Week 2 Weekly Essay The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1947 - Getting Tough with Russia: The Reorientation of American Policy, 1946 1-1) After the Moscow conference, many different actors in the U.S. reacted differently to the outcome. 1) President Truman disdained the Moscow agreement, expressing concerns over Byrnes’s attitude right after he left for the conference. Truman wasn’t happy with the outcome for two reasons: Byrnes failed to deliver Soviet agreements on the U.S. international atomic energy control(UN Atomic Energy Commission) and the removal of Russian power in Iran. 2) George Kennan believed that with the USSR and communists, peace was not possible because of clear ideological differences. He claimed that Russia was ready to go to war with the U.S. and dealing with Russia is like confronting a religion, not a country. 3) I failed to find the reaction of the US diplomats in Romania, but I can assume that they weren’t happy about the outcome as well because Far Eastern Commission basically removed the role of the U.S. in these East European countries. -> (9/9) They were very disappointed. 4) Republican Party leaders were deeply disappointed with the result because they believed that the U.S. should’ve taken firmer actions against Russia. They believed that Byrnes's decision was like a giving away of the U.S. 5) Shortly after the Moscow conference, the public opinion changed rapidly, disagreeing with Democrats' optimism toward USSR. 2-1) Two confronting views against the Soviet Intention during early 1946 began to make one unified opinion, especially after Stalin’s speech. Stalin indicated that peace with America was near impossible and many American scholars sensed Soviet aggression on expansion. 2-2) The Main argument of Stalin's speech was the criticism of capitalism and its inevitable future. By showing off the great progress of the Five-Year Plans, Stalin addressed that capitalism will not prevail in the near future and he was determined for future wars as well. 2-3) Kennan believed that this aggressive behavior from Russia and its leader was an attempt to justify its authoritarian regime rather than the reactionary process of outside threats. In order to maintain a dictatorship, the dictator must come up with a common enemy to strengthen its internal solidarity. 2-4) Churchill’s Fulton address showed future turmoil between the U.S. and Russia because of Russia’s intention of expansion. The Iron Curtain was his words describing Stalin’s motivation to spread its ideology and gain more influence all over the world. 25) The utter distrust the US public had against the Soviets was immense but the willingness to endure the cost of the war was still uncertain.
