The United States became a global superpower after World War II. Many Allies were deeply affected financially by the war and were struggling, leaving a void that needed to be filled. The United States was placed in a position of “law enforcement” and assistance to nations around the world. The Cold War was in many ways a psychological illusion, but many factors led to this illusion that were well founded. The Cold War was the result of a multitude of factors: the difficult war against the Nazis and Japan, Stalin's untrustworthy behavior, the Berlin Blockade, the puppet government of Poland, the fall of China, weapons manufacturing and the birth of nuclear weapons: all this has fueled fear. anti-communist policies founded. In the 1960s and 1970s, America attempted to ease tensions in a period of détente with the Soviet Union and China. The United States believed that the Soviet Union posed a threat and that the spread of communism threatened capitalism and democracy. The Soviet Union believed that capitalism threatened communism because it led to imperialism and greed, which would eventually lead to war. This tension between the two nations fueled the Cold War and motivated every foreign policy maneuver from President Harry Truman to President Ronald Reagan. “The stability of this relationship, however, depended on a certain balance of power that could not last forever.” (Cox p.32) “Concretely, the United States' ability to maintain its chosen postwar strategy rested on six key factors: military superiority; national support for its international role; a reasonable degree of success in implementing its foreign policy abroad; loyal and dependent allies; an economy that could support the costs of Unity... middle of paper ...... with their stance on the Soviet Union, they would have lost support for the war and all other foreign efforts in which they were involved at the beginning. time. When President Reagan took office, he changed his tactics, he was more aggressive, but above all he changed his rhetoric. By ending the fear-based psychological rhetoric of the Cold War, he changed the American perspective and opened the channels of communication with the Soviet Union. He essentially succeeded in breaking down the “wall” and the psychological illusion of fear. . “From the Truman Doctrine to the Detente of the Second Superpower: The Rise and Fall of the Cold War.” "Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 27, No. 1. February 1990. pp.25-41. Print. Gillon, Steven and Matson, Cathy. The American Experience, A History of the United States. 3rd edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.