TEACHER’S GUIDE
TEACHER’S GUIDE
• Ask students to consider the argument that President Reagan’s defense
spending and military initiatives led to the fall of communism. Did
Reagan’s policies end communism, or would the Soviet Union have
eventually collapsed on its own?
• mcel.pacificu.edu/as/students/stanley/home.html
The main feature of this site is the oral history section, which provides students with first-hand accounts from soldiers who participated in the
Korean War.
• cwihp.si.edu/
This Cold War International History site contains numerous primary source
documents for students to read, including material from former
“Communist bloc” countries.
Follow-up Activities
• Ask students to research our Constitution and outline the powers that
are clearly stated regarding foreign policy, such as rules regarding
treaties, ambassadors, funding the military and declaring war. Ask students to engage in a debate in which they discuss the difference
between what the Constitution says and how foreign policy has actually
been conducted in places such as Korea,Vietnam and Bosnia.
• Ask students to read German physicist Albert Einstein’s letter to
President Franklin Roosevelt regarding the state of nuclear science in
1939, and have them write an essay analyzing the letter’s tone and
intent.As a follow-up, ask students to imagine they are the President and
to compose a response to Einstein’s message. Einstein’s letter can be
found at this Web site: www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html.
• Encourage students to delve deeper into the events that led to the
Cuban Missile Crisis by examining primary documents, including the
letters written by President Kennedy and Soviet leader Khrushchev.
Primary research material related to the crisis can be found at this Web
site: www.cubanmissilecrisis.org/page2.asp
• The Soviet’s launch of the space satellite Sputnik greatly concerned
Americans, who believed that they had been beaten in the space race.
Ask students to construct a time line of other important moments in the
history of space exploration.
• Ask students if they are familiar with the legacy of Senator Joe McCarthy.
Have them research the terms “McCarthyism” and “Red Scare,” and try to
explain how anti-Communist sentiments changed the lives of many
Americans.
• The Berlin Wall was a symbolic representation of the differences
between democracy and communism.Ask students to read or listen to
President Kennedy’s speech given in the Rudolph Wilde Platz in West
Berlin on June 26, 1963.As a follow-up, ask students to discuss the intent
of Kennedy’s speech, and to write an essay analyzing what he said about
freedom and the Berlin Wall.The speech may be found at this Web site:
www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/j062663.htm
• Ask students to research the NATO Charter and Warsaw Pact to determine the historical nature of the relationship among the countries in
those groups. Ask students to compare and contrast the goals of each
alliance, and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages for countries
who participate in such organizations.
Suggested Print Resources
• Anderson, Dale. The Cold War Years. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers,
Austin,TX; 2001.
• Cunningham, Jesse G. (ed.) The McCarthy Hearings. Greenhaven Press,
San Diego, CA; 2003.
• Filipovic, Zlata. Zlata’s Diary:A Child’s Life in Sarajevo. Viking, New York,
NY; 1994.
• Fox, Karen. The Chain Reaction: Pioneers of Nuclear Science. F. Watts,
New York, NY; 1998.
• Medina, Loreta M. (ed.) The Cuban Missile Crisis. Greenhaven Press, San
Diego, CA; 2002.
• Winkler, Allan M. The Cold War:A History in Documents. Oxford University
Press, New York, NY; 2001.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Jeffrey W. Litzke, B.A., Political Science, M.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• Three Worlds Meet (Origins–1620)
• The Era of Colonization (1585–1763)
• Slavery & Freedom
• The American Revolution
• A New Nation (1776–1815)
• Expansionism
• Democracy & Reform
• Causes of the Civil War
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction & Segregation (1865–1910)
• Industrialization & Urbanization
(1870–1910)
• Immigration & Cultural Change
• A Nation in Turmoil
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• The Progressive Movement
• U.S. & The World (1865–1917)
• The Great War
• The Roaring Twenties
• The Great Depression
& The New Deal
• World War II
• Post–War U.S.A.
• The Cold War
• Civil Rights
• The Vietnam War
• The Middle East
• U.S. Politics (1960–1980)
• U.S. Politics (1980–2000)
800-843-3620
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our Web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.nato.int/welcome/home.htm
Provides ample information on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
including the text of the treaty and current issues.
(Continued)
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TEACHER’S GUIDE
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2002 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Executive Producers:Andrew Schlessinger & Tracy Mitchell
D6781
3/04 Programs produced and directed by CBS News Productions
V7021
All rights reserved.
TM
THE COLD WAR
Grades 5–12
T
his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
to use when presenting programs in the video
series United States History.
Before Viewing: Give students an introduction
to the topic by relaying aspects of the program
summary to them. Select pre-viewing discussion
questions and vocabulary to provide a focus for
students when they view the program.
After Viewing: Review the program and vocabulary, and use the follow-up activities to inspire
continued discussion. Encourage students to
research the topic further with the Internet and
print resources provided.
This program correlates to the following
Prentice Hall textbooks:
The American Nation: Chapter 28
America: Pathways to the Present: Chapter 16
Program Summary
At the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as
the world’s dominant superpowers.Allies during the war, the two sides had
conflicting post-war goals.The U.S. wanted to extend its principles of democracy and capitalism throughout war-weary Europe and developing Third
World countries, while the Soviet Union was interested in surrounding itself
with a buffer zone of Communist nations in Eastern Europe, as well as supporting Communist movements throughout the world.
The resulting ideological clash between the two superpowers led to a tense,
bitter competition for the next 50 years, known as the Cold War.While the
United States and Soviet Union never went to war directly, they battled indirectly in various locations throughout the world. In an attempt to contain
Soviet expansion, U.S. troops were sent to Korea in 1950 to drive Communist
forces from the South.Although this struggle ended in a stalemate, the U.S.
and its allies showed that they were willing to fight to prevent Communist
expansion.
A particularly dangerous aspect of the Cold War was the nuclear arms race,
and the world faced a possible nuclear catastrophe in 1962 during the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
After a period of détente during the Nixon and Carter administrations, the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 escalated Cold War tensions, and
President Ronald Reagan made defeating communism the cornerstone of his
foreign policy. Increased military spending during the Reagan years is credited
with hastening the collapse of the Soviet Union, as the Soviet economy was
unable to match the U.S. military build-up. U.S. military might, combined with
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of political openness, stirred the
people of Eastern Europe to end Communist regimes, and by the end of 1993,
the Cold War was over. The rapid collapse of the Soviet Union and the sudden
end of the Cold War left the United States and Western Europe scrambling to
reshape a new world in which democracy and capitalism could flourish.
1987 — INF treaty is signed.
1989 — The Berlin Wall is opened.
1989 — Thousands are killed in a protest in China’s Tiananmen Square.
1993 — The break-up of the Soviet Union is completed; the Cold War ends.
1998 — The war in Bosnia ends.
Vocabulary
1972 — President Nixon makes an unprecedented trip to Communist China.
1972 — SALT I treaty with the Soviet Union is completed.
(Continued)
Third World — The group of developing countries in the world not linked
with the United States or the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
capitalism — An economic system characterized by private ownership of
property and free enterprise.
communism — An economic system in which all goods are owned jointly;
in the Soviet Union, this developed into a government in which all social and
economic policy decisions were made by a single party.
Cold War — An intense hostile rivalry during the second half of the 20th
century between Communist nations, particularly the Soviet Union, and the
democratic nations of the world, led by the United States.
containment — The foreign policy of the United Sates designed to stop the
growth of communism.
Iron Curtain — An imaginary line that separated the countries in Western
Europe from the countries under Soviet domination in Eastern Europe.
Truman Doctrine — A 1947 pronouncement by President Truman that
offered aid to the governments of Greece and Turkey in their fight against
Soviet influence; the first application of the containment policy.
Marshall Plan — A program implemented by the United States in 1948 to
help bolster the economies of European countries trying to recover after
World War II.
blockade — A military strategy that attempts to isolate a country by preventing the movement of its people and goods.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) — A mutual defense
alliance established in 1949 between the United States, Canada and several
Western European countries designed to safeguard Western Europe against
Soviet attack.
Warsaw Pact — A mutual defense organization established in 1955 by the
Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries.
nuclear arms race — The development and warehousing of weapons of
mass destruction by the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Sputnik — A Russian space satellite launched in 1957 that caused the
United States to reassess its role as a world leader in technology and develop
its own space agency.
Berlin Wall — A barrier surrounding the German city of West Berlin, constructed by the Soviet Union in 1961 to stop people from fleeing Communist
East Berlin.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — An organization in the United
States responsible for gathering information and facilitating overseas communications.
Bay of Pigs — An unsuccessful attempt by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles to
overthrow Communist Cuban leader Fidel Castro in April 1961.
(Continued)
2
3
Time Line
1945 — World War II ends.
1946 — The Soviet Union begins to dominate the countries of Eastern
Europe.
1948 — The United States implements the Marshall Plan.
1948 — The United States begins the Berlin Airlift.
1949 — NATO is formed.
1950 — The Korean War begins.
1955 — The Warsaw Pact is formed.
1957 — The Soviet Union launches Sputnik.
1958 — NASA is created.
1960 — The Soviet Union shoots down an American U2 spy plane.
1961 — The Berlin Wall is erected.
1961 — The United States sends its first military personnel to Vietnam.
1962 — The Cuban Missile Crisis.
1963 — President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November
22nd.
domino theory — The fear that the spread of communism would run
rampant among neighboring countries if one were to fall under Communist
influence.
détente — The relaxation of tensions between nations.
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) — Agreement between
the United States and Soviet Union intended to limit the proliferation of
long-range nuclear weapons.
Contra — A member of a military group that fought the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) — A program proposed by President
Reagan in 1983 that was intended to provide the United States with a
space-based defense system to guard against possible nuclear attacks.
Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty (INF) — An agreement signed by
President Reagan and Soviet President Gorbachev in 1987 that called for
the elimination of medium-range nuclear weapons.
glasnost — A policy of political openness in Soviet society instituted by
leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
perestroika — The restructuring of the failing Soviet economy, allowing
for limited free enterprise under Mikhail Gorbachev.
Pre-viewing Discussion
• In 1939, Lise Meitner, a German physicist, successfully split the atom,
which paved the way for the development of atomic weapons. The
energy released by the atom bomb detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, in
1945 was equal to 12.5 thousand tons of TNT and killed over 100,000
people.Ask students to consider how the development and possession
of nuclear weapons has reshaped global conflicts forever.
• Ask students to discuss how communism differs from a philosophy of
individual ownership and free enterprise, and to offer opinions on the
merits and downsides of each system.
• Have students look at a map of the world from 1985 and compare it to a
current world map. Ask students to consider why the Soviets would
have wanted to establish control over Eastern Europe after World War II.
Review with students the names of individual countries that have
regained their independence since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Follow-up Discussion
• During the Cold War, every aspect of Soviet society was under government control, including newspapers, radio and television.Ask students to
consider why the Soviet government would want to prevent its citizens
from seeing images and hearing news reports from other countries, and
to discuss the importance of open and free access to information.
• Ask students to reflect on why they think the Korean War is often
referred to as the “Forgotten War.”
• Following years of poor relations with the world’s largest Communist
country, President Nixon embarked on an unprecedented trip to China
in 1972. Nixon said of his trip,“This was the week that changed the
world.”Ask students to consider Nixon’s statement and to evaluate the
importance of his trip to China today.
(Continued)
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