NAEP US History Grade 8

Category - US History

What goal was most important in shaping United States foreign policy between 1945 and 1990?
  1. Preventing the spread of communism to new areas and weakening it where it already existed
  2. Encouraging trained scientists and other skilled workers who lived in foreign countries to immigrate to the United States
  3. Strengthening the United States industrial and agricultural sectors to help them compete against the British and the French
  4. Providing foreign aid to all poor countries to help them develop economically and technologically
Explanation

Answer: A - Preventing the spread of communism to new areas and weakening it where it already existed.

After World War II, the spread of communism was seen as a threat to global security and the capitalist democratic world order. To counter this, the United States and its allies adopted a policy of containment, which aimed to prevent the spread of communism to new areas and weaken it where it already existed.

One way that communism spread to new areas was through the support of Soviet-backed communist parties in countries around the world. The Soviet Union provided financial and military assistance to these parties, as well as propaganda and training, in an effort to promote communist ideology and establish socialist regimes in new regions.

To counter this, the United States and its allies provided economic and military aid to countries that were vulnerable to communist influence, particularly in Europe and Asia. The goal was to strengthen these countries' economies and democratic institutions, and to prevent them from falling under Soviet influence.

In addition to containing communism in new areas, the United States and its allies also sought to weaken it where it already existed. This was particularly challenging in countries that had already established socialist governments, such as the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba.

To weaken communism in these countries, the United States and its allies used a variety of tactics, including economic sanctions, covert operations, and propaganda. These efforts were often met with resistance from the communist governments themselves, as well as from their allies around the world.

Ultimately, the Cold War between the capitalist democratic world and the communist bloc lasted for several decades, with both sides engaging in a variety of political, economic, and military maneuvers in an effort to achieve their goals. The end of the Cold War came with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which marked a major turning point in global politics and the balance of power between capitalist and communist systems.

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