The last thing on people's minds after World War II was to start a new war. This is what happened though. Some say the Cold War began after the Allies leaders started disagreements at the Potsdam Conference in 1945. They disagreed on who should control postwar Europe. These disputes, most notable the spread of communism, carried on for 45 years. During this time the Cold War impacted the presidency, U.S. relations with Europe, and also life at home in America. Here are specific explanations why these were affected.
             First, Harry Truman was the first American president to face the burdens of the Cold War. Truman couldn't force the Soviet Union to honor their post-war agreements, since he lacked the military strength to force a showdown with them for dominance in Europe. He did make the Truman Doctrine, which was an informal declaration of war against the Soviet Union. Dwight D. Eisenhower easily won the presidency in 1953, promising to bring the Korean War to an end. Eisenhower's policy was moderation. His method of preventing communist aggression was massive retaliation, the idea of relying on nuclear weapons in case of war. The arms race heated up, and Sputnik proved that the Russians were ahead of us. When Kennedy came into office, he had to deal with the Bay of Pigs fiasco. In the summer of 1960, CIA trained Cuban exiles to overthrow communist Castro. Kennedy learned of this 9 days after his election. It was unsuccessful and a huge embarassment to the U.S. The Berlin Wall was also constructed in 1961. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was Kennedy's biggest conflict with the Cold War. For six days, nuclear threat became a very real possibility. At the last minute, Soviets agreed to remove missiles, and the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba. President Johnson failed to push forward Kennedy's plans to advance efforts in arms control and relaxation of tensions. He wa
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