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 Il.Immediate Causes Leading to the Cold War Incipient conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States began at the peace- time conferences.Their conflict was intensified after President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine14 and launched the Marshall Plan in 1947. (i)Extension of Russian influence in Europe: Even before the end of the war,the Soviet Union had gradually extended her influence in Europe.By the fall of 1944,the Red Army had liberated and controlled a large part of eastern Europe.15 By 1945,at the Yalta Conference,the Soviet Union obtained the Curzon Line as her new boundary line with Poland and also the control of the eastern zone of Germany.16 As the war was drawing to a close in May 1945,the Soviet Union quickly consolidated her control of eastern Europe.The Red Army began by influencing the post-war elections.They intimidated the voters and changed the voting lists as they desired. Although the non-communists could still gain some votes,most of the votes went to the communists.Thus the coalition governments formed immediately after the war were largely dominated by the communists.Two of the key ministries-Defense and Military (Police)-were always under communist control.17 Stalin was not satisfied with communist control of eastern Europe.In the meantime,he encouraged the communists to take an active part in the immediate post-war elections in western Europe,but to no avail. (ii)The reactions of the United States: Despite the increasing Russian influence in eastern and central Europe,many politicians in the United States were optimistic about the chances of co-operation with the Soviet Union after the war and did not advocate strong resistance against Soviet expansion. But from May 1945 onwards,the situation was changed.The U.S.government favored a policy of strong resistance against Russia. The first reason was that President Roosevelt died on April 12,1945.He was succeeded by Harry S.Truman.President Roosevelt was an optimistic man.He seemed to have believed that although eastern Europe had fallen under the influence of Russia,she would keep her promise(made at Yalta)by setting up freely-elected parliamentary governments in the area.So Roosevelt did not advocate strong resistance against 14 President Harry S.Truman."Truman Doctrine."Joint Session of Congress.12 March 1947. 15 Wettig,Gerhard.Stalin and the Cold War in Europe,Rowman Littlefield.2008.pp.35-39 16"Curzone Line."PolishGreatness.com.5 Dec.2012.<http://www.polishgreatness.com/curzonline.html> 17"Eastern Bloc:Formation of Eastern Bloc."Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia.Wikimedia Foundation, Inc..5 December 2012.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_bloc#Formation_of_Eastern_Bloc>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 4 II. Immediate Causes Leading to the Cold War Incipient conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States began at the peace- time conferences. Their conflict was intensified after President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine 14 and launched the Marshall Plan in 1947. (i) Extension of Russian influence in Europe: Even before the end of the war, the Soviet Union had gradually extended her influence in Europe. By the fall of 1944, the Red Army had liberated and controlled a large part of eastern Europe.15 By 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union obtained the Curzon Line as her new boundary line with Poland and also the control of the eastern zone of Germany.16 As the war was drawing to a close in May 1945, the Soviet Union quickly consolidated her control of eastern Europe. The Red Army began by influencing the post-war elections. They intimidated the voters and changed the voting lists as they desired. Although the non-communists could still gain some votes, most of the votes went to the communists. Thus the coalition governments formed immediately after the war were largely dominated by the communists. Two of the key ministries - Defense and Military (Police) - were always under communist control.17 Stalin was not satisfied with communist control of eastern Europe. In the meantime, he encouraged the communists to take an active part in the immediate post-war elections in western Europe, but to no avail. (ii) The reactions of the United States: Despite the increasing Russian influence in eastern and central Europe, many politicians in the United States were optimistic about the chances of co-operation with the Soviet Union after the war and did not advocate strong resistance against Soviet expansion. But from May 1945 onwards, the situation was changed. The U.S. government favored a policy of strong resistance against Russia. The first reason was that President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman. President Roosevelt was an optimistic man. He seemed to have believed that although eastern Europe had fallen under the influence of Russia, she would keep her promise (made at Yalta) by setting up freely-elected parliamentary governments in the area. So Roosevelt did not advocate strong resistance against 14 President Harry S. Truman. “Truman Doctrine.” Joint Session of Congress. 12 March 1947. 15 Wettig, Gerhard. Stalin and the Cold War in Europe, Rowman & Littlefield. 2008. pp. 35-39 16 “Curzone Line.” PolishGreatness.com. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://www.polishgreatness.com/curzonline.html> 17 “Eastern Bloc: Formation of Eastern Bloc.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 5 December 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_bloc#Formation_of_Eastern_Bloc>