Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

The period following WWII was a period of tension characterized by conflict at diplomatic, economic and all levels short of actual armed conflict between the principals on either side. The origins of the Cold War can be traced to conclusion of World War II and the disagreements between the USSR and the Western Powers. It was a direct result/consequence of the inability of the left and center to co-exist after the disappearance of the right. Beginning with the Yalta Convention in 1945, and continuing with the Potsdam Conference later that year, the United States and the United Soviet Socialist Republic became disillusioned with each other over the division of Europe. Mutual mistrust and conflicting interests prevented the Big Three from reaching a compatible agreement. The Soviet Union needed security, especially in Eastern Europe, to eliminate the threat posed by Germany. American feared another economic depression and required the European market. With the Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe the US might loose the market. Therefore, the United States sought free flow of capital and the "open door" economy. The communist ideology and the western reaction to it had not changed by the end of the World War II. Americans still believ