Contents

Document 1

…A shadow has fallen upon…the Allied victory…We understand the Russian need to be secure on her western frontiers by the removal of…German aggression. We welcome Russia to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world…[and] constant, frequent and growing contacts between the Russian people and our own people...It is my duty however…to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe.

…[A]n iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe…these…cities and the populations…lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are…not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and…increasing measure of control from Moscow.…The Communist parties…have been raised to preeminence and power far beyond their numbers and are seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control.… If now the Soviet Government tries…to build up a pro-Communist Germany in their areas, this will cause new serious difficulties in the British and American zones….Whatever conclusions may be from these facts…this is certainly not the Liberated Europe we fought to build…Nor is this one which contains…permanent peace.…

… [T]he old doctrine of a balance of power is unsound. … If the Western Democracies stand together in strict adherence to the principles of the United Nations charter, their influence for furthering these principles will be immense and no one is likely to molest them. If…they become divided or falter in their duty and if these all-important years are allowed to slip away then indeed catastrophe may overwhelm us all.

Document 2

Comrades! Eight years have passed since the last elections to the Supreme Soviet. This has been a period replete with events of a decisive nature.…[T]he uneven development of capitalist countries usually leads…to a sharp disturbance of the equilibrium within the world system of capitalism, and that group of capitalist countries regards itself as being less securely provided with raw materials and markets usually attempts to change the situation and to redistribute “spheres of influence” in its own favor—by employing armed force. As a result…the capitalist world is split into two hostile camps, and war breaks out between them.

Now a few words about the Communist Party’s plans of work for the immediate future…These plans are formulated in the new five-year plan, which is to be adopted in the very near future. The main tasks of the new five-year plan are to rehabilitate the devastated regions of our country, to restore industry and agriculture to the prewar level, and then to exceed that level to a…considerable extent…the rationing system is to be abolished in the very near future (loud and prolonged applause), special attention will be devoted to the expansion of the production of consumers’ goods, to raising the standard of living of the working people by steadily reducing the prices of all commodities (loud and prolonged applause), and to the extensive organization of scientific research institutes of every kind (applause) capable of giving the fullest scope to our scientific forces. (Loud applause.)

Document 3

Part 1:…Post War Soviet Outlook…by Official [Soviet] Propaganda…

1. USSR still lives in antagonistic “capitalist encirclement” with which…there can be no permanent peaceful coexistence…
2. Capitalist world is beset with internal conflicts, inherent…of capitalist society…
3. Internal conflicts of capitalism inevitably generate wars…
4. Intervention against USSR… would cause renewed delay in progress of Soviet socialism and must…be forestalled…
5. Conflicts between capitalist states…hold out…advancement of socialist cause, particularly if USSR remains militarily powerful, ideologically monolithic and faithful to its present brilliant leadership.

…

Part 5: [Practical Deductions from US Policy]

… [W]e have here a political force committed…to…our traditional way of life be destroyed, the international authority of our state be broken…

[Regarding how to approach this problem with Russia] I only wish to advance…the following comments:

1. First…to apprehend…the nature of the movement with which we are dealing…
2. …our public is [to be] educated [about the] Russian situation.…Press cannot do this alone. It must be done…by Government, which is…more experienced and better informed…
3. Much depends on health and vigor of our…society.…[T]o solve internal problems…, to improve self-confidence, discipline, morale and community spirit…
4. We must formulate…a much more positive…picture of sort of world we would like to see.…Many foreign peoples…are seeking guidance rather than responsibilities. We should be better able than Russians to give them this…unless we do, Russians…will.
5. …we must have courage and self-confidence to cling to our own methods and conceptions of human society…the greatest danger that can befall us in coping with…Soviet communism, is that we shall allow ourselves to become like those with whom we are coping.

Document 4

Document 5

…things have changed…Western Europe…constitute[s] a major entity full of merit and resources, capable of living its own life…not in opposition to the New World, but right alongside it…China, separated from Moscow, enters on the world scene by its mass, its needs and its resources, avid for progress and consideration. The Soviet Empire…is seeing first the Chinese contest the domination it exercises over vast regions of Asia and second is seeing the European satellites which it had subjugated by force moving…further away…the Communist regime…is meeting with failure with respect to the standard of living, the satisfaction and the dignity of men in comparison with the system applied in Western Europe …

… [T]he division of the world into two camps lead by Washington and Moscow…corresponds less and less to the real situation…[I]t appears that Europe…wishes it is henceforth called upon to play a role which is its own. Undoubtedly it should maintain an alliance with America…in the North Atlantic, both are interested so long as the Soviet threat remains. …

That is why the United States…wishes to see the old continent unite and organize itself…It is of course not forbidden to imagine that a day will come when all the peoples of our continent will become one and…[there be] a Government of Europe, but it would be ridiculous to act as if that day had come…in proposing the organization of a Europe having its own policy, France is sure of serving the balance, the peace and the progress of the world.

Document 6

We knew immediate changes had to be made…We set out to show that the long string of governments falling under Communist domination was going to end, and we’re doing it. In the 1970’s one strategic country after another fell under the domination of the Soviet Union. …

In these last 5 years, not one square inch of territory has been lost, and Grenada has been set free. When we arrived in 1981, guerrillas in El Salvador had launched what they called their final offensive to make that nation the second Communist state on the mainland of North America. Many people said the situation was hopeless; they refused to help. We didn’t agree; we did help. And today those guerrillas are in retreat…

Finally, we set out to reduce the danger of nuclear war…we’re achieving what some said couldn’t be done. We’ve put forth a plan for deep reductions in nuclear systems. We’re pushing forward our highly promising Strategic Defense Initiative [SDI]…Isn’t it better to use our talents and technology to build systems that destroy missiles, not people?

Our message has gotten through. The Soviets used to contend that real reductions in nuclear missiles were out of the question. Now they say they accept the idea. … Just this week, our negotiators presented a new plan for the elimination of intermediate-range nuclear missiles, and we’re pressing the Soviets for cuts in other offensive forces as well. One thing is certain: If the Soviets truly want fair and verifiable agreements that reduce nuclear forces, we will have those agreements.

Document 7

U.S. Military Spending, 1945–1996 / Annual Military Spending Billions of 1996 Dollars in Outlays

Total cost of the Cold War (1948–1991) in 1996 dollars = $13.1 trillion.
Average annual military spending during Cold War = $298.5 billion.
Average annual military spending during peacetime Cold War (excluding Korean and Vietnam War years) = $285.4 billion.