What were the Causes of the Cold War?

The Cold War was the result of a clash between communism and capitalism and the unmoving attitude of both sides. The Soviet Union was extremely concerned about its security after having been invaded twice in the twentieth century and In 1945 America created and used the atomic bomb against Japan and the USSR was determined to create one of its own.

There were several causes of the Cold War, and here are just a few:

The United States and the Soviet Union represented two opposing systems of government. In the United States, the government was elected by free elections; the people could form political parties to voice their political opinions. They also possessed the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. In the Soviet Union, the government was formed by the Communist Party, the people did not have the right to form their own political parties and they did not enjoy the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. Since these two systems of government are completely opposed to one another, there could be little negotiation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Both sides of the war felt their ideology was superior and given the previous situation in World War Two, there was a tension that developed. This became a leading cause of the Cold War.

Another leading cause of the Cold War was the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. The conferences were called to help the allies decide what would happen to Germany and other parts of Europe at the end of the Second World War.

There is a certain debate that in fact, the Cold War started at Potsdam and as with any argument; there are two sides to it. One cold agree and say that yes, the Cold War did start at Potsdam, this can be backed up with several arguments such as; ‘The Big Three’ at Potsdam were different to ‘The Big Three’ at Yalta.  These new representatives did not get on as well as the previous three did and these disagreements within the group contributed to the growing hostilities between the major powers. Some could say that these hostilities were the early beginnings of the Cold War and so it backs up the argument that it all started at Potsdam. However, others say that it started before Potsdam. For instance, when Germany was split into four zones to be occupied by the UK, USSR, USA and France, this caused friction within the major powers due to territorial reasons, however this situation was discussed at the Yalta conference and thus people could argue that he Cold War started before Potsdam and instead at Yalta.

The final cause I am going to discuss is the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine.

In 1947 Greece was one of the dwindling countries in Eastern Europe that wasn’t communist. The rebels in Greece were prevented from taking over by the British Army.

America was becoming more and more alarmed by the growth of Soviet power. So, when the British told Truman they couldn’t keep their soldiers in Greece, Truman took over. In March 1947, he told the American Congress it was America's job to stop communism growing any stronger - this was the Truman Doctrine.

In June of the same year, General George Marshall visited Europe to see what was needed; he came back thinking Europe was so poor that Europe was extremely weak to Communism. Marshall and Truman asked Congress for 17 billion dollars to fund the European Recovery Programme nicknamed the Marshall Plan. This was put in place to get the economy of Europe going again; it was finally agreed upon in Congress in March 1948 when Czechoslovakia turned Communist.

Stalin forbade the Co inform countries to apply for Marshall Aid. This is an obvious reason for friction between the two sides and so therefore this could also be a cause of the Cold War.

Overall, I believe the most important reason for the Cold War, aside from the very apparent opposing sides and their beliefs and ideology, is the Potsdam and Yalta conferences because they were both major events in the lead up to the Cold War and it is my belief that they were both crucial to its beginning.