At the end of the greatest war in world history, two previously allied super powers stood unreservedly opposed. The United States and Soviet Union had successfully defeated Hitler and his allies throughout Europe and in the Pacific, resurrecting to positions of global supremacy and unparalleled influence. Between the two giants were vast political and economic differences over capitalism, communism and democracy. These differences ultimately manifested in a nonphysical conflict over influence, intelligence and ideology characterized by armament proliferation, threats, and espionage known as the Cold War. The Cold War was dominated by fear. Fear of communism, nuclear war, the future, and of all things considered unknown, unusual or untraditional ran wild throughout the United States as the Eisenhower administration worked tirelessly to address the hysterical concerns of his constituents, doing so masterfully. .
At the root of the Cold War was the American fear of the spread of communism throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America and eventually mainland USA. These fears were directly addressed by the spread of liberalism in Guatemala in 1954, and exemplified by the American reaction. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles believed the spread of liberalism in Guatemala, a country with a population slightly over 3 million, to be "so dangerous that the American state could not ignore it" (Document B). Americans were so fearful of a communist foothold in Latin America that a statement with echoes of the Monroe Doctrine was made asserting that any spread of communism in the Americas was a direct threat to the sovereignty and independence of the American people, endangering peace. Many would consider this an overreaction, but upon closer analysis this proves to be mistaken. Eisenhower's administration understood the importance of Latin America in the war of ideology and firmly believed in the virtues of the domino theory.