Between 1946 and 1991 the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies were locked in a long, tense conflict known as the Cold War. Though the parties were technically at peace, the period was characterized by an aggressive arms race, proxy wars, and ideological bids for world dominance.

Origins of 'Cold War'

The term cold war had existed since the 1930s, when it was used to describe increasingly fraught relationships between European countries. In 1945, shortly after the United States used the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, writer George Orwell used the term in an essay that explored what the atom bomb meant for international relations. The bomb was such a threat that it would likely end large-scale wars, Orwell wrote, creating “a state which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of ‘cold war’ with its neighbours.”

Orwell’s prediction of a “peace that is no peace” came true within months. Intent on retaining power in the wake of World War II, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. viewed one another with suspicion and hastened to create and consolidate allies. “Cold War” soon gained popularity due to famed journalist Walter Lippmann, who explored its meaning as the world quickly chose sides in an ideological fight between capitalism and communism.

Ideology—and military might—became increasingly important to both countries after 1947, when President Harry Truman asked Congress for funds to bolster Turkey and Greece’s struggling economies in an attempt to contain Soviet influence. The Truman Doctrine, as it was called, was the first salvo in a decades-long containment policy in which the U.S. supported and intervened in non-communist states.

The Arms Race

Multiple proxy wars stood in for actual conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Korean War, Vietnam War, and a number of other armed conflicts, during which both sides either funded one side of the war or fought directly against a communist or capitalist force, are all considered Cold War proxies. Both sides also funded revolutions, insurgencies, and political assassinations in Central America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.