American foreign policy and the Cold War America's role at the end of the Second World War was the one at the origin of American foreign policy. America had been engaged in a very costly war in terms of dollars and human lives. But despite the expense, the United States emerged from World War II better than any other nation involved. World War II was a battle between the Allied and Axis powers. The Allied Powers consisted of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China and France. This war was seen as a fight against Nazi Germany, and thus led to most battles being fought on German and Russian soil. The consequences left the Soviet Union in very bad shape. Nearly twenty million Russians had died fighting the war, or about 8% of their population. In contrast, none of the fighting was conducted on American soil, and although the United States suffered in terms of casualties, it was nothing compared to the loss suffered by Russia. Since the war would not end until the Axis powers completely surrendered to the Allied powers, the United States was forced to use history's first atomic war. The atomic bomb would later become America's greatest asset. Stalin, the premier of the Soviet Union, had always distrusted American and British intentions. Due to Stalin's aggressiveness and attitude towards Soviet influence on Europe, the post-war position towards Russia had turned into a stalemate. This became the origin of the Cold War. The Cold War, seen as a battle between communism and capitalism, was "in reality a more complex struggle over a wide range of ideological, economic, and strategic issues." In the years that followed, the United States would spend more money on its military and defense than ever before. Several measures were taken to ensure that the same mistakes were not repeated at the end of the First World War. The first of a series of measures was a post-war conference involving President Truman and the Soviet Foreign Minister, VM Molokov, where Truman controlled the entire meeting and essentially berated the Soviets for failing to honor the agreements with Poland. Truman "told the Russians exactly where they had ended up and generally commanded the entire encounter." This symbolized America's strong position against communism and indicated the position we would hold during the Cold War. The next one... middle of the paper... trying to get through. Because he saw the country from the inside, Kennan also believed that the United States should "pursue a policy of firm containment... whenever the Soviets show signs of violating the interests of a peaceful and stable world." This opinion and idea of ​​the relationship between the United States and Russia should have been widely accepted by Americans. They supported this idea of ​​aggressive behavior, rather than a passive approach to the Cold War. In contrast, postwar liberals such as Henry Wallace, "a leader of the Progressive Party, continued to seek cooperation with the Soviet Union and defended the participation of communists in their organizations." These ideals were quickly silenced. The American majority, being extremely anti-communist, believed that relations with the Soviet Union should be tough and firm. This period introduced American dominance in foreign policy. The ideals of personal freedom and opportunity were the driving forces of Western philosophy during the Cold War. Not only were these principles put on display, but they were set as a benchmark of equality