Ella Fireside  

September 24​th​ 2018  

Modern World History  
 
 
How did the relationship between the USA and the USSR turn adversarial so 
quickly? 
 

The USSR was responsible for escalating the Cold War because they wouldn’t 

support the rights of the people in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union leader was 

Joseph Stalin, who was a violent dictator who didn’t hesitate to accomplish his 

goals, and one of his goals was to dominate Europe. His actions failed to account for 

how the U.S would respond to such a goal. He wanted peace, economic assistance, 

and diplomatic acquiescence from USA and Britain.  

While Stalin was leading the Soviet Union, they had wanted to control what 

went on in these countries, “the United States supported the capitalist economic 

system, whereas the Soviets supported communism. The Soviet Union prohibited 

many religions, while citizens of the United States enjoyed religious freedom.” 

Between the U.S and the Soviet Union there were different opinions on control and 

freedom, and power was the reason why they became hostile to one another.   

One of the reasons for the tension between the two was because they had 

distrust. The United States and the Soviet Union both thought they wanted to take 

over what they thought was the right thing to do. “The containment policy was the 
U.S approach to trying to prevent communism spreading. Furthermore, another 

reason there was tension was the threat of nuclear warfare. There was thousands of 

nuclear missiles ready to fire on both sides. The threat of nuclear war hung over like 

a giant shadow on sides” (“Cold War History”). 

 
 Works Cited  

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history 

https://prezi.com/explore/search/?search=What+caused+tension+between+the+U
.S.+and+the+U.S.S.R%3F#search=What+caused+tension+between+the+U.S.+and
+the+U.S.S.R%3F&reusable=false&page=1&users=less 
 
https://quizlet.com/203284035/chapter-27-the-cold-war-and-the-fair-deal-1945-1952-
flash-cards/