After World War II, Europe was in ruins. Between bomb damage, economic recession and natural disasters such as droughts and blizzards, it seemed almost impossible to restore Europe to its former greatness. America facilitated Europe's recovery with military and financial aid and helped prevent the spread of communism. This aid destroyed the Soviet dream of a communist Europe and started the Cold War. Over the next 45 years, the United States and the Soviet Union would resemble two angry women, avoiding each other at all costs and exploding into furious rage at the first sight of each other. Many events contributed to and stemmed from the Cold War, such as the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, the civil rights movement, the space race, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy assassination, and the hippie movement. Some of the most important questions one might ask about these events are these: What did they mean for the Cold War, and where would the world be today if they had never happened? The lessons learned from the past influence everything about the future, and without these events America, and even the world, would not be where they are today. The Cold War was largely characterized by how the United States treated troubled European nations. Addressing a joint session of Congress, Harry S Truman called for $400 million in military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey in the name of democracy. Truman believed that countries would face the threat of communism if aid was not provided. He proclaimed: “It shall be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who resist attempted subjugation by armed minorities or external pressures” (Merrill). In the article “The Truman Doctrine: containing com...... half of the document...... Heritage October 1997: 84+. United States History Collection. Network. December 5, 2011.Davis, Sid. “We heard the shots…” American Heritage December 2003: 68+. United States History Collection. Network. December 5, 2011.Kershaw, Terry. “African American National Leadership: A Model of Complementarity.” The Western Journal of Black Studies 25.4 (2001): 211+. United States History Collection. Network. December 5, 2011 Merrill, Dennis. “The Truman Doctrine: Containing Communism and Modernity.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 36.1 (2006): 27+. United States History Collection. Network. December 5, 2011.Maddox, Robert James. “Lifeline for a sinking continent”. American Heritage July-August. 1997: 90+. United States History Collection. Network. December 5, 2011Phillips, Charles. "May 4, 1970." American History 39.2 (2004): 16+. United States History Collection. Network. 5 December 2011. Spagnolo, Ed. “Cat and Mouse”. American Heritage November 2000: 31. United States History Collection. Network. December 5. 2011.