OH+research

__What was the Cold War__
 * Though the competition between the world's two dominant superpowers stopped short of open warfare, numerous incidents and crises demonstrated the seriousness of the rivalry.
 * The hostility and mistrust that defined the relationship was all the more intense because it pitted not only two great powers against each other, but two clashing ideological systems—communism and capitalism.
 * The Cold War finally ended in 1991 with the collapse and breakup of the Soviet Union
 * During [|World War II], the United States and the Soviet Union had been allies against Germany. However, they had many serious ideological differences and often conflicting political agendas.
 * Those differences led to tension-filled conflicts and increasingly polarized positions, as well as to opposing political and military initiatives.
 * Because those conflicts never heated up to the point of major military action, the often intense struggle became known as the " [|cold war] ."

__Eastern Europe__
 * The Soviet Union installed communist governments in Eastern Europe in the years between 1945 and 1948.
 * Soviet leader Joseph Stalin justified his actions on the premise that those nations provided a security buffer from European invasion.
 * He also believed that the United States had promised him this "[|sphere of influence]" in Eastern Europe as part of their wartime alliance.
 * Stalin wanted to spread communist ideology
 * The Soviets imposed communication and travel barriers to the Westóknown as the "[|iron curtain]"óthroughout its sphere of influence.
 * Angered and concerned by Soviet actions, the United States and its allies took steps to fight the spread of communism.

__The Marshall Plan__ >
 * The United States feared Soviet dominance throughout Europe and perhaps beyond.
 * President [|Harry Truman] committed the United States to supporting democratic resistance in Europe.
 * The [|Truman Doctrine], and the [|containment] policy it became, led to two key prongs of cold war strategy.
 * The first was economic aid to Europe with the [|Marshall Plan (1947)] as its cornerstone.
 * the plan hoped to stabilize Europe, thus protecting it against communist influencesóby repairing European economies and infrastructures.
 * Between 1948 and 1952, 17 European nations received Marshall Plan funds. The monies helped to restore industry, [|agriculture], and trade, while they shored up financial institutions.