The Cold War The Differences in the USSR and the United States

Many people thought when World War II ended the world would have many years of peace. The reasons for thinking peace was evident were:

• Much of Europe and Japan had been destroyed.

• New weapons could destroy the world.

• The United Nations was formed to keep peace.

Other people thought peace had not come. The main reason people felt peace was far away was:

• Two superpowers had grown up: the United States of America and the U.S.S.R.

The battle between these two nations was called the Cold War because no fighting was taking place. The two nations were battling with ideas and tricks.

The Differences in the Nations

The United States believes in private enterprise. This means companies that make goods set their own prices. The price of goods goes up and down depending on how many people want to buy the items.

Command

The U.S.S.R. is under a communist system which means all factories and farms are owned by the government. The government decides how many of each kind of good should be made and what the price should be.

Communism - A system of government where the people are controlled and the nation owns both natural and capital resources.

In 1948, the United States gave billions of dollars to the nations of Europe to keep the European nations from adopting Stalin's communist way of government. The money was used to rebuild railroads and factories. It was also used to build up farms. This money was called the Marshall Plan after General George C. Marshall who was in charge of the program.