Timeline of the Cold War

Post-Revisionist View of the Cold War

Post-Revisionism was the idea that the Cold War was caused by both the United States and the Soviet Union. This view supported ideas from both Orthodox and Revisionist views such as the Cold War was started by both Soviet hostility and U.S. efforts to dominate the world after WWII. Post-Revisionists do not believe that one side caused the Cold War but believe that both countries actions and distrust of each other had caused tension to build up and finally release into all-out hatred of one another. One Post-Revisionist, John Lewis Gaddis, put the blame more on the Soviets due to more control over their country and therefore a better position to compromise with the West. The blame was not just of the Soviets. The U.S. domestic policy and politics was skewed against talking and compromising with the Soviets due to a massive fear of Communism.

Revisionist View of the Cold War

The Revisionist view of the cold war placed the blame mostly on the Americans. The supporters of the Revisionist view challenged the widely-accepted view that the Soviets were committed to post-war expansionism and instead they saw the occupation of Eastern Europe as defensive so that the Soviets could avoid being encircled by the U.S. and its allies. Revisionists argue that the Soviet Union was so weak after WWII that they posed no threat to the U.S. and the Americans had a monopoly on nuclear weapons up until 1949.The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not to deal a fatal blow to the Japanese, but rather to intimidate the Soviet Union into thinking that they would use any weapon possible to prevent Communism spreading, even though they never used another in battle. Also the origins of the Cold War (according to the Revisionists) did not start in the postwar period; its roots stem back to the 19th century when Russia and America fought over East Asia being open to U.S. trade and influence and Americas commitment after WWII to have every country was open to American influence and trade underpinned most conflicts in the Cold War.

Orthodox View of the Cold War

The Orthodox view of the Cold War was that the Soviet Union began rising tensions by expanding into Eastern Europe and capturing countries such as the Ukraine and Belarus and turning them into Communist nations. It is argued that the Soviets broke promises he made at the Yalta Conference in 1945, spread Communism into Eastern European countries unwilling to be ruled by Communists and spreading Communism into other countries. With this view, the Americans were the only force able to stop the spread of Communism and responded to the Soviets actions with things like the Truman Doctrine in 1947, in which the Americans gave economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey so that they did not fall to Communism. Both countries eventually joined NATO in 1952 and they were then unable to fall under the Iron Curtain. The  US also resisted Communism and spawned the Marshall Plan, which gave money to countries devastated by World War II. The money was given to rebuild the countries  so the US had more trading partners and also to stop the spread of Communism throughout Western Europe.