cold war

The United States and the Soviet Union became competing superpowers. This rivalry affected not only Europe, but also the world. This icy tension between the superpowers was called the Cold War. Since these two countries were one of the two largest countries in the world, their abundant natural resources helped build strong economies. Both military strengths were similar, but their ideas for after WWII were different. These differences are what contributed the start of the Cold War.

One of the causes of the Cold War was the United States was the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. And it had one thing that no other country had, the atom bomb. Militarily the United States was the unchallenged leader of the world. The 2nd event that happened was the split between the East and West. In 1945, Communists gained powerful posts in Eastern European governments. Stalin promised to Roosevelt to use free elections, but he had broken his promise.

Abduction of Europe

Europe Simulator

English: The Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989. The ph...

Communist governments came to power in Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. These countries were called satellites. Europe was now divided into two political regions: a mostly democratic Western Europe and a Communist Eastern Europe. This split was called the iron curtain. The 3rd event was the Truman Doctrine. Communist pressure threatened the independence of Turkey and Greece. The United States did not want to take over Communist, but rather Truman wanted to prevent Communists from taking over. This was called containment. Truman then asked Congress for $400 million for military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. The congress approved. The 4th event of the Cold War was the formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organizations). In 1949, the United States joined Canada and 10 Western European Countries to form NATO. Later West Germany, Turkey, and Greece...