Cold War and Civil War are two wars that are different in their type. A Cold War was a war fought after WWII between the military and political parties.
The American Civil War, or in short, the Civil War, on the other hand, is a war that was fought in the United States of America between the Union and Confederates.
Key Takeaways
- The Cold War was a period of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. In contrast, a civil war involves armed conflict between factions within a single country.
- The Cold War featured an ideological struggle between communism and capitalism, while civil wars resulted from political, social, or economic disputes.
- The Cold War did not involve direct military conflict between the primary adversaries, while civil wars are characterized by open warfare and casualties.
Cold War vs Civil War
The Cold War was a geopolitical conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, and their respective allies. A civil war is a conflict that occurs within a single country, where different groups within that country fight against each other for control of the government or territory.
The cold war was political and military tension between the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc.
Winning over the Axis powers, the allies-USA and USSR, tried to dominate each other with their superpowers constantly. In 1991 the Soviet Union USSR finally fell.
The civil war led to a huge number of devastation and was fought for a span of four years starting from 1861 to 1865.
The two sides of the Southern States of America went against each other with the law of abolition of the slaves.
The confederates went against the law as they felt it was an abduction of their private property, while the other people who supported the Law stayed in the State and were called the Union.
Comparison Table
| Parameters Of Comparison | Cold War | Civil War |
|---|---|---|
| Description | It is basically a political and military war fought between USA and USSR after WWII. | It is a war that was fought between the two sides of the United States of America. |
| Date of war | The war started in the year 1974 and continued till 1991. | The war started from 1861 to 1865. |
| Duration | 44 years. | 4 years, 3 weeks, and 6 days. |
| Results | The government looked into guaranteeing constitutional rights to the freed slaves. The fall of the Soviet Union and it got disbanded in 1991. | The Union won, slavery was finally banned. The confederates were abolished, and the reconstruction began. |
| Participants | The war was fought between the allies of the Soviet Union and allies of the Southern States of America. | The war was fought between the Union and the Confederates of the southern states of America. |
What is Cold War?
The Cold War was not a war in the traditional sense but rather a military tension between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc which took place after World War II.
The Eastern Bloc constituted the Soviet Union and its allies, while the Western Block was made up of the United States and its NATO allies.
The Allies won over the Axis powers in World War II and thus left the United States of America and the Soviet Union to contest each other.
The only common thing between the two was that they opposed Nazi Germany.
The USA was a capitalist state which provided free elections and a press, while the USSR was a Marxist-Leninist which was Single-party.
Since both parties were quite strong politically and economically and were opposite to each other, thus both parties felt threatened by each other.
This was basically due to the fact that both the superpowers had nuclear weapons with them and had enormous military.
The 44 years of the war, starting from 1947 and continuing till 1991, was a period of struggle and trouble for dominance from both sides. The Soviet Union finally fell and got disbanded in 1991.
What is Civil War?
The American Civil War was fought between the Union and Confederates in the United States of America.
The Confederates were a part of the Sothern states, which were in support of slavery and thus left the U.S.A when the government banned slavery.
The other people who supported the ban and stayed in the state were known as Union.
The people who did not support the ban felt that the government took away their constitutional rights and believed that the government had no right over their private property.
Thus by the win of Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election, the southern states succeeded in separating themselves and forming their own Confederate States of America.
But, neither the United States nor any other country recognised it as a Country.
Although the Civil War was quite infamous, it left a minimum of 600,000 soldiers dead and lasted for four years. It was a “brother against brother” war.
The Confederates collapsed, and many Southern States’ infrastructure got damaged, finally, slavery was abolished.
Finally, the restoration work started after the war, and the government looked into guaranteeing the constitutional rights of the freed slaves.
Main Differences Between Cold War and Civil War
- The cold war was not a typical war, and it was fought between the Political party and military of the USA and USSR after WWII, while the Civil War was between the two sides of America, The civil war lasted for approximately four years, while the Cold war continued for 44 years.
- The cold war was fought between the allies of the Soviet Union with the allies of the Southern States of America, and The Civil War was fought between the Union and Confederates of the Southern States of America and
- The cold war was fought between 1974 and 1991, and The Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865 and
- In the cold war, the Soviets fell in 1991. In the Civil War, the Union finally won, demolishing slavery completely, and the restoration work began right after the war looking after the rights of the slaves who were freed by this law.
- The cold war continued for 44 years, whereas the Civil War happened for 4 years, 3 weeks, and 6 days.
- https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-abstract/74/3/587/2199802
- https://www.ui.se/globalassets/ui.se-eng/publications/ui-publications/2019/ui-paper-no.-7-2019.pdf
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
The powerful analysis of each war and their different nature, as well as the extensive research, makes this a valuable article.
It’s commendable the scope of the research and the precision in the details of each war, certainly an interesting distinction.
The historical comparison between the Cold War and Civil War serves as a meaningful tool to understand their significance and impact
The article is incredibly comprehensive about these wars. I’m impressed with the depth of the comparison.
It is indeed a meticulous analysis, Fiona, the magnitude and complexity of both wars are well-depicted.
Quite an interesting historical juxtaposition, Fiona. I appreciate the in-depth approach to differentiating these conflicts.
The article is relatively informative, but it fails to consider the political and ideological implications of each war.
Jtaylor, the article focused on the military and geopolitical aspects, which are fundamental to understand the dynamics of both conflicts.
This comparison between the Cold War and Civil War is very enlightening, I appreciate the detailed analysis of both conflicts.