Explain the main points in the evolution of the Cold War.

There were several factors leading to the beginning of the Cold War. As World War II was about to end, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States reached several agreements about the post-war world. When these agreements weren’t followed, that was a sign there would be problems.

One agreement dealt with the new government in Poland. The agreement indicated there would be free elections in Poland to decide the new government. The plan was to have some members of the pre-war government in the new government. After the war, there was no sign of free elections, and the new government had few members of the pre-war government in it.

Another agreement stated that countries in Europe would be free to choose their own form of government after the war ended. This agreement was called the Declaration of Liberated Europe. However, the King of Romania said he was pressured to have a communist government in Romania.

The Soviet Union tried to spread communism. In response, we developed a policy called containment. The goal of this policy was designed to prevent communism from spreading. This set up a series of confrontations between the Soviet Union and the United States.

There were attempts to spread communism throughout Europe. With the European Recovery Plan, we were able to help European countries such as Greece and Turkey from becoming communist by providing aid to these countries. When the Soviet Union tried to force us out of West Berlin by blocking all the land routes into West Berlin, we responded to this blockade, called the Berlin Blockade, by flying supplies over the blockade into West Berlin. This was known as the Berlin Airlift. The Berlin Airlift continued until the Soviet Union ended the Berlin Blockade.

When North Korea, backed by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea, we went to the United Nations to stop this invasion. A multinational force was created by the United Nations. This force, led by the United States, helped prevent South Korea from becoming communist.

The United States and the Soviet Union continued to confront each other until the end of the Cold War. The Cold War lasted until 1990 when the communist system collapsed throughout Eastern Europe.