The Cold War - Coursework Example

Topic: s & number: The Cold War was a period of East-West competition, pressure, and clash short offull-size war, characterized by shared thoughts of antagonistic intention between military-political alliances or blocs. During the Cold War where communism spread rapidly in Eastern Europe, China, and Korea the United States were forced to increase noticeably its defense spending. As a result of this increase the power of Military-Industrial complex grew which led to the growth of the middle class in the United States.

The US foreign policy and its effect of domestic policy are given below. On March 12, 1947 while addressing the Congress President Harry Truman put forth The Truman Doctrine, "The United States will defend free people and their free institutions at any place at any point in the world where outside communist aggression threatens that nation's internal stability."The Truman Doctrine led to US following a Policy of Containment to deal with the spread of communist regimes, and the policy required the US to react to Soviet initiatives.

This policy gave the president too much military power too and since the Truman Doctrine, many US military actions have been undertaken by and with the backing of a presidential address. Because the need of the quick and on time response to the foreign crisis cannot be undermined and left unattended until the congress decides, example, after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Roosevelt appeared before Congress to request a declaration of war. The Marshall Plan in 1947, division of Berlin and Germany into 4 zones and US struggle to gain influence in Eastern Europe and matters incidental thereto, as well as the Chinese Civil war called for a full review of American foreign policy.

Therefore, the federal government created the National Security Council in 1947. In 1950, the Council drew up a policy statement, which viewed clash between East and West as inevitable, but any such conflict threatened not just the United States, but also all of civilization. The paper led to an increase in defense spending from 5% of the federal budget to 20%, as well as an increase in American aid to foreign nations. This policy led to the economic growth of the middle class sector of the American Economy as it was largely possible and supported by expanded military investment increased by the federal government after the "fall" of China and the Korean War.

Department of Defense was as their best customer by even the companies that had never been involved in the military. Therefore, many social critics were of the view that US has established a permanent wartime economy. When an economic recession struck in 1956, President Eisenhower responded by allocating more money to defense, not by supporting public works projects as Roosevelt had done. However, President Eisenhower, at the end of his second term warned US that the growing relationship between defense contractors and the federal government is threatening.

But his warnings were ignored by many Americans as they were prosperous and the economy was continuously growing. Overall, however, this new American economy was largely ephemeral: brief, fleeting, and transitory. And one after another a new advancement whether that be of computer or Television took place, leading to the fact that the policies as well as methods, no matter were directed to fight against the communism but they led to the prosperity of the nation as a whole. Apparently there was no more perfect politician for this era in American history than Dwight D.

Eisenhower who practiced "the politics of tranquility", a new decision-making style that was quite different from the social activism of Roosevelt and Truman1. Reference Foner,E. Give me liberty!: an American history. From 1865,online http://books.google.com/books?id=JQGcNAAACAAJ&dq=eric%20foner%20give%20me%20liberty&source=gbs,2008 Foner,E. The story of American freedom,online http://books.google.com/books?id=YhHcaweX2tIC&dq=eric+foner+the+story+of+american+freedom&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=7Z7TTbrjDMzjrAeUg-ilCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA?,1999