Lesson on Thursday, April 12, 2018

Aim: In the first two decades of the Cold War, how did competition on the international stage and a climate of fear at home affect politics, soviet, and culture in the United States?

Bell Ringer:  Let's review America Compared 1 and 2 / Answers:

Q1 - NSC-68 is evidenced in the proliferation of nuclear weapons beginning in 1950. Every year following the report, the United States created more nuclear weapons. 

Q2 - The data shows that the United States and the Soviet Union were, far and away, the leaders in the nuclear arms race. 


Agenda: 

 IMPORTANT TO REVIEW:  

• Differences between Communism and Capitalism.  

• US and Soviet Union were on   the same side in WWII.  

• After WWII, Europe was in ruins and former colonial empires were crumbling. This set the scene for increased competition between the two superpowers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.  

• The Soviet Red Army remained in Eastern Europe after the war, which led to the Soviet Bloc. At the same time, the United States developed policies of containment – in particular, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.  

5. Timeline and PowerPoint Lecture  

A. Hand out Cold War timeline and lead students through it using PowerPoint slides to draw attention to key events:  

• Slide #1: The Iron Curtain Speech  

• Slide #2: The Truman Doctrine  

• Slide #3: The Marshall Plan  

• Slide #4: NATO and Warsaw Pact 

• Slide #5: Introduce question of the day:  

Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War - The United States or the Soviet Union? Over the past decades historians have disagreed over this question. Today, we are going to look closely at some Cold War documents in order to address the question for ourselves.  

6. Pass out Documents A and B along with Guiding Questions. Students read documents, answer questions, and record their initial hypothesis regarding the central historical question.  

7. Share out answers and discuss.  

8. Pass out documents C and D. Students read documents, answer questions, and record their second hypothesis.  

9. Share out answers and discuss.  

Whole class discussion:  

• Who was primarily responsible for the start of the Cold War? What evidence do you have to support your claim?  

• Which of these documents do you believe is most trustworthy? Why? • Did anyone’s hypothesis change? How and why?  

• What other evidence would you need to strengthen your claim? 

Terms to know: Yalta Conference, Potsdam Conference, containment, Marshall Plan, NATO, Warsaw Pact, NSC-68, 

Home Learning: 
1. Read pages 818-826 / Add information in pages 818-826 in the appropriate boxes 

of Attachment B
2. American Voices Qs 1-3
3. Journal 143 - What  factors led to the postwar Red Scare, and what were its ramifications for civil liberties in the United States?

4. Journal 144 - What were the components of Cold War liberalism, and why did the Democratic Party embrace them?