上海交通大学通识核心课程“历史视野下的美国文化”结业论文 In the 1960s,a new generation of revisionist historians-disillusioned by the Vietnam War2 and appalled by seemingly endemic government dishonesty-offered a startingly different interpretation.In this revisionist view,Stalin may have been a Machiavellian despot but he was an essentially conservative one;he was more interested in protecting the Soviet Union (and his own power within it)than in dominating the world.Americans erroneously interpreted Stalin's legitimate insistence upon a security buffer in Poland to indicate a desire for global conquest;Americans'subsequent aggressive efforts to contain Soviet influence,to intimidate the Soviets with the atomic bomb,and to pursue American economic interests around the globe were primarily responsible for starting the Cold War. More recently,a school of historians led by Yale professor John Lewis Gaddis have promoted what they call a "post-revisionist synthesis,"incorporating many aspects of the revisionist critique while still insisting that Stalin,as a uniquely powerful and uniquely malevolent historical actor,must bear the greatest responsibility for the Cold War. In the end,it may be that"Who started the Cold War?"is simply the wrong question to ask.World War ll destroyed all other major rivals to American and Soviet power;the US and USSR emerged from the conflict as the only two nations on earth that could hope to propagate their social and political systems on a global scale.Each commanded powerful military forces;each espoused globally expansive ideologies;each feared and distrusted the other.In the end,it may have been more shocking if the two superpowers had not become great rivals and Cold War enemies.The Cold War was brought about by many factors.The idealogical differences,economic barriers,political and military alliances,and nuclear weapons all contributed to creating the Cold War.These differences caused the mounting tension between the Soviet Union and the west at the end of World War ll.I personally think the causes of the cold war were more related to the economic interests of the US and the USSR.And because of the same economic interests,we see land disputes,trade wars and many other tensions among different countries nowadays.We have a land dispute opposing China and Japan,Japan and Korea,Cameroon and Nigeria etc.we also have trade wars among different countries,based on high taxing on imported products from some countries.But the good thing is that today we have many organizations to regulate transactions and solve conflicts among countries,such as the United Nations (UN),World Trade Organization(WTO)etc. References: <<A Panoramic History of American Civilization for Colleges>>,page 255-257,275. www.wikipedia.com/cold war,http://www.historyking.com/World-War/cold-war, 2 The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam,Laos,and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies,and the government of South Vietnam,supported by the United States and other anti- communist countries. 3上海交通大学通识核心课程“历史视野下的美国文化”结业论文 3 In the 1960s, a new generation of revisionist historians—disillusioned by the Vietnam War 2 and appalled by seemingly endemic government dishonesty—offered a startingly different interpretation. In this revisionist view, Stalin may have been a Machiavellian despot but he was an essentially conservative one; he was more interested in protecting the Soviet Union (and his own power within it) than in dominating the world. Americans erroneously interpreted Stalin's legitimate insistence upon a security buffer in Poland to indicate a desire for global conquest; Americans' subsequent aggressive efforts to contain Soviet influence, to intimidate the Soviets with the atomic bomb, and to pursue American economic interests around the globe were primarily responsible for starting the Cold War. More recently, a school of historians led by Yale professor John Lewis Gaddis have promoted what they call a "post-revisionist synthesis," incorporating many aspects of the revisionist critique while still insisting that Stalin, as a uniquely powerful and uniquely malevolent historical actor, must bear the greatest responsibility for the Cold War. In the end, it may be that "Who started the Cold War?" is simply the wrong question to ask. World War II destroyed all other major rivals to American and Soviet power; the US and USSR emerged from the conflict as the only two nations on earth that could hope to propagate their social and political systems on a global scale. Each commanded powerful military forces; each espoused globally expansive ideologies; each feared and distrusted the other. In the end, it may have been more shocking if the two superpowers had not become great rivals and Cold War enemies. The Cold War was brought about by many factors. The idealogical differences, economic barriers, political and military alliances, and nuclear weapons all contributed to creating the Cold War. These differences caused the mounting tension between the Soviet Union and the west at the end of World War II. I personally think the causes of the cold war were more related to the economic interests of the US and the USSR. And because of the same economic interests, we see land disputes, trade wars and many other tensions among different countries nowadays. We have a land dispute opposing China and Japan, Japan and Korea, Cameroon and Nigeria etc. we also have trade wars among different countries, based on high taxing on imported products from some countries. But the good thing is that today we have many organizations to regulate transactions and solve conflicts among countries, such as the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO) etc. References: <<A Panoramic History of American Civilization for Colleges>>, page 255-257,275. www.wikipedia.com/cold war, http://www.historyking.com/World-War/cold-war , 2 The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti- communist countries