Wwii Aftermath Dbq

The world was forever shaken and changed by the destruction and aftermath caused by World War II. With the American name and power growing more and more influential to the rest of the world, another superpower was also transcending in Russia, led by the tyrant Joseph Stalin and a twisted sense of morals simply known as communism, the world would once again bracing for impact as two nations would prepare for war.

Communism on paper is the perfect form of government. What the US was so resistant to was that it eliminates the possibility of personal gain, freedom ascend higher on the ladder of personal gain and achievement. Some might think of it as a "greedy" idea but that is what America has always been about and to rob other countries of that freedom or possibility was simply unacceptable. What actually frightened Americans is that there was the possibility of an attack here, at home on US soil; something that has never been done since the revolutionary war. Although we had the atomic bomb and the Russians did not, fear of attack was very possible and unfamiliar to the American people, as when humanity is faced with something unfamiliar, fear is a package deal. Why would this be any different? Especially after the atomic bomb was now a part of soviet arsenal, fear was very real for the citizens of the United States of America.

As stated in Document B, "if world communism captures any American state however small...it will increase the danger to the entire free world." This was referring to the belief that communism was a virus, a plague and that even the smallest dose could spread drastically consuming everything in its path. The fear most Americans had was that if they could invade (espionage) our home, our safe haven; what more could the soviets due? And with our own weapon now our worst fear, survival was now a daily preparation routine. As seen in Document C and average 50's family along with most others was drastically turned into doomsday pepper's equipped with bomb shelters and canned food and anything else they might need for what was believed to be an imminent attack

President Eisenhower was the person the people of the US turned to. And with his grandfather like characteristics and military experience he was able to ease the fear a bit with his confidence and attempts to ease the tension between the US and the Soviets. The only problem was that America only saw what Ike wanted them to see. On the hidden hand whether it be necessary or not ike continued to spy on the soviets which would consequently lead to a revamp of all the tensions that he had worked so hard to ease and as shown in document F, we forced our focus and money almost entirely on the missile program, pushing the other important issues of out of our budget and out of thought.

As the cold war was underway it was clear that all Americans feared that Russia could someday become the superpower of the world and force