Why did the USA and USSR
become rivals in the period 1945
to 1949?
•
Historians have disagreed over the answer to this
question for decades.
•
However, the answers given can generally be
placed into 4 groups.
1. The Traditionalists
2. The Revisionists
3. The Post Revisionists
4. The Post-1991 school
The Traditionalists



The Soviets were to blame for the Cold
War
The Cold War was the direct result of
Stalin's aggressive Soviet expansionism.
This view is the traditional view of
American and British Historians –
particularly before 1960
The Revisionists



The US were to blame for the Cold War
The Cold War was caused by the US
trying to keep countries capitalist for
trade purposes
The USA deliberately intimidated the
Soviets e.g. the dropping of the Atomic
bomb
The Post-Revisionists



The Cold War was neither the USA’s
nor the USSR’s fault
The cause was a mutual
misunderstanding of each other’s
motives
The Cold War was an inevitable result
of the situation at the time i.e. 2
superpowers trying to settle the
‘German Question’
The Post-1991 school



Inspired by secret documents
uncovered after the collapse of
communism is Russia
The Cold War was the result of the
leaders’ personal faults and fanatical
beliefs
The Cold War was a Clash of ideologies
– a clash between Capitalism and
Communism