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 of speech and of the press.They possess democracy and capitalism.In the Soviet Union, the government is formed by the Communist Party.The people do not have the right to form their own political parties.They do not enjoy the right of assembly,of speech and of the press.They possess communism and socialism.Since these two systems of government are diametrically opposed to one another,there can be little compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union.The United States believed in a "domino theory,"2 which meant that once one country fell to communism,they would all fall.Their answer for this was containment,3 including Marshall Plan (economically) and arms race(militarily). (ii)Economic The United States wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world.The Soviet Union wanted to shield off her own sphere from international commerce.Russia feared that trade with the West would involve the risk of Russia being opened to western influences which would have eroded the strength of the totalitarian regime.These differences led to much ill feeling between the United States and the Soviet Union.The United States became alarmed with the growing of communism in Eastern Europe and set up the Marshall Plan in order to counteract the spread of communism.4 The Marshall Plan was an economic support program funded by the United States.They gave relief money to the war torn democratic countries in order to rebuild their economy.They did not give money to the Soviet Union and any of its satellites states.The Unites States' motivation for doing this was to provide themselves with trading partners and to economically exclude the Soviet Union.The Soviet Union also formed an exclusive economic federation between all the states in communist countries called Cominform5 (iii)Power rivalry and Military After the Second World War,with the decline of Europe,power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the United States.As one wanted 'to dominate the other, conflicts were inevitable. The idea of a weapon that could produce global annihilation was born during the Second World War;with this information in the limelight,the United States and the 2 President Dwight D.Eisenhower."Domino Theory."Press Conference.7 April 1954. 3 Pieper,Moritz A.(2012)."Containment and the Cold War:Reexaming the Doctrine of Containment as a Grand Strategy Driving US Cold War Interventions".StudentPulse.com.3 December 2012. <http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/672/containment-and-the-cold-war-reexaming-the-doctrine-of- containment-as-a-grand-strategy-driving-us-cold-war-interventions> 4"The Marshall Plan."George C,Marshall Foundation.2009.Web.3 December 2012. <http://www.marshallfoundation.org/TheMarshallPlan.htm> 5 P.M.H.Bell,The World Since 1945,London,Arnold,2001,pp.89 6"Manhattan Project."Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia.Wikimedia Foundation,Inc..5 December 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project> 2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 2 of speech and of the press. They possess democracy and capitalism. In the Soviet Union, the government is formed by the Communist Party. The people do not have the right to form their own political parties. They do not enjoy the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. They possess communism and socialism. Since these two systems of government are diametrically opposed to one another, there can be little compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States believed in a "domino theory," 2 which meant that once one country fell to communism, they would all fall. Their answer for this was containment,3 including Marshall Plan (economically) and arms race (militarily). (ii) Economic The United States wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world. The Soviet Union wanted to shield off her own sphere from international commerce. Russia feared that trade with the West would involve the risk of Russia being opened to western influences which would have eroded the strength of the totalitarian regime. These differences led to much ill feeling between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States became alarmed with the growing of communism in Eastern Europe and set up the Marshall Plan in order to counteract the spread of communism.4 The Marshall Plan was an economic support program funded by the United States. They gave relief money to the war torn democratic countries in order to rebuild their economy. They did not give money to the Soviet Union and any of its satellites states. The Unites States’ motivation for doing this was to provide themselves with trading partners and to economically exclude the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union also formed an exclusive economic federation between all the states in communist countries called Cominform5 (iii) Power rivalry and Military After the Second World War, with the decline of Europe, power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the United States. As one wanted 'to dominate the other, conflicts were inevitable. The idea of a weapon that could produce global annihilation was born during the Second World War 6 ; with this information in the limelight, the United States and the 2 President Dwight D. Eisenhower. “Domino Theory.” Press Conference. 7 April 1954. 3 Pieper, Moritz A. (2012). "Containment and the Cold War: Reexaming the Doctrine of Containment as a Grand Strategy Driving US Cold War Interventions". StudentPulse.com. 3 December 2012. <http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/672/containment-and-the-cold-war-reexaming-the-doctrine-of- containment-as-a-grand-strategy-driving-us-cold-war-interventions> 4 “The Marshall Plan.” George C, Marshall Foundation. 2009. Web. 3 December 2012. <http://www.marshallfoundation.org/TheMarshallPlan.htm > 5 P. M. H. Bell, The World Since 1945, London, Arnold, 2001, pp. 89 6 “Manhattan Project.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 5 December 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project>