In fact, many people believe it was the final factor that led to disintegration of Soviet/U.S. relations, and directly led to the failure of the Moscow Conference of foreign ministers in March 1947. The conference had been convened in an attempt for the two powers to come to an agreement about situations in Europe, including whether or not to unify the German state, but with its failure, relations between the two countries became even more strained. The Marshall Plan followed the Truman Doctrine in 1947, and was an attempt to boost the European economy after the war. Historian Whitcomb writes, "The Marshall Plan was conceived as a 'counter-offensive' to Moscow's moves in Eastern Europe and as a reaction to Stalin's decision, registered at the Moscow Conference, to rebuff all gestures of compromise looking toward settlement of the problems dividing Europe" (Whitcomb 84). It was an attempt to rebuild Europe instead of just giving monetary relief, and did not single out any one country for aid. In fact, it was an attempt to help all of Europe recover from the war. The Soviets, however, thought the plan was an attempt by the U.S. To gain control of countries in Europe, and so, they refused to participate in the plan, which meant that the countries under their influence did not participate, either.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was an attempt to bring several nations together to form a bond that would help defend against a Russian attempt to take over more countries in Europe. The Soviets...

The basis for the Treaty and the alliance between European nations was the idea that if one nation was attacked, all the members would respond. Russia saw this as a threat. Another historian writes, "an attack against any one of the signatories would be regarded as an attack against all, requiring the parties to respond to any such aggression by taking appropriate individual and collective action" (Powaski 77). Thus, each of these pacts and doctrines drove even more wedges between the Soviets and the United States, and helped continue and prolong the Cold War.
In conclusion, the Cold War began as relationships between the Soviet Union and the United States became more and more strained after the end of World War II. Each side mistrusted the other, misconstrued attempts to make peace, and began to upscale weapons and defense against the other. It was a time of world confusion and disorder, and it would not end until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Cold War never erupted into real war, but there were times, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, when it could have, and the world breathed a sigh of relief when it ended.

References

Powaski, Ronald E. The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Whitcomb, Roger S. The Cold War in Retrospect: The Formative Years. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998.