The United States was primarily responsible for instigating the Cold War

In the interests of fairness I will hold off on rebuttals until round 2, so I will entirely focus on building the case as to why the US is not the primary instigator of the Cold War. I would like to note that, per the resolution, I will have won the debate if I establish the cause of the Cold War as belonging to any country that isn't the United States, or if I establish that blame is shared roughly equally. The Cold War, as defined, was "the period of political tension between the United States and the Soviet Union lasting from the end of World War II to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991; encompasses all related military conflicts". In order to understand the circumstances of the Cold War, we need to look at prior US-Soviet relations. Both nations were, along with the United Kingdom, the 'big three' countries of the Allied Powers, fighting the Axis Powers led by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan. Although the alliance of the US and UK was a natural alliance between two of the largest, freest powers on earth, the alliance with the USSR was one of mere convenience. [1] During the period prior to WWII, the USSR had, supported anti-fascist movements, due to the mutual hatred the two ideologies had. However, from 1939 to 1941 the USSR became essentially the allies of the Axis powers - they co-operated with the Nazis in the partition of Poland, and sought to divide Eastern Europe into 'spheres of influence' - in other words, Nazi-dominated areas and Soviet-dominated areas. The USSR only ended their support of Nazi Germany when they were the subject of a Nazi surprise attack. [2] By that time, however, the USSR had taken over Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, and the east of Poland. [3] This shows an early intent of the USSR to expand their rule to all of eastern Europe. Following the war, the Soviets aided the nations of eastern Europe economically - however, the intent was not benevolent. They were able to convert many into satellite states - mere mouthpieces of the USSR, where the people were not even subject to the whims of a native dictator, but a dictator in far-off Moscow. Perhaps their biggest success was their aid to the Chinese Communist Party, leading to communist control of China that exists to this day. [4] The result of the Soviet expansionism? This: The Soviets utterly dominated Central and Eastern Europe. Perhaps their only failure was when they lost control of Yugoslavia, which remained communist but independent from Soviet control. This Soviet expansionism, more than anything, is the cause of the Cold War. And guess what? The Soviets weren't done here. They supported the Greek Communists in the Greek Civil War,[6] and actively supported communist groups in both the US and Western Europe. [7] In contrast, what did the Western powers do? They gave away money, and took no land or countries in return! The US-led Marshall plan offered economic aid to any European country that wanted it - even the Soviet Union. It also placed the recovery of Germany as key to European prosperity. [8] Rather than accept this generous aid, Soviet leader Josef Stalin was fearful that this aid would lead to economic improvement for Europe - this was not good for him or the Soviets, as they had been utilizing economic instability to wage communist insurgencies and revolutions, and he feared a strong Germany. Rather than risking his new Eastern Bloc leaving the Soviets, he banned these nations from receiving the aid. [9] They even tightened control in Czechloslovokia, the only Eastern Bloc state that was even partially free. [9] In contrast, the Marshall Plan-receiving nations improved, with Italy rejecting the communists in 1948 and the Greeks defeating the communist insurgency. [9]Now, we've established the early years of the Cold War, but we've not yet gotten to a major crisis. So let's play a game - it's called "Guess that culprit? ". I'll tell you about the earliest Cold War crisis, and you will guess who caused it. The crisis is the Berlin blockade. One power decided to blockade half of the city of Berlin, Germany, preventing food and supplies from entering. Their goal was to ensure that they - and only they - could be in control of shipments to the city, allowing them control over the entire city. [9] Simultaneously, they aimed to disrupt the Berlin municipal elections, which resulted in a decisive win for the other side. [10] To counter, the other power went a non-violent route - they sent airlifts to the city, denying the other power the control they desperately wanted. [9] Now, who is the culprit? If you guessed the USSR, you would be right! Berlin was a free city, but was deep within Soviet-controlled East Germany. They wanted to control the city, but their plans backfired tremendously and they had to settle for only controlling East Berlin. Rather than tolerate open migration between the cities, however, they built the Berlin wall to keep people in East Berlin from leaving. Thus the first main crisis of the Cold War, the Berlin Blockade, was the fault of the Soviets. Still, the Soviet hunger for power did not cease, and they maintained their active financing of global communist revolutions. The Western powers created the containment strategy to slow the spread of communism - it didn't seek to end communism (unlike how the Soviets sought the end of capitalism), but it did seek to stop global Soviet aggression. [11] The Soviets had no such containment strategy, because the Western powers didn't seek an increase in power. They weren't the aggressors. Now, I could just end here. After all, I have established Soviet aggression as the cause of the Cold War. However, I won't do that. Why? Because the Soviet aggression trend is provable throughout the rest of the war. These aggressions were not sudden or random, but part of a long-term Soviet aggressive trend, and their continued existence throughout the Cold War can only confirm my case. Let's look at the major Cold War conflicts:*The Korean War (1950-53) - Emboldened by their success in China, the Soviets encouraged communist North Korea to attack non-communist South Korea. Although North Korea did the fighting, the USSR was responsible for the planning and initiation of the invasion. [12] To the shock of the Soviets, however, the UN approved the defense of South Korea. A military alliance was formed, and it was able to push the North Koreans to the point where, in 1952, they wanted to end it. However, Josef Stalin refused to allow that, and the war only ended after Stalin's death in 1953. [12]*The Hungarian Revolution (1956) - A successful revolt of the people of Hungary against the oppressive Soviet dictatorship. They overthrew the Soviet new regime and the new government sought to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, end the secret police, and re-establish a free and democratic election system. [13] Although the new Hungarian leader Imre Nagy was a staunch Marxist, he sought to establish Hungary as a free, multi-party system. [14] The Soviets responded by invading Hungary militarily and re-seizing control. *The Berlin Crisis (1961) - Faced with a population (primarily consisting of young, educated professionals) that was fleeing the repressive East Berlin to go to West Berlin, the Soviets demanded the Western powers leave West Berlin. When they refused, they halted immigration and build the Berlin Wall to keep people from leaving. [15] *The Prague Spring (1968) - Like in Hungary, the government sought to allow greater power to the people. In response, the country was invaded by the rest of the Warsaw Pact and the reforms ended. [16]There are so many of these examples that I could go on for quite a while. However, the text of this debate is limited, and I think the point is understood by now - the Soviet actions, especially those conducted under Josef Stalin, were unequivocally the cause of the Cold War. Their ruthless expansionism and support of communist revolutionaries sparked the hostility and the majority of Cold War crisises. I turn the debate back to my opponent and look forward to his next round. References:1. . https://en.wikipedia.org...(World_War_II)2. . https://en.wikipedia.org...3. . https://en.wikipedia.org...4. . https://en.wikipedia.org...5. . https://en.wikipedia.org...6. . https://en.wikipedia.org...7. . https://en.wikipedia.org...8. . https://en.wikipedia.org...9. . https://en.wikipedia.org...10. . https://en.wikipedia.org...11. . https://en.wikipedia.org...12. . https://en.wikipedia.org...13. . https://en.wikipedia.org...14. . https://en.wikipedia.org...15. . https://en.wikipedia.org...16. . https://en.wikipedia.org...