Americans emerged from the blood, sacrifice, and chaos of World War II hopeful that with the demise of the Axis powers, the world would enjoy a protracted period of peace. In a literal sense it did. John Gaddis and others have referred to the Cold War as the “long peace,” emphasizing that during the nearly half century since V-J (Victory over Japan) Day, the great powers have avoided open conflict. Nevertheless, the Grand Alliance that defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan began to disintegrate even before war's end. Furthermore, the Soviet–American confrontation that resulted generated the most horrendous arms race the world has ever seen, created an ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation, and spawned a series of “brush-fire” wars that killed millions.

Roots of Conflict

Ideology

Since 1917, citizens of the Soviet Union and the United States had perceived profound differences between their two societies; after 1945, those differences became magnified and systematized. As a result, the Cold War was profoundly ideological. According to the system of thought that developed in the United States, the Soviet Union – the embodiment of communism and totalitarianism – was the antonym and eternal enemy of the United States, the embodiment of capitalism and democracy. In this mind-set, “Soviet” and “communist” were interchangeable as were “Marxist” and “socialist.” Conversely, “free,” “democratic,” “capitalist,” and “American” were synonymous. Cold War ideology ignored the fact that socialism and capitalism were principles for the economic organization of society, whereas democracy and totalitarianism were political precepts.