Foreign Policy Usa – During Cold War
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There are many factors, which influenced the United States into changing their foreign policy during the early years of the Cold War. These adaptations they made were intended to further protect the American way of life. New technology and ideologies brought about new threats that had never been dealt with before. Change was necessary to protect against these new concepts. The introduction of the atomic bomb prompted United States officials to try to regulate its development in foreign “unstable” countries while the growth of communism threatened the democratic freedoms. Globalization also meant that other nations economies had to be strong because they affected the United States.
Immediately after America successfully used a nuclear bomb other countries started developing these weapons of mass destruction. The US realizing enemies could potentially use this massive destructive force against themselves needed to act in order to prevent further nuclear technology from spreading. The Truman doctrine clearly shows this new stance of prevention, “whatever aggression, direct or indirect, threatened the peace, the security of the United States is involved”.
During this time period communism was becoming increasingly popular because it gave damaged countries from the devastation of World War II an opportunity to start over and rebuild themselves. Many Americans felt however this practice was wrong because it was based upon the will of the minority and forcibly imposed upon the majority. The idea of no free institutions and individual freedoms haunted so many Americans that people began hating communists. The fear of a loss of freedom led the country to separate themselves from communist nations. Non-communist countries funded third world countries to fight communist countries and vise-versa.
Finally since the world was becoming more globalized economically the US changed its foreign policy to help other countries in which they depended for resources.
Instead of practicing Isolationism like previous year the US began helping countries with which they traded
Without the new policies America would not have been insured a safe and free society. If America had not acted perhaps the threat of sudden extermination worldwide by technology or a communist America would be very possibly a reality.