2.-: Interpretations of the Cold War Flashcards
US orthodox view
1940s-1960s
The USSR was to blame-aggressive expansion into Europe
Stalin had imposed Communism in Eastern Europe
USA believed Stalin wanted worldwide revolution
It was a continuation of the Red Scare of the 1920s
Two historians Kennan and Feis worked for the US government to develop the idea of containment
These two are the main people with this view
Thomas Bailey’s ‘America faces Russia’ (book)
Kennan and Feis
US revisionist view
1960s-1970s
USA was to blame- aggressive use of Marshall Aid to tie Europe to the USA
The USA was trying to dominate Europe through the Marshall Aid Plan
Trumans ‘get tough’ attitude made the USSR feel threatened
American actions in Cuba eg: Bay of Pigs and American action in Vietnam
The US had supported the corrupt South Vietnamese regime of Ngo Dinh Diem
Joyce and Gabriel Kolko
William Appleman Williams
Thomas G Paterson
post-revisionist view
1970s-1989
They couldn’t understand each other- each side just reacted to the actions of the other
The Cold War was caused by the overreaction of the USA and the USSR’s actions
Era of intense debate
In the 1970s there was a thaw in the Cold War
A policy of Détente was pursued between the two which led to SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) in 1972
Détente = relaxation of tension
John Lewis Gaddis
the new cold war historians
1989 onwards
We still can’t be sure- access to new sources just confirm what people thought already
These new archives didn’t therefore solve the problem of who was to blame
After the fall of the USSR in 1991, historians could access previously unseen Soviet archives
Michael Cox
Caroline Kennedy Pipe
John Lewis Gaddis- a revisionist historian revised his view again and offered a more traditional view of the Cold War (orthodox view)
