Question

what was one reason the united states sought to build up its hard power at the beginning of the cold war

Answer 1

The U.S wanted to ensure that it could deal with soviet aggression easily

Answer 2

The main reason why the United States wanted to build up its hard power at the beginning of the Cold War was that the United States believed that the Soviet Union represented a threat to the peace and security of the world. The United States believed that the Soviet Union was commited to spreading communism all over the world, and in order to stop this, the hard power of the country was increased significantly. This is known as the "arms race."