When you hear the common phrase, "The only good communist is a dead one," the Cold War comes to mind. This war, cold because there was no direct violence against each country, was an important contribution to future wartime diplomacy. The intelligent Americans used many tactics to create a “cold” war that would benefit them in every way. The fear that communism would consume smaller countries exaggerated the possibility that the American economy could be jeopardized. Politicians also helped secure anti-communist principles in the United States. Imitating the government, media and other political figures has helped create a frenzy of fear. The United States was more responsible for the Cold War than the Soviet Union. After World War II, the French, British, United States and Soviet Union divided Germany into four different territories. Germany's capital, Berlin, was completely enclosed in Soviet territory (The American Pageant, 867). Since the Soviets supported communism, the Americans wanted to ensure that it did not spread to weak nations. For this reason, after the Soviet Union began the blockade between East and West Germany, the United States initiated the Berlin Airlift. During the Berlin Airlift, planes transported thousands of tons of supplies to the people of Berlin every day for nearly a year (The American Pageant, 868). The United States did not want to physically fight the Soviets, but stimulated some aggression by responding to the blockade with the Berlin Airlift. This one-way “trade” ultimately helped Germany's economy, which encouraged the government to turn to capitalism instead of communism; helped the United States by increasing global trade. Americans were then faced with... middle of paper... after the creation of the Soviet Union, the civil liberties of the United States were vulnerable due to communism. With the US economy threatened, Americans sought to revive the global economy. US leaders introduced a foreign policy designed to prevent the flow of the “river” of communist influence. The media helped create a mass hysteria that painted ordinary people as communists. The US government and the Americans were solely responsible for the Cold War. Works Cited Kennedy/Stanford University, David M. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. 13th ed. 2006. Nagle, Michael. "Part II, Lesson 11: The Beginnings of the Cold War (1945-1961)." Part II, Lesson 11: The Beginnings of the Cold War (1945-1961). Cengage Learning. March 21st.2009. .