Cold war 'By the beginning of the twentieth century, weapons of war were themselves contributing to the outbreak of wars ... It comes as something of a surprise, then, to realize that the most striking innovation in the history of military technology has turned out to be a cause of peace and not war," (Gaddis 85). In fact, the most striking military innovation until that point, the creation of nuclear

Cold War Prior to World War II, American foreign policy had been predicted upon isolationism. Afterward, determined to avoid the mistakes of the pre-war period, American leaders embarked upon an unprecedented era of worldwide commitments. This included entry into a number of alliances with foreign nations, interventions in foreign conflicts (either covertly or overtly) and an unlimited commitment to maintain the nation's military readiness. In doing so, they irrevocably changed this

Marshall feared that their poverty might make them vulnerable to Soviet wooing, causing them to attach them to communism. America, therefore, felt that it had to preempt potential Russian manipulation by stepping in there first. Although Marshall emphasized that the program was open to all European nations, he structured it in such a way (by making capitalism part of its expected character and linchpin of performance) that it effectively

This happened as a side effect of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev experimentation with liberalization of the economy and the political system to increase productivity and encourage innovation. This liberalization, for the first time, allowed criticism of the Soviet System by nationalist leaders. However, as a result, they began to demand freedom and declared the independence of their republics. In 1991, the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine signed the

During the period of transition, defense spending needed to be maintained in order to avoid returning to depression. The Cold War provided a means for this. The intense rhetoric provided justification to the American people, but the combination of high defense spending and the rhetoric only further inflamed the U.S.S.R. Inflammation also stemmed from several short-term incidents that occurred in the post-war years. The Soviet Union, for example, attempted a

It was during the middle of the 1980s that the Soviet Union first decided that a pattern of renewal was needed for the country. Of course, that was not something that could take place overnight. The country would have to weed out economic problems, along with issues like corruption and alcoholism that were further weakening the country and its economy. The position that the Soviet Union held from a global