Historians' approaches to the origins of the Cold War

History · A Level: The origins and development of the Cold War, 1941-1950. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Historians disagree about who was responsible for the Cold War, and their answers changed with the times they wrote in. You need to match each school to its argument, its context and one or two names.

The Traditional view blames Soviet expansion and sees the USA as reacting. The Revisionist view, strong in the 1960s, blames American economic and atomic power. Post-Revisionists avoid blaming one side: both acted from fear and misread each other.

After 1991, newly opened Soviet and East European archives let historians study Stalin's decisions directly. Much of this 'New' Cold War history returned to stressing Stalin and ideology.

Rules to remember

Traditional (orthodox): Stalin's expansionism caused the Cold War; the USA responded defensively. Examples: Herbert Feis, Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Context of the Traditional view: the tense 1950s, with strong anti-communism in the USA and no Soviet sources.
Revisionist: US pursuit of open markets (the 'Open Door') drove the conflict. William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1959).
Gar Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy (1965): the bomb was used partly to put pressure on the USSR.
Context of Revisionism: the Vietnam War made many Americans question their country's foreign policy.
Post-Revisionist: shared responsibility and mutual misunderstanding. John Lewis Gaddis, The United States and the Origins of the Cold War (1972).
'New' Cold War history: used archives opened after 1991; Gaddis, We Now Know (1997), gave more weight to Stalin's role. Soviet-era historians blamed American imperialism.

Common mistake

Gaddis belongs to two stages, so do not place him only once. His 1972 book is post-revisionist, while We Now Know (1997) uses the new archives and puts more responsibility on Stalin.

Worked example

A historian writes: 'The Marshall Plan was designed chiefly to secure markets for American goods, and it left Stalin little choice but to close off Eastern Europe.' Which school does this fit?

The extract explains US policy by economic interest, not by defence against a threat.
It presents Soviet action as a reaction to American pressure.
Blaming US economic expansion and seeing the USSR as defensive is the Revisionist argument.

Answer: The Revisionist school.

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