Emerging US-Soviet Rivalry

Ideological Differences Between the Superpowers

Ideological differences (differences in political ideas) between the USA and Soviet Union led to emerging tension and distrust. A ‘Cold War’ refers to a conflict fought in every way except direct fighting between the 2 sides.

Truman and the USA

Truman became president of the USA after Roosevelt’s death.
- He was less sympathetic towards the communist dictatorship in the Soviet Union.
Roosevelt had held the alliance together and after his death. Truman’s approach was more hard line.

Stalin and the Soviet Union

Stalin was distrustful of Truman, who demanded lots of things at Potsdam.
He was angry that, before the conference, Truman had successfully tested the atomic bomb without consulting him.
- However, Stalin was already aware of the progress the USA was making.

Churchill and Britain

Churchill believed that a defeated Germany should be rebuilt.
- But Stalin wanted to weaken Germany as much as possible through reparations.
Churchill also suspected that Soviet troops would not leave the Eastern European countries that they had liberated.
Britain’s economy had been severely impacted by the war, and it could not act against the Soviet Union on its own.
- As a result, it allied more closely with the United States.
- This process led to the divisions which would become known as the Cold War.

Capitalism vs communism

The Soviet Union supported communism, whilst the USA and Britain were capitalist countries.
Communism advocated confiscating all private property, with the government owning all assets and controlling all enterprise. Communism stood against capitalism and liberal democracy.
Capitalism advocated entrepreneurs and businesses competing to innovate and create the best goods & services for consumers, with the a large portion of the benefit of their work going to them.
- In a communist society, a central government would decide what goods & services to offer and no other goods or services would be permitted.

The Grand Alliance

Britain, the USA and the USSR were WWII's 'Big Three' allies. This collection of countries was known as the Grand Alliance, however cracks started to emerge in this partnership as soon as the aim of defeating the Nazis had been accomplished.

The Yalta conference

In February 1945, the Grand Alliance made plans for Europe's future at the Yalta conference:
- Berlin and Germany were divvied up between the Grand Alliance powers.
- Previously occupied Eastern European countries would hold free elections.
- The League of Nations would be replaced by the United Nations (UN).

Agreements made at Potsdam

In July and August of 1945, the leaders of the allies met at the Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam (pictured) to finalise their plans for Europe and Germany:
- Germany and Berlin would be divided between the 'Big Three' as well as France.
- Poland's new borders were agreed upon.
- Nazi leaders were to be held accountable for their war crimes during trials at Nuremberg.

Tensions at Potsdam

Harry Truman had taken over from Roosevelt as US President. Truman was more reluctant to compromise with the USSR.
Clement Attlee took over from Churchill as Britain's Prime Minister during the Potsdam conference.
Truman wanted free, democratic elections to happen in the Eastern European countries ‘liberated’ by the Soviet Union but Stalin was not keen on this idea.
The UK and USA believed that Stalin's installation of an entirely pro-communist government in Poland to be a violation of the Yalta agreement. 2 Polish Communists, Gomułka and Bierut, were very influential and were being supported by the Soviet Union.

Early US-Soviet Relations

The development of the atomic bomb, the Long and Novikov telegrams and the creation of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe were all important events in early US-Soviet relations.

The impact of the atomic bomb (1949)

The USA had a usable atomic bomb by the end of the war. It dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945.
- This gave it an advantage until the Soviet Union developed its own in 1949.
This arms race increased the suspicion between the former allies (USA and Soviet Union).

The impact of the Long telegram (1946)

The Long telegram was a top-secret memo sent by US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, George Kennan.
- It argued to President Truman that the Soviet Union was a threat to capitalism (free markets and free trade between people and nations) and that the Soviet Union had to be destroyed.
- It suggested that the Soviets were building up their naval, military and nuclear power. He was partly right. The Soviets developed the atomic bomb in 1949.
Most importantly, it said that peace between the USA and the USSR was impossible.

The impact of Novikov’s telegram (1946)

Nikolai Novikov was the Soviet Union's Ambassador to the USA. He wrote a telegram to Joseph Stalin saying that the USA aimed to be the greatest power in the world, that it was preparing to go to war and that the Soviets were the only nation that could stop the USA from becoming the dominant military and economic power in the world.

The impact of the Soviet satellite states

The allies had agreed at Yalta that Poland would be run under a democratic model. However, Stalin broke this promise, turning it into a satellite state (a country effectively controlled by the Soviet Union). The Polish communists, Gomułka and Bierut, led a movement driven by the Soviets.
As the Soviet Union had been invaded twice by Germany (in 1914 when it was Tsarist Russia and 1941), resulting in huge territorial, industrial and human loss, Stalin viewed the satellite states as a necessary buffer against invasion.
However, Britain and the USA saw this extension of authority as an example of how the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism. They viewed this as a threat to the West.

'Salami tactics'

While the Soviet Union had agreed to holding democratic and fair elections at the wartime conferences, they broke their promise between 1945 and 1950.
They used something called 'salami tactics' to fix elections. In some Eastern European nations, the Soviet candidates won the elections. In others, like Hungary, even if they lost, the Soviet candidates would imprison or kill the winning candidates and take control.
By 1950, the Soviets had satellite states in East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.

The Soviet justification for satellite states

The Soviet Union’s actions were seen by many as an attempt at expansion.
- But Stalin saw them as merely consolidating their position, creating a buffer zone in Eastern Europe to protect it from attack.

1Key Topics

1.1Conflict & Cooperation 1918-1939

1.1.1The Treaty of Versailles

1.1.2The Terms of Versailles 1

1.1.3The Terms of Versailles 2

1.1.4Versailles & the League of Nations

1.1.5LoN Successes & Failures

1.1.6LoN Failure - Upper Silesia

1.1.7LoN Failure - Corfu & Washington

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Treaties and Agreements

1.1.9The Great Depression

1.1.10Tension in Europe in the 1930s

1.1.11WWII & Failure of the League of Nations

1.1.12End of Topic Test - Tension in the 1930s

1.1.13Grade 9 - Conflict & Cooperation

1.2The Cold War 1945-c.1989

1.2.1Emerging US-Soviet Rivalry

1.2.2Communism in the 20th Century

1.2.3The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan

1.2.4East-West Alliances

1.2.5Berlin Crises

1.2.6The End of the Berlin Wall

1.2.7End of Topic Test - East & West

1.2.8Build-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis

1.2.9The Cuban Missile Crisis

1.2.10Cold War Conflict - Vietnam

1.2.11Cold War Conflict - Afghanistan

1.2.12End of Topic Test - The Cold War 1945-1989

1.2.13Grade 9 - The Cold War

1.3From the End of the Cold War to 9/11

1.3.1Reagan & Gorbachev

1.3.2Consequences of the Soviet War in Afghanistan

1.3.3End of Topic Test - End of the Cold War to 9/11

1.3.4Grade 9 - The End of the Cold War

2Changing Interpretations

2.1Changing Interpretations

2.1.1Appeasement

2.1.2The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions

2.1.3End of Topic Test - Appeasement

2.1.4Grade 9 - Changing Interpretations

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