The aftermath of the Second World War saw the formation of a bi-polar world, with the United States and the Soviet Union dominating their respective hemispheres. Both the powers were equipped with nuclear arsenal and any direct confrontation could have led to the destruction of the species. In this atmosphere where the stakes are very high, most of the strategic advantage is won through diplomacy and applying political pressure. This variety of wielding power has come to be known as the Cold War, where advantages were won or lost through tactful diplomacy as against the use of force.
The Cold-War was ended by the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While the chief cause for both incidents of aggression is largely systemic, individual decision making played a part too. De-classified information of the Second World War period indicates that President Truman gave orders for using nuclear weapons against the general consensus of his inner circle. What later came to be called the Truman Doctrine was based on the Domino Theory that states that communism is a vicious threat to the national interests of the United States and it has to be fought where ever it takes root.
As a result of the Truman Doctrine and the Soviet ambition of spreading communism the international atmosphere became quite tense. History will show that the European nations after Second World War were divided geographically as well as ideologically as belonging to the western democratic bloc or the eastern communist bloc. Long-time partner and a trusted lieutenant of the United States, namely Great Britain, is the leading representative of this western coalition. Other nations that aligned with the United States were Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, etc. The countries of Eastern Europe were imposed with communist governments and hence came under the influence of the Soviet Union. Some of them were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belarus, etc. Germany was deemed a key prize in the spoils of the Second Great War and so its reigns were bitterly contested. In the end both superpowers had to strike a compromise and divide Germany into their respective halves. This event was a key flashpoint in the years immediately following the end of the War.
In his farewell address to the citizens of his nation, American President Dwight Eisenhower chose to dwell on one particular aspect of the American economic system. Those were the years following the Second World War and the United States was waging a cold war with the Soviet Union. As a result, a strong military had become imperative. Many ammunition manufacturing corporations sprung up in the United States to meet this demand. The only way such a large industrial base could survive is by creating more demands for ammunition, combat vehicles, etc. The military industry in America is so big that they can sway and influence the decisions taken in the executive branch of government.
In the western hemisphere, the peak cold war confrontation manifested in the form of the Cuban Missile crisis. It was the year 1961, under the leadership of President John F. Kennedy; the world came perilously close to a deadly confrontation between the two major powers. This was also a period of relative economic prosperity, following a decade known for the rise of a consumerist culture. But on the political front, the Soviet Union was under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. Lying only 145 km from the coast of the USA, Cuba had always been of concern to the United States (America still maintains a naval base there to the present day at Guantanamo). The relations between the two nations took a U-turn with the onset of the communist revolution in 1959. Fidel Castro’s consequent rise to power made Cuba a real and present danger. The pressing concern for the United States was the potential symbolic threat that a communist neighbor would prove to be. The fiasco that was the Bay of Pigs invasion, intended to dispel and if possible eliminate Castro, was an affair of big embarrassment for the Kennedy Administration. This further strained the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
At this juncture Castro was left with little option but to strengthen relations with the Soviet Union. It benefited the Soviet Union to respond to Cuba’s call for protection, as setting up a base so near the American coast was of strategic importance. The events of these fortuitous days for mankind unraveled in the backdrop of the cold war. The 50’s were a period of economic and technological advancement for both superpowers. Paralleling this prosperity was the escalating ideological conflict between democracy and communism. The tense couple of weeks that would later be called the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest this planet came to complete annihilation. Soviet missiles with capabilities to wipe out all major cities in eastern United States were positioned just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. A last minute command from Khrushchev to soviet ships heading to Cuba saved the planet from a potential Armageddon.
On the domestic front, many landmark movements were taking shape, which were collectively named the Civil Rights movement. Leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King instigated a collective awakening of mass consciousness about the then existing disparities based on ethnic and racial origins. Parallel to the cause of the Black Americans, women were also taking to the streets demanding equal rights with men. The culmination of these two streams of civil upheaval led to the Hippie culture of the late sixties.
On the Asian continent, the underdeveloped region of Indo-China proved to be the key cold-war battleground. The Vietnam War is also known as the second of the Indochina Wars. It was waged between the late 1950’s and the mid 1970’s. The lush forested terrain of the Vietnamese country side was the battleground for much of the war. The force of the North Vietnam, which was basically oriented towards communism, was seen as a threat by the American government. It believed that left uncontrolled, the spread of communism would usurp the democratic South Vietnam as well. Hence, the American government decided to send troops in support of South Vietnam and retain its democratic government. This wider context of the war made it one of the tense phases of the Cold war period.
It could be asserted that the causes that led to the American defeat were multifold. Some of the salient ones include the inability to understand the foreign primitive culture of the Vietnamese and underestimating their military organization skills. The growing unrest of the American public and student activists in particular over the number of casualties and the ambiguity of the American motive were also important reasons. The guerilla warfare technique proved too difficult for the G.I.s to tackle. The growing lack of discipline and commitment of the American troops was another key reason for the defeat of the United States in the Vietnam War.
The Nixon Doctrine was presented to the American public on 25th July, 1969 by the then President Richard Nixon. The doctrine had two important components to it – one pertaining to relationship with allies and the other regarding achieving world peace. Nixon stated in his address to the nation that the traditional allies of the United States should defend themselves without the latter’s military involvement. He also set an agenda for achieving world peace through a process of diplomacy.
American Presidents presiding over some key events in history, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Cold War, The Vietnam War, etc., were hindered from acting as public representatives due to pressure from the military industrial complex. John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower – all of them were subject to these opposing interests. But eventually, the corporate-government nexus proved too powerful; and in this sense American Presidents after the Second World War were largely restricted and powerless to uphold their higher personal values.
References:
Major Problems in American History Since 1945 by Robert Griffith and Paula Baker.
The Portable Sixties Reader edited by Ann Charters.