THE COLD WAR – U.S HISTORY

In the late 1940s, the world entered a new era of global tension known as the “Cold War,” characterized by a struggle for supremacy between two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the two nations had been allies during World War II, their differing political systems—capitalism and democracy in the U.S., and communism and dictatorship in the Soviet Union—led to deep ideological divisions. The Cold War was called “cold” because, despite the high level of tension and competition, the two superpowers never directly engaged in military combat with each other.

To counter the growing Soviet influence, the United States formed a military alliance with its European allies, known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in 1949. The goal of NATO was to provide collective defense against any potential Soviet aggression. In 1947, President Harry Truman introduced the Truman Doctrine, which pledged U.S. economic and military support to countries threatened by communism. The first application of the Truman Doctrine was in Greece and Turkey, where the U.S. helped prevent a Communist takeover.

Germany became a major Cold War flashpoint. After World War II, Germany was divided into two zones: West Germany, which was aligned with the United States, Great Britain, and France, and East Germany, which became a Communist state controlled by the Soviet Union. The city of Berlin, located in East Germany, was also divided, with West Berlin controlled by the Allies. In 1948, the Soviet Union attempted to force the Allies out of West Berlin by blocking all land and water access to the city. In response, the U.S. and its allies organized the Berlin Airlift, supplying West Berlin by air for nearly a year. This crisis was one of the early signs of the Cold War’s intensity.

In 1961, the Soviet-backed East German government constructed the Berlin Wall, a physical barrier to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, symbolizing the division between the communist East and the democratic West.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union established its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955, which included Eastern European countries like East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia. Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union found themselves backing opposing sides in various global conflicts, including the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Korean War ended in a stalemate, while the Vietnam War resulted in a Communist victory.

The Cold War began to show signs of thawing in the 1980s with the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev as the leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev introduced reforms that relaxed Soviet control over its society and its satellite states in Eastern Europe. In 1989, several Eastern European countries, including Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, overthrew their Communist governments. East and West Germany were reunited in 1990, marking the collapse of the division between the communist East and the capitalist West. In 1991, the Soviet Union itself dissolved, ending the Cold War and giving rise to a non-Communist Russia and a number of newly independent republics. The Cold War was over, and the United States emerged as the dominant global power.

THE COLD WAR

Directions: Choose the best answer to the following question.

 1.  All of the following statements about the Cold War are true EXCEPT:

 A.   The Truman Doctrine, first applied to Greece and Turkey, was later also applied to other countries threatened by Communist takeover.

 B.   Although World War II was over, Americans remained willing to play an active role in global affairs.

 C.   The end of the Cold War resulted in part from changes in policy by the Soviet government.

 D.   Attempts by the Soviet Union to expel the United States and its allies from West Berlin were eventually successful

Correct Answer: ✅ D. Attempts by the Soviet Union to expel the United States and its allies from West Berlin were eventually successful

Explanation:
This statement is false, which makes it the correct choice for an “EXCEPT” question. The Soviet Union was not successful in expelling the U.S. and its allies from West Berlin. In fact, efforts like the Berlin Blockade (1948–1949) were countered by the Berlin Airlift, during which Western Allies supplied the city by air. West Berlin remained under Allied control throughout the Cold War.

The other statements (A, B, and C) are all historically accurate.