2.1.2

The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions

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Blaming the Soviet Union for the Cold War

The ‘orthodox’ interpretation placed the blame for the Cold War tensions on the Soviet Union and its aggressive expansion.

US government historians

US government historians

  • This was a view commonly held by historians who had been involved with the US government, including George Kennan and Herbert Feis.
  • These historians pointed to Stalin’s expansionist rhetoric as evidence for these views.
'Red Scare' historians

'Red Scare' historians

  • This was a common view among English-speaking historians during the time of the Cold War, and particularly among those who had lived through the ‘Red Scare’.
    • The 'Red Scare' was the fear that communism would spread from within the West and bring down capitalism.

Blaming the US Government for the Cold War

‘Revisionists’, prominent from the mid-1960s to the 1970s, were more critical of the US government, particularly given the scandals of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.

Revisionists

Revisionists

  • Revisionists believed that the USA had done little to directly aid the USSR during and immediately after WWII.
  • They believed that the USA had used Marshall Aid as a way to achieve domination over Europe, forcing the Soviets to behave defensively.
Opposite of orthodox

Opposite of orthodox

  • This was a direct challenge to the views of orthodox historians, who believed that the USSR was to blame for Cold War tensions.

Sharing the Blame for the Cold War

Historians from the 1970s until 1989, such as John Lewis Gaddis, advocated a hybrid of the first two interpretations ('orthodox' and 'revisionist'), known as the ‘counter-revisionist’ view.

Even-handed

Even-handed

  • This school of thought was more even-handed in the way it apportioned responsibility.
  • This was a trend across history as an academic subject at this time.
After 1989

After 1989

  • From 1989 onwards, given the availability of new Soviet archives in Moscow and the fall of the communist regime, new interpretations of the Cold War have emerged.
  • In spite of the extra evidence, historians do not agree entirely.
  • But, there was a shift towards criticising the Soviet Union more heavily again, as historians like John Lewis Gaddis have done.
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1

Key Topics

1.1

Conflict & Cooperation 1918-1939

1.1.1The Treaty of Versailles1.1.2The Terms of Versailles 11.1.3The Terms of Versailles 21.1.4Versailles & the League of Nations1.1.5LoN Successes & Failures1.1.6LoN Failure - Upper Silesia1.1.7LoN Failure - Corfu & Washington1.1.8End of Topic Test - Treaties and Agreements1.1.9The Great Depression1.1.10Tension in Europe in the 1930s1.1.11WWII & Failure of the League of Nations1.1.12End of Topic Test - Tension in the 1930s1.1.13Grade 9 - Conflict & Cooperation
1.2

The Cold War 1945-c.1989

1.2.1Emerging US-Soviet Rivalry1.2.2Communism in the 20th Century1.2.3The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan1.2.4East-West Alliances1.2.5Berlin Crises1.2.6The End of the Berlin Wall1.2.7End of Topic Test - East & West1.2.8Build-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis1.2.9The Cuban Missile Crisis1.2.10Cold War Conflict - Vietnam1.2.11Cold War Conflict - Afghanistan1.2.12End of Topic Test - The Cold War 1945-19891.2.13Grade 9 - The Cold War1.2.14Diagnostic Misconceptions - Russia vs USSR1.2.15Diagnostic Misconceptions - Stalin & the Atom Bomb1.2.16Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Iron Curtain1.2.17Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Truman Doctrine1.2.18Diagnostic Misconceptions - USSR vs Eastern Europe1.2.19Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Berlin Airlift1.2.20Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Berlin Wall1.2.21Diagnostic Misconceptions - Hungarian Uprising1.2.22Diagnostic Misconceptions - Stalin's Death1.2.23Diagnostic Misconceptions - Cuba1.2.24Diagnostic Misconceptions - Bay of Pigs
1.3

From the End of the Cold War to 9/11

1.3.1Reagan & Gorbachev1.3.2Consequences of the Soviet War in Afghanistan1.3.3End of Topic Test - End of the Cold War to 9/111.3.4Grade 9 - The End of the Cold War1.3.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Fall of the Wall
2

Changing Interpretations

2.1

Changing Interpretations

2.1.1Appeasement2.1.2The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions2.1.3End of Topic Test - Appeasement2.1.4Grade 9 - Changing Interpretations

Practice questions on The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What is the name given to the interpretation of the causes of the Cold War that blames the Soviet Union and its aggressive expansion?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Who held the 'orthodox' view when placing blame for the Cold War?True / false
  3. 3
    Who do the 'orthodox' view place the blame for the Cold War with?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    Which group of people were critical of the US government's responsibility for the Cold War tensions?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Beliefs of revisionists:True / false
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Appeasement

End of Topic Test - Appeasement