McCarthyism

BY THE TIME IGOR Gouzenko announced in September 1945 that the Soviets were operating a spy ring in Canada, the uneasy world war alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States, rivals since the late 19th century, enemies since the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, was done. Soviet expansionism and American anti-communism began the clash of the Cold War.

During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were joined in the common struggle against fascism despite their long-standing philosophical disagreements. With the war won, the differences overwhelmed the common interest, and the one-time allies split into opposing camps. The Soviet Union pursued an aggressive policy of establishing satellites in the countries its troops occupied, a buffer against the threat from central Europe. The ...