Cold War

The Cold war was a very interesting conflict between the USSR and the USA. The main idea was that it was a battle of ideals and mindsets, and the spread of those ideals. The USA wanted to spread its idea of democracy, but primarily, its economic system of capitalism. This was in opposition to the USSR idea of Communism. There is a huge difference between communism and Communism with a capital C. The communism with a small c represents what communism is supposed to be which is 

1. a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

However, this was different from the Communism that the USSR came to represent. Their representation of communism came to become something more like a dictatorship. So the ideas were spread across nations following the end of world war II. Both countries were considered 'superpowers' and the influence they had on other, less politically potent was very great. They were able to impress their ideals upon nations, and following World War II, the basic conflict was this. However, there was no return to  normalcy, as Foner said; the conflict just kind of continued, with no real end. Both countries wanted to impose themselves, and take down the other, stealthily and with ideals. No real battle happened, more like a battle of ideas and will.