Introduction to the Cold War
The Cold War is known as the world's greatest rivalry. It was the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States for nuclear weapons. WWII caused a lot of commotion after the use of the atomic bomb by America. The Soviet Union and America went into the nuclear age, battling over world power. The Soviet Union became a communist country, while America stayed capitalistic. This caused several problems between the two countries. The Soviet Union tried to spread communism to other countries, and America did not agree with it.
Revolutions
During the Cold War, there were many revolutions. The three that occurred were
Hot Spots
The Cuban Missile Crisis played a part in the cold war. Cuba was dealing with police brutality, poverty, and had no education. Fidel Castro wanted to repair Cuba, by turning it communist. The United States was trying to maintain communism and keep it in Europe. The Soviet Union was glad that communism was spreading to an area close to the United States, but the US did not want the influence of communism falling on their country. The US planned and battle to overthrow Castro, gathering capitalist Cubans to join, but the US backed out at the last minute, leaving the poor, unprepared Cubans to fight.
End of the Cold War
The Cold War came to an end in 1991. The final leader of the Soviet Union was Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ronald Reagan as the US president. Ronald Reagan tore down the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin because of communism. The fall of the Berlin Wall opened up boarders, allowing people to go from East to West. Many people believe that Ronald Reagan was the reason the Cold War came to an end, but the Soviet Union was already collapsing. The US was very far ahead of the USSR in terms of military and technological advances. The Soviet Union would have fallen with or without Reagan tearing the Berlin Wall down.
Who started the Cold War?
In my opinion, the United States started the Cold War. They started the war by dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The Soviet Union and the United States went into the nuclear age, fighting for world power. If the United States had not dropped the bomb on Japan, the Soviets would not have known about atomic bombs, or attempted to make them in the first place.