The Cold War as a Period in Global History

Table of Contents

The Term Cold War
Changed Ideas
Questions to Explore Further
Works Cited

The Term Cold War

The Cold War was a significant period in global history and has massively shaped the current state of affairs in the world. Before this class, I had blurry ideas about the conflict and how this period has shaped the balance of power in the world, and how it influences current conflicts. The knowledge I had before this class was mostly acquired in high school and was disseminated as a brief overview of the military conflicts that defined the Cold War era. I, therefore, lacked a deep knowledge that would be crucial in appreciating the cause, course, and effects of the Cold War. The term Cold War wrongly undermines this period by displaying it as a non-eventful occasion without properly investigating the physical and emotional harm it caused. There is a tendency to highlight the nations involved without mentioning the traumatic emotive damage caused to the residents of the countries involved.

Changed Ideas

Cold War: A very short introduction by Robert McMahon has necessitated a better understanding of my familys account of the Cold War better. My grandmother was born in Vietnam, and her account of the war has become better understood through the lens of history and politics upon reading and processing the book. I now understand why my grandmother shared a few details about her experiences during the war in Vietnam, during a period when she was growing up. I now understand that the scanty details are due to the trauma she experienced during this part of her life and the potential damage it had on her. The reasons why the US spent so much time and resources in Vietnam are additional clarifications that have helped broaden my understanding of global politics. My understanding of the war was, additionally, previously grounded in the many movies I watched during that period. These films only focused on the fighting but offered minimal insights into the politics behind some of the fatal decisions made in Vietnam.

My grandmother was born in Binh Dinh Province but does not remember her exact year of birth owing to the turbulent times and tension in Vietnam then. Her family quickly disintegrated with the death of her mother and the decision to remarry by her father. Her father subsequently died, and my grandmother was left with her stepmother, who showed minimal regard for her welfare and who quickly remarried soon after. My grandmother underwent abuse at the hands of her stepfather for years before her stepmother assisted her in escaping Binh Dinh Province. She walked for three days to Saigon, where she first hand experienced the intrigues and effects of the Cold War. A pastors family offered my grandmother accommodation while she sought employment in various households to meet her needs. From Saigon, the city was only accessible by bus, and this route proved dangerous for everybody, including my grandmother. The Viet Cong would stop the buses and check the occupants, in addition to setting mines ion the roads, which endangered the travelers.

The United States made deliberate efforts to protect the city of Saigon because it was a strategic center for their victory in the war. McMahon notes that The defense of Saigon, Secretary of State Dean Rusk frequently stressed, was just as important to the security of the Free World as the defence of West Berlin (McMahon 102). Saigon is the last city in South Vietnam and losing the city meant the US would be pushed back into the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. My grandmother was caught in the middle of the efforts by both the Viet Cong and the US to conquer the city. McMahon notes that, permitted those advisers to participate in combat operations against Viet Cong insurgents. Her trips to the city were characterized by massive danger and experiences that may have traumatized her to the point of sharing minimal details to avoid reliving the experience. The potential of being stopped and murdered by the Viet Cong when the buses were stopped or blowing them to pieces if they encountered the mines made the journey to the town more treacherous.

The involvement of the US was additionally disputed by North and South Vietnam, with both divides taking a contrasting stand. The people of South Vietnam supported the involvement of the US in the war. They viewed America as a protector against the aggression of the north and Viet Cong. My grandmother lived in Saigon, which is located in the south, and therefore supported American involvement. She received free supplies from the US troops in the south and this additionally availed her the opportunity to meet my grandfather, the genesis of their family. McMahon says In contrast to policymakers in Washington, they viewed Southeast Asia as peripheral to western security, downplayed the existence of the Chinese regional threat that so exercised the Americans, and disputed the relevance of a South Vietnamese regime mired in corruption and incompetence to the overall position of the west in the ongoing Cold War. (McMahon 100). The book has widened my understanding of Americas efforts towards ensuring South Vietnam remained safe and unoccupied, despite the massive loss of resources and personnel. America sought to ensure communism did not infiltrate the south.

Previously, I viewed the involvement of the US in the war through the lens of personal familial evolution, and the origin of my grandmothers love story. The book has increased my scope so that as I personalize my grandmothers experience in the war, I am additionally capable of appreciating the reasons for the actions. I additionally realize that without the involvement of the US in the Cold War, my grandmothers life would have been entirely different. Aunt Kim was born in Saigon in 1967, and her story is another experience close to my family. She was hidden in the floorboards of the church as she had green eyes, during an era when light-eyed babies were seen as children of the enemy. McMahon highlights that Between 1965 and 1968, the Johnson administration poured resources and men into South Vietnam (McMahon 103). This action was aimed at protecting its people in the South from increased aggression, including my aunt. While the grandeur of the Cold War and the effects it had on global politics is highlighted, the experiences of the victims and survivors must be emphasized.

Questions to Explore Further

The history of the Cold War paints a bleak picture of a crucial period in global history that culminated in the triumph of capitalism over communism. The readings have thus far focused on the political and military strategies that highlighted the Cold War without sufficient focus on other facets. I would like to understand the role of nuclear weapons in this war further, and their development by various nations during the war. I would additionally love to acquire further information regarding the state of foreign policy and international relations during this period. As in the Cold War, policy-makers in Beijing and Washington often interpret localized and regional events as components of bipolar rivalry (Schindler and DiCarlo 643). I desire to understand the correlations of these modern conflicts with the Cold War and the reasons for their propagation.