with force and atomic weapons if necessary. The United States negotiated a series of alliances with non-communist nations. goal was to contain communism and not allow that political system to be adopted in other parts of the world. In response to the Soviet Union’s policies, the United States government developed the policy of "containment." The U.S. Churchill’s image of an Iron Curtain became a powerful political symbol of the Cold War. Churchill's “Iron Curtain Speech” March 5, 1946Ĭhurchill’s speech got a positive response from the American people. Read and listen to extended excerpts from Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, Russia’s Chairman Stalin’s response, and how the British Foreign Office reported the U.S. So, what happened far away in Europe and the world had a big impact and interest for those living in Nebraska and the Plains. So, those who lived here during the 1950s and 60s were very aware that there were nuclear bombs pointed at them all the time. Many of the key military bases of the cold war were located in Nebraska and the Central Plains. What made this war of words more tense than ever before was the fact that both countries had enough atomic bombs to destroy much of the world. These countries had been on the same side during the hot war. After the war, there were only two super powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, with completely different political systems. When World War II ended, the "hot war" of bombs and bullets became a "cold war" of speeches and threats. But, the roots of the cold war actually go back to World War II and its aftermath. Defense spending was increased by 350 percent. government adopted a new cornerstone of its foreign policy based on the finding that the Soviet Union was likely to launch a surprise attack on us "once it has sufficient atomic capacity." That assessment was included in a National Secutiry Council document known as NSC-68.
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