideology where a country’s trade is
controlled by private-owned enterprises, which the rich often flourish off. As well as
the USSR and Communism, a system where all property is owned by the
community, and the belief that everyone should be equal. Stalin and the Soviet
Union were key players in any explanation of the origins of the Cold War and the
historian, John Lewis Gaddis, demonstrates this argument with strength. If we look
back at 1945, it was the Soviet Union that aggravated the ending of the Grand
Alliance, and it was no surprise the West felt threatened. The orthodox historian,
Gaddis, illustrates the most convincing argument in his book ‘We Know Now:
Rethinking Cold War’. He argues that Stalin’s regime and the Soviet Union was a
catalyst for the origins of the Cold War and that they certainly sparked and amplified
tensions with the West. Despite this compelling argument, it should be
acknowledged that the post - revisionist historian, Robert Mcmahon does provide a
somewhat convincing argument in, ‘A Very Short Introduction to the Cold War’.
Mcmahon argues that both the Soviet Union and the US were to blame for the
origins of the Cold War and blames the ideological clash between the East and
West. Mcmahon does write with an intriguing and thoughtful nature, but lacks
convincing elements to his argument. In addition, the revisionist historians, Ambrose
and Brinkley, provide the least convincing reason for the origins of the Cold War, in
their book 'Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938'. They argue
America and its desire to remove Communism is to blame, and both suggest that
America’s policies, particularly containment, are to blame for unstable relations. Both
historians lack coherence and therefore do not provide a strong argument full of
clarity, that the historian Gaddis notably does. Lastly, to ignore the origins of the Cold
War, would arguably be narrow and it is certainly important that we re-examine the
origins of the Cold War, due to it’s vast impact on current affairs today; history
certainly does repeat itself.
First historian
, Firstly, Ambrose and Brinkley, provide an unconvincing argument for their revisionist
opinion. They suggest America’s desire to supposedly save Eastern Europe through
capitalism and democracy, are the reasons for the Cold War.
Both historians argue that the US’s policy of containment caused the division of the
Grand Alliance. The theory of containment in 1947, ultimately stemmed from
America’s fear of communism and it’s expansion throughout Europe, Ambrose and
Brinkley demonstrate this, ”America was unwilling to accept Russian domination of
East Europe”1. The West was certainly reluctant, their fears of a Soviet eastern
Europe is demonstrated by the Second Red Scare. The fear of communism that had
been spreading through the US soon after WWII. America was cautious of the Soviet
Union, and rightly so, it largely threatened the West’s political regime and their
freedom. The East and West tensions over Turkey in 1946 and the Iran crisis of
1946, meant America’s decision to implement containment was more than justifiable.
In 1946, the USSR, attempted to assert communist influence over Turkey’s fragile
government, and aimed for joint control over the Turkey Straits and permanent
military presence there. ‘He [Stalin] threatened Turkey, it is a fact he demanded the
basis of the Straits, that he demanded Kars and Adrahan’2. Stalin here was certainly
playing the aggressor here, joint control meant Stalin would have access to the
Mediterranean. The West were evidently unwilling to let this crisis expand and were
ready to resist Soviet force Therefore, it can’t be said America's reaction to Soviet
aggression, the Truman Doctrine, was an unjustifiable one. Historian McCauley is
incorrect in stating that ‘the most dramatic démarche was the Truman Doctrine’3
Stalin had no other reason, except communist expansionism, to enter the Balkan
region; this unequivocally gave reasons for the US fearing the spread of
communism, throughout the Dardanelles. Moreover, the Iran Crisis in 1946, also
gave America great reasoning to implement the Truman Doctrine in 1947. Arguably,
Stalin triggered the developing crisis, by refusing to withdraw his troops from Iran.
Unsurprisingly, the ‘aggressor’ did not remove their troops until around 9 weeks after
the deadline, and this was only due to agreement, which allowed the USSR oil
1
Ambrose and Brinkley ‘‘Rise To Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938’’ (1971) pg
53
2
Behlul Ozkan “The 1945 Turkish-Soviet Crisis.” n.d. Russia in Global Affairs. (2020)
3
Martin McCauley ‘’The Cold War and after: capitalism, revolution and superpower
politics’’Pearson Addison Wesley (2007)
What is your view about the origins of the Cold War?
Interpretations of the origins of the Cold War widely differ from one another, and
historians either point the blame to the USSR, America, or both. The origins of the
Cold War 1945-49, consisted of the breakdown of relations between the two world
superpowers, America and Capitalism, a political ideology where a country’s trade is
controlled by private-owned enterprises, which the rich often flourish off. As well as
the USSR and Communism, a system where all property is owned by the
community, and the belief that everyone should be equal. Stalin and the Soviet
Union were key players in any explanation of the origins of the Cold War and the
historian, John Lewis Gaddis, demonstrates this argument with strength. If we look
back at 1945, it was the Soviet Union that aggravated the ending of the Grand
Alliance, and it was no surprise the West felt threatened. The orthodox historian,
Gaddis, illustrates the most convincing argument in his book ‘We Know Now:
Rethinking Cold War’. He argues that Stalin’s regime and the Soviet Union was a
catalyst for the origins of the Cold War and that they certainly sparked and amplified
tensions with the West. Despite this compelling argument, it should be
acknowledged that the post - revisionist historian, Robert Mcmahon does provide a
somewhat convincing argument in, ‘A Very Short Introduction to the Cold War’.
Mcmahon argues that both the Soviet Union and the US were to blame for the
origins of the Cold War and blames the ideological clash between the East and
West. Mcmahon does write with an intriguing and thoughtful nature, but lacks
convincing elements to his argument. In addition, the revisionist historians, Ambrose
and Brinkley, provide the least convincing reason for the origins of the Cold War, in
their book 'Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938'. They argue
America and its desire to remove Communism is to blame, and both suggest that
America’s policies, particularly containment, are to blame for unstable relations. Both
historians lack coherence and therefore do not provide a strong argument full of
clarity, that the historian Gaddis notably does. Lastly, to ignore the origins of the Cold
War, would arguably be narrow and it is certainly important that we re-examine the
origins of the Cold War, due to it’s vast impact on current affairs today; history
certainly does repeat itself.
First historian
, Firstly, Ambrose and Brinkley, provide an unconvincing argument for their revisionist
opinion. They suggest America’s desire to supposedly save Eastern Europe through
capitalism and democracy, are the reasons for the Cold War.
Both historians argue that the US’s policy of containment caused the division of the
Grand Alliance. The theory of containment in 1947, ultimately stemmed from
America’s fear of communism and it’s expansion throughout Europe, Ambrose and
Brinkley demonstrate this, ”America was unwilling to accept Russian domination of
East Europe”1. The West was certainly reluctant, their fears of a Soviet eastern
Europe is demonstrated by the Second Red Scare. The fear of communism that had
been spreading through the US soon after WWII. America was cautious of the Soviet
Union, and rightly so, it largely threatened the West’s political regime and their
freedom. The East and West tensions over Turkey in 1946 and the Iran crisis of
1946, meant America’s decision to implement containment was more than justifiable.
In 1946, the USSR, attempted to assert communist influence over Turkey’s fragile
government, and aimed for joint control over the Turkey Straits and permanent
military presence there. ‘He [Stalin] threatened Turkey, it is a fact he demanded the
basis of the Straits, that he demanded Kars and Adrahan’2. Stalin here was certainly
playing the aggressor here, joint control meant Stalin would have access to the
Mediterranean. The West were evidently unwilling to let this crisis expand and were
ready to resist Soviet force Therefore, it can’t be said America's reaction to Soviet
aggression, the Truman Doctrine, was an unjustifiable one. Historian McCauley is
incorrect in stating that ‘the most dramatic démarche was the Truman Doctrine’3
Stalin had no other reason, except communist expansionism, to enter the Balkan
region; this unequivocally gave reasons for the US fearing the spread of
communism, throughout the Dardanelles. Moreover, the Iran Crisis in 1946, also
gave America great reasoning to implement the Truman Doctrine in 1947. Arguably,
Stalin triggered the developing crisis, by refusing to withdraw his troops from Iran.
Unsurprisingly, the ‘aggressor’ did not remove their troops until around 9 weeks after
the deadline, and this was only due to agreement, which allowed the USSR oil
1
Ambrose and Brinkley ‘‘Rise To Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938’’ (1971) pg
53
2
Behlul Ozkan “The 1945 Turkish-Soviet Crisis.” n.d. Russia in Global Affairs. (2020)
3
Martin McCauley ‘’The Cold War and after: capitalism, revolution and superpower
politics’’Pearson Addison Wesley (2007)
