In Current Historiography the Term

7/23/2019 In Current Historiography the Term

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Badji Mokhtar-Annaba UniversityDepartment of English

Master Course: !rof" M"Manaa#

$n %urrent historiography the term &Cold 'ar( des%ribes the %on)i%t

bet*een the +oviet Union and the United +tates from ,./ until ,0" $t

*as populari1ed by the Ameri%an journalist 'alter 2ippman in ,.3 and

*idely used thereafter to des%ribe U+-+oviet relations" $n the aftermath

of the +e%ond 'orld 'ar the +oviet Union and the United +tates *ere the

most po*erful states and they formed the t*o poles of the international

state system the bipolar system#" Both nations *ere %ompeting for

position of dominan%e *ithin the system and they *anted to stop ea%h

other 4lling the po*er va%uum %reated by the +e%ond 'orld 'ar" 5he

Ameri%an poli%y in the Cold 'ar *as %alled &%ontainment( but it *as a

poli%y of %on4ning %ommunism in those areas *here it already e6isted"

5he methods the Ameri%ans used to *age the Cold 'ar *ere as follo*ing:

," U+ dollars *ere the primary instrument of *ar" 5he United +tates

%hanneled huge amounts of e%onomi% aid to its allies to bolster non-

%ommunist governments" 7or e6ample8 bet*een ,.0 and ,/9 the

U+ granted ,9"/ billion dollars in e%onomi% aid to the states of

*estern Europe8 the so %alled Marshall aid"

9" 5he Ameri%ans also used military for%e to %ounter %ommunism8 but

not dire%tly against the +oviet Union" 5*i%e during the Cold 'ar

the United +tates fought land *ars in Asia8 in orea and ;ietnam8 in

order to defeat international %ommunism" After ,/< Ameri%a *as

in %ontinuous state of military preparedness and maintained a large

pea%etime army"

=" U+ armed for%es *ere servi%ed by a massive nu%lear arsenal" 5he

Ameri%ans su%%essfully developed an atom bomb in ,./ and by,/9 possessed a hydrogen bomb" 5he +oviet Union %aught up

>ui%kly8 testing an atom bomb in ,. and a hydrogen bomb in

,/=" As the Cold 'ar progressed both the nu%lear *eapons and

the delivery systems be%ame more sophisti%ated"

." $n %ase of *ar the United +tates eagerly re%ruited friendly nations

into allian%e systems" $n ,. most of the nations of *estern

Europe *ere organi1ed into a military allian%e %alled the ?orth

Atlanti% 5reaty @rgani1ation ?A5@#8 *hile the %ommunist states of

eastern Europe belonged to the 'arsa* !a%t after ,//" By the



mid-,/<s the Ameri%ans had built a global net*ork of anti-

%ommunist military %oalitions en%ompassing 2atin Ameri%a8 *estern

Europe8 the Middle East8 Australasia and southeast Asia"

/" Another traditional form of *arfare employed by the Ameri%ans *as

e%onomi% *arfare" After the ,.0 there *as only a tri%kle of U+e6ports to the +oviet Union and %urbs *ere imposed on the sales of

military e>uipment"

" !ropaganda *as also an important *eapon in the Cold 'ar" 5*o

U+-4nan%ed radio stations8 adio 2iberty and adio 7ree Europe8

*ere set up in ermany to transmit 'estern ne*s and values to

%ountries in +oviet-%ontrolled eastern Europe8 the so-%alled eastern

blo%k"

3" Espionage assumed a ne* importan%e during the Cold 'ar" 5he

Central $ntelligen%e Agen%y C$A# *as set up in ,.3 partly to %o-

ordinate information-gathering on the +oviet Union and its allies"

After ,/ the Ameri%an U-9 spy-plane8 provided invaluable

intelligen%e about the +oviet Union8 parti%ularly the state of +oviet

missile sites" 7rom ,< satellites revolutioni1ed intelligen%e-

gathering"

0" 5he C$A also %ondu%ted se%ret operations in order to %ombat

%ommunism" As an e6ample in ,/<s the C$A or%hestrated theoverthro* of left-*ing governments in $ran and uatemala and

developed plans to murder the heads of %ommunist foreign states"

After the +e%ond 'orld 'ar the *artime allian%e disintegrated" By ,.

the United +tates had abandoned a poli%y of long-term %ooperation *ith

the ussians and %ommitted itself to the %ontainment of +oviet po*er

a%ross the globe" 5he +oviet Union *as seen as an enemy intent on

territorial aggrandi1ement and ultimately *orld domination" $t *as in

,. that the Cold 'ar truly began"

But *hy did not the *artime partnership bet*een the t*o superpo*ers

%ontinue after the +e%ond 'orld 'ar U+-+oviet friendship during the

*ar should perhaps be seen as above all an allian%e of %onvenien%e

*hose strongest bond *as a %ommon interest in defeating ?a1i ermany"

5he on-going failure to settle the major issues of the post*ar *orld

deepened Ameri%an suspi%ion about +oviet motives" 5he United +tates

no* took a number of measures to enhan%e its national se%urity in thefa%e of per%eived potential +oviet threat"



A# @ne of the 4rst attempts to blo%k +oviet e6pansion o%%urred in

Man%huria" $n China there *as a %ivil *ar bet*een the Chinese

?ationalists or uomintang M5# under iang ieshi and the

Chinese Communist !arty CC!# led by Mao Fedong" @nly fe* days

before the apanese surrender the +oviet Union entered the *aragainst apan and moved troops into neighboring Man%huria and

allo*ed the Chinese %ommunists to establish a foothold there"

+oviet a%tions in Man%huria brought a s*ift response from the

United +tates" $n +eptember ,./ /<8<<< U+ Marines *ere sent to

northern China to establish a strong presen%e of the M5 in

northern China"

B# $n August ,./ +oviet troops had moved a%ross the ussian border

into northern orea in the *ar against apan" 5he Ameri%ans

>ui%kly dispat%hed troops to southern orea to prevent +oviet%ontrol over the entire orean peninsula" 5he t*o sides agreed to

divide orea into t*o o%%upation 1ones along the =0th parallel"

C# Under *artime agreements ussian troops had been garrisoned in

$ran in order to stop a sei1ure of the !ersian oil4elds by the A6is

po*er" After the *ar +oviet troops remained in $ran and the

Ameri%ans and the British protested at the %ontinued presen%e of

ussian troops there and reminded ussians that the agreed date

for *ithdra*al *as , Mar%h ,."

D# $n May ,./ for%es of the Gugoslavian %ommunist leader osip Bro1

5ito rea%hed 5rieste8 a port %ity *hose o*nership had histori%ally

been disputed bet*een $taly and Gugoslavia" 5he Ameri%ans

protested to both +talin and 5ito about the movement of

Gugoslavian for%es into 5rieste an 5ito *ithdre* his troops"

E# $n reeks the *ithdra* of erman armies had been follo*ed by a

%ivil *ar bet*een the right and left and the Ameri%ans feared a

takeover by the reek Communists E#" 5he United +tates made

a H9/ million loan to ree%e in an attempt to stabili1e the e%onomy

and prevent a politi%al revolution *hi%h they believed the E

might e6ploit"

During ,. Ameri%an per%eption of the +oviet Union %hanged for the

*orse" 7rom the opening months of that year the +oviet Union *as seen

no longer as an ally but as potential adversary"

• eorge ennan8 an oIi%ial in the U+ Embassy in Mos%o*8 *as

instrumental in %hanging attitudes to*ards the ussians" @n 99



7ebruary he sent the +tate Department a telegram *hi%h oIered a

histori%al analysis of +oviet foreign poli%y"

• BritainJs *artime leader8 'inston Chur%hill8 *as partly responsible

for hardened publi% opinion *ithin the United +tates against the

+oviet Union by his &iron %urtain( spee%h in 7ulton8 Missouri8 in

Mar%h ,." Chur%hill *arned that the only *ay to deal *ith the

+oviets *as to be 4rm *ith them in negotiations"

• 5hese t*o men %ontributed to %hanging attitudes to*ards the

+oviet Union *ithin the politi%al elite in 'ashington *hi%h *ere

also mat%hed by a shift in the mood of the Ameri%an publi%"

'hom to blame

," 5he +oviet Union *as partly responsible for the outbreak of theCold 'ar be%ause it didJn fully keep its agreements from Galta and

!otsdam"

9" Ameri%aJs misunderstanding of +oviet motives *as an important

%ause of the Cold 'ar" 7rom ,. U+ poli%y *as based on the false

assumption that e6pansionist %ommunist ideology and not the

national se%urity drove +oviet foreign poli%y"

=" 5he s%ale of Ameri%an po*er *as also an important %ause of the

Cold 'ar" 5he +e%ond 'orld 'ar had destroyed e6isting balan%esof po*er *ithin the international state system and had left the

United +tates as the most po*erful nation in the *orld" 5he

Ameri%an program *as designed to remake the *orld a%%ording to

U+ interest and the Ameri%an image and did not take a%%ount of

+oviet interest" U+ po*er provoked fear among the ussians"

AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE

Overview

De4ning the label American %an be %ompli%ated" 'hat makes someone an

Ameri%an Citi1enship status esiden%y !aying ta6es8 playing baseball8

speaking English8 eating apple pie 5he United +tates is a nation of

immigrantsKalmost every one of us has an%estors *ho %ame to Ameri%a

from other parts of the *orld8 and immigrants %ontinue to arrive today"

Citi1ens and residents of the United +tates demonstrate tremendousdiversity *ith regard to religion8 %ulture8 native language8 beliefs8 and



tradition" As the old adage goes8 Ameri%a is one big melting pot" +o8 if

*eJre all diIerent8 ho* do *e de4ne our national identity 'hat does it

mean to be Ameri%an *hen Ameri%ans are so diverse

?o* that the United +tates stands as the *orldJs only superpo*er8

de4ning &Ameri%an( has be%ome all the more important" Many of ourleaders *ish to e6port Ameri%an ideas and values abroad8 but *hi%h ideas

and values are distin%tly Ameri%an 'hat are the basi% fa%tors that

in)uen%e and de4ne our politi%al identity Before turning to the 4ner

points of Ameri%an government8 *e need to e6plore the prin%iples and

%ore values that de4ne Ameri%a"

The Importance of Geography

5he United +tates %overs a large %hunk of the ?orth Ameri%an %ontinent8

in%orporating a variety of %limates and bound on t*o sides by o%ean" 5he

%ountryJs uni>ue geography has given it a number of bene4ts:

• Isoation from con!ict" 7or mu%h of its early history8 the United

+tates *as able to keep out of politi%al and military entanglements

*ith the rest of the *orld" +eparated from Europe by one o%ean and

from Asia by another8 Ameri%a avoided the %on)i%ts and *ars among

states in those regions" !ea%e provided a ri%h environment for the

development and gro*th of the ne* nation"

• #i$rant tra%e" Although vast o%eans separate the United +tates

from mu%h of the *orld8 a%%ess to these o%eans allo*ed for thedevelopment of lively trade routes in the eighteenth and nineteenth

%enturies" 5he United +tates traded regularly *ith Europe and

in%reasingly *ith Asia as the nineteenth %entury *ore on" Ameri%a

also possesses a number of long navigable rivers in%luding the

Mississippi iver# that allo*ed for e6tensive trade *ithin the %ountry"

• Rich farman%" 2arge parts of the United +tates %ontain e6%ellent

farmland" By produ%ing more food than ne%essary8 the United +tates

%ould trade e6%ess food to support a gro*ing manufa%turing e%onomy"

A vast frontier" Early *hite settlers *ere able to e6pand a%ross

the %ontinent" A%%ess to a vast frontier en%ouraged development asthousands of people pushed *est*ard" 5he frontier also played a rolein shaping the Ameri%an %hara%ter"

&oreign Poicy

7or the 7ounders8 foreign and domesti% poli%y *ere supposed to serve the

same end: the se%urity of the people in their person and property"5herefore8 foreign poli%y *as %on%eived primarily as defensive" 7oreignatta%k *as to be deterred by having strong arms or repulsed by for%e"



Allian%es *ere to be entered into *ith the understanding that a self-governing nation must keep itself aloof from the >uarrels of othernations8 e6%ept as needed for national defense" overnment had no rightto spend the ta6es or lives of its o*n %iti1ens to spread demo%ra%y toother nations or to engage in enterprises aiming at imperialisti%

hegemony"

5he !rogressives believed that a histori%al pro%ess *as leading allmankind to freedom8 or at least the advan%ed nations" 7ollo*ing Legel8they thought of the mar%h of freedom in history as having a geographi%albasis" $t *as in Europe8 not Asia or Afri%a8 *here modern s%ien%e and themodern state had made their greatest advan%es" 5he nations *heremodern s%ien%e had properly informed the politi%al order *ere thought tobe the proper leaders of the *orld"5he !rogressives also believed that the s%ienti4%ally edu%ated leaders ofthe advan%ed nations espe%ially Ameri%a8 Britain8 and 7ran%e# should nothesitate to rule the less advan%ed nations in the interest of ultimatelybringing the *orld into freedom8 assuming that supposedly inferiorpeoples %ould be brought into the modern *orld at all" !oliti%al s%ientistCharles Merriam openly %alled for a poli%y of %olonialism on a ra%ialbasis:

[T]he Teutonic races must civilize the politically uncivilized. Theymust have a colonial policy. Barbaric races, if incapable, may beswept away…. On the same principle, interference with the aairsof states not wholly barbaric, but nevertheless incapable of

eectin! political or!anization for themselves, is fully "usti#ed.!rogressives therefore embra%ed a mu%h more a%tive and indeedimperialisti% foreign poli%y than the 7ounders did" $n E6pansion and!ea%e ,0#8 5heodore oosevelt *rote that the best poli%y isimperialism on a global s%ale: every e6pansion of a great %ivili1ed po*ermeans a vi%tory for la*8 order8 and righteousness" 5hus8 the Ameri%ano%%upation of the !hilippines8 5"" believed8 *ould enable one more fairspot of the *orldNs surfa%e to be snat%hed from the for%es of darkness"7undamentally the %ause of e6pansion is the %ause of pea%e"

'oodro* 'ilson advo%ated Ameri%an entry into 'orld 'ar $8 boastingthat Ameri%aNs national interest had nothing to do *ith it" 'ilson had nodiIi%ulty sending Ameri%an troops to die in order to make the *orld safefor demo%ra%y8 regardless of *hether or not it *ould make Ameri%a moresafe or less" 5he trend to turn po*er over to multinational organi1ationsalso begins in this period8 as may be seen in 'ilsonNs plan for a 2eague of ?ations8 under *hose rules Ameri%a *ould have delegated %ontrol overthe deployment of its o*n armed for%es to that body"

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