There are three main schools of thought that trace the origins of the Cold War. The Orthodox view is that "the intransigence of Leninist ideology, the sinister dynamics of a totalitarian society, and the madness of Stalin" Doc 1 cause the Cold War. The Revisionists claim that "American policy offered the Russians no real choice?óÔé¼?ª[and] the United States used or deployed its preponderance of power" Doc 2 and these actions caused the Cold War. The Post-Revisionist position is that the Cold War was initiated both by the United States and the USSR. Through the analysis of documents and other sources,...
USSR collapsed.

Thus, through the very different ideologies of the US and the USSR and the hazard that each power imposed on the other and thus the fact that neither was willing to compromise with each other, the Cold War was initiated. These aspects of both USSR and US diplomacy caused a line to be drawn down the middle of Europe with communist nations and influence on the eastern half and democratic on the west. An aspect that was declared in Churchill's famous speech at a college in Missouri: "An iron curtain has descended across the continent" Doc 19.