In the years following World War II, how did the actions of the United States and the Soviet Union contribute to the Cold War?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The ideal answer should include:
a. Having had its western border invaded three times in the last century and a half, the Soviet Union’s priority after World War II was to secure its western border.
b. To this end, the Soviet Union installed communist states along its western border.
c. For instance, the Soviet Union established a one-party state in Poland, breaking the pledge it had made at Yalta to allow free elections in that country.
d. The goal of the U.S. policy of containment, reflected in the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, was to stop the spread of Soviet influence.
e. The Truman Doctrine established a basis for U.S. intervention in any part of the world threatened by the Soviet Union or communism.
f. The United States launched the Marshall Plan with the hopes that improving the economy would prevent communism from taking hold in Western Europe.
g. The Soviet blockade of Berlin brought the world to the brink of another world war.