Analyses of primary source documents show some significant events that pointed towards the Cold War. The main countries that were actively involved in the events that led to the dreaded Cold War were USA, The Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and Germany among others. The interaction between the states gave rise to major concerns that attracted the interests of the particular countries. The stage was set after the First World War where USA and Soviet Union jointly defeated Germany and Japan during the First World War.
The Soviet Union’s desire and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines was a threat to the western principle of national political self-determination in a variety of ways. The Soviet Union established communist regimes in Eastern Europe therefore limiting the independence and the freedoms of the individuals in those states. The people living in capitals cities of the ancient states of Eastern Europe like Prague, Warsaw, Berlin, and Vienna among others lied in the Soviet’s sphere of control. The Communist parties wielded enormous powers seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control over the people. The attempts that had been made to free the people of Germany from Hitler would have failed if the Soviet Union would practice dictatorship among the people who were looking forward to liberalism. Moreover, the fear of the communist regimes would easily be used to compromise the democracy of the free world. The Move by the Soviet Union to impose its communist doctrines would have divided the Germans instead of giving them a chance to put themselves together.
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Churchill recognizes the need for the Soviet Union to secure its western borders. The statement may portray Churchill as inconsistent in his articulation. However, Churchill justifies the act of the Soviet Union to aggressively secure its borders to an extent that it does not enforce totalitarian systems upon the free democratic world. Churchill moreover looks forward to a situation where Russia joins hands with the western powers to facilitate the principle of political self-determination of world states. However, Churchill disagrees with the Soviet Union on grounds of ideological differences. The liberated Europe that was being fought for was being destroyed by the Soviet Union communist doctrines imposed by the Moscow government that favored German leaders who supported communism.
Churchill further criticizes Russia’s desire to wield power over weak states in terms of military power. In a way, Churchill was challenging Russia to war because such sentiments were provocative. The fact that he mentions the existence of collaborative structures between the USA, Canada and Great Britain as well as advanced naval and air-force bases insinuated an imminent war between the western powers and the Soviet Union. The speech pointed out the aggressive approach adopted by the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe hence challenging it to dare the Western powers.
Churchill chose to deliver his speech in the United States of America for better reasons. The location was so strategic to launch his campaign against the Soviet Union. Churchill recognized the tension that engulfed the relations between the USA and the Soviet Union based on their role in the First World War and their subsequent status as the two world superpowers. The USA and Soviet Union had jointly fought against Germany under Hitler and Japan and defeated them. However, the Soviet Union failed to honor the promises it made by continuing with its expansionist agenda under the Soviet leader Stalin. The capitalist superpower, the USA and the communist superpower, Soviet Union sought to spread their influence. Therefore, Churchill realized that the United States of America needed to establish its status as a world superpower by countering the Soviet Union’s influence. Moreover, USA was better place to challenge the communist state due to its prowess in terms of military power and resources.
In conclusion, it is clear that there are events that significantly pushed for the start of the cold war. The Western states wanted to uphold the principle of national political self-determination as well as capitalism and effectively counter the communist influence of the Soviet Union.
References
Mark, A., 1995. Sources of World History . New York. Harper Collins.
LaFeber, W., 2008. America Russia and the Cold War . Newyork. McGraw Hill.
