Traditional, revisionist, post-revisionist and post-Cold War historians disagree about who was mainly responsible.
Traditional, or orthodox, historians writing in the 1940s and 1950s blamed Soviet expansionism. In this view, Stalin broke wartime promises and the USA responded defensively. Herbert Feis and Arthur Schlesinger Jr are often linked with it.
Revisionist historians in the 1960s, influenced by the Vietnam War, blamed American policy. William Appleman Williams argued that the USA sought an "open door" for its trade and investment. Gar Alperovitz argued that the atomic bomb was used partly to pressure the USSR. The USSR, in this view, acted defensively.
Post-revisionist historians, such as John Lewis Gaddis in 1972, spread responsibility. They stressed mutual misperception: each side's defensive moves looked aggressive to the other, creating a spiral of mistrust.
After the Soviet archives opened in the 1990s, post-Cold War historians re-examined Soviet aims. Gaddis argued in We Now Know (1997) that Stalin's outlook and ideology made the Cold War hard to avoid. Others, such as Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Pleshakov, described Stalin as pursuing security and empire together. Use these schools to explain why accounts differ, not just to list them.
- Traditional
- Soviet expansion; USA defensive.
- Revisionist
- US economic expansion; USSR defensive.
- Post-revisionist
- Shared responsibility; mutual misperception (Gaddis, 1972).
- Post-Cold War
- Soviet archives; renewed focus on Stalin (Gaddis, We Now Know, 1997).
Worked example: Using interpretations in a source answer
A source written by a Soviet official blames the USA.
- Identify the view: it supports a revisionist-style argument that the USA was expansionist.
- Test it: cross-reference with a source showing US economic aims, such as the Marshall Plan.
- Evaluate: the author had reasons to blame the USA, so weigh it against other evidence.
- Link to the debate: post-revisionists would see both sides' fears at work.
Watch out for this
Post-revisionists say the Cold War was nobody's fault.
Post-revisionists share responsibility and stress misperception. They still analyse the choices each side made.
Check your understanding
Which interpretation argues that American economic expansion was a major cause of the Cold War?
- Revisionist
- Traditional
- Post-Cold War