US History: Cold War

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Question 3
Cold War was all about all ideological and geopolitical struggles for global influence between the United States and the Soviet Union (History.com, 1). It was called the cold war because the two superpowers had not declared war officially on each other. The political leaders tried to negotiate a détente period but were thrust into ideological, economic, and military confrontation that led to bitter superpower rivalry (Pach, 75). The war started in 1945 when the alliance between two Cold Powers (U.S. and Soviet Union) and Great Britain began to fall apart. By 1948, the Soviets had established left-wing governments in Eastern European countries that the Red Army had liberated (Dockrill and Hopkins, 10). The Americans and the British developed fear over the Soviets’ domination in the region. They worried the Soviets would control Eastern Europe permanently. In contrast, the Soviets were resolute to control Eastern Europe and enlarge communism globally for ideological reasons.
The Marshall plan and the containment were some of the Cold War U.S. foreign policy doctrines. Marshall Plan was a U.S. program designed to provide aid to Western and Southern Europe following WW2 devastation (Pach, 101). The program aimed to rehabilitate these regions’ economies and establish stable conditions for the survival of democratic institutions. It was enacted in 1948 and allocated over $15 billion to finance the continent’s rebuilding efforts (History.com, 1). Containment was a U.S. policy to prevent the spread of communism abroad. It called for the need to contain and isolate communism before spreading it to the neighboring countries (Lumen, 4). A Cold War component, the policy responded to various Soviet Union actions to extend its communism in China, Vietnam, Korea, and Eastern Europe (Pach, 245).
The Cold War finally ended when the Soviet Union dissolved on December 26, 1991 (Dockrill and Hopkins, 143). During 1989 and 1990, Soviet influence in Eastern Europe began to wane (History.com, 1). In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was demolished (Dockrill and Hopkins, 143). Its demolition opened borders and freed elections, resulting in the ousting of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved, ending the Cold War. Currently, the cold world powers have diplomatic and trade relations. However, these relations have deteriorated significantly. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia, the former Capital of the Soviet Union, has become an authoritarian state and competing with the U.S. for global influence.
Question 4
The Civil Rights movement was an African-American organized effort to end racial segregation and gain equal rights (Fairclough, 387). The movement occurred mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. The key event that launched the civil rights movement during the 1950s is the Montgomery bus Boycott. The boycott began on December 5, 1955, when Rosa Park, a black woman, was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white male passenger (Kohl, 35). The following day, Dr. Martin Luther King organized a citywide boycott against racial discrimination in the public transportation system.
The legal decision ...