American Communist Containment Policy 1945-1953 Essay -- Politics Comm

Containment Policy 1945-1953 America used a variety of methods to contain Soviet influence between 1945-1953. Methods such as Propaganda and flexing of muscle became essential as America justified its policies and actions as part of the struggle to save Capitalist Ideology from the Communist oppressors. Ideology was the main source of conflict between the USA and USSR. This difference in ideology led inevitably to distrust between the two superpowers. The USSR believed in a state controlled economy which discouraged free enterprise, antithesis of America's economic system; the encouragement of free enterprise and the privatization of industry. Thus, the divergent economic structures of the superpowers painted different perspectives, which inevitably sowed the seeds for further conflict between the USA and USSR. The conferences between the USA and USSR up until 1945 showed the various disagreements between the USA and USSR. These conferences were held in Tehran in December 1945, Yalta in February 1945 and Potsdam in July 1945. The main source of conflict between USA and USSR was the future status of Europe. The USA wanted a democratic capitalist continent that it could influence. The USSR wanted to spread Communism and prevent the disasters of World War II recurring again. While Stalin was a brutal and ruthless dictator responsible for millions of deaths, feared and resented by many eastern Europeans, he actually did not intend to conquer the world. This was the basic misunderstanding which fueled the Cold War: the U.S. government, as well as many private citizens, believed that the Russians were engaged in a world-wide con... ...e of 1954, West Germany was permitted to join NATO. In 1955 it became a member of NATO and the following year East Germny joined the Warsaw Pact. USA armed West Germany with 400 000 soldiers as a barrier against the USSR. Thus, the wars and methods of containing Soviet influence always reverted back on the focus of Germany. America had used a variety of methods to contain Soviet influence. These methods did not prove successful as each attempt to umbrella nations from Communism backfired. The Marshall Plan and the defense of South Korea were counter-reacted with the Molotov Plan and the tightening of the Soviet 'Buffer Zone'. Thus, America's containment policies only hindered the implementation of the true ideas 'containment', which concluded with the strengthening of Soviet influence around Europe and the world.