Unit 8_ Cold War Lesson Student Handout

Name:__________________________________________ Date:________ Period:________ Unit 8: The Cold War (adapted from Stanford History Education Group ) Click HERE for the documents. Our Question: Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War – the United States or the Soviet Union? Iron Curtain Speech 1. Sourcing: Who was Winston Churchill? Why would Americans trust what he has to say about the Soviet Union? Winston Churchill was the former Prime Minister of Great Britain. Americans would trust him because Great Britain was the U.S’s ally, both had the goal of stopping the spread of communism in Eastern Europe. 2. Close reading: What does Churchill claim that the Soviet Union wanted? Churchill claimed that the soviet union wanted to spread communism throughout Europe. Truman Doctrine 3.(Close reading: Why did Truman believe Greece needed American aid in 1947? President Truman believed Greece needed American aid in 1947 because relations had quickly devolved between the US and their former Soviet allies . 4. Context: What does Truman mean when he claims, “Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this fateful hour, the effect will be far reaching to the West as well as to the East”? Truman means that if Greece or Turkey fall, their neighbors would be greatly affected and communism could easily South and throughout the Middle East. 5. Close reading: Does Truman present American policy as offensive or defensive? What words or phrases does Truman use to present policy this way? Truman is presenting the American policy as defensive. "Great responsibilities have been placed upon us by the swift movement of events," said President Truman to Congress on March 12, 1947. Hypothesis #1: Record your first hypothesis: Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War - the United States or the Soviet Union? Cite evidence from the first two documents . Soviet Union, led by Stalin, This was because Stalin was greatly expanding his army and military capability. He was becoming more and more powerful, and with the addition of nuclear weapons as a threat, the Cold War began. In Churchill’s speech he states, I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines,” which further supports my statement. Soviet Ambassador Telegram 6. Sourcing: Who was Nicholas Novikov? When did he write this telegram? Who was he? He was a soviet ambassador When was it written? September 1946 7. Close reading: How does Novikov describe the United States? What evidence does he use to support his description? He states, “The foreign policy of the United States, which reflects the imperialist tendencies of American monopolistic capital, is characterized in the postwar period by a striving for world supremacy. This is the real meaning of the many statements by President Truman and other representatives of American ruling circles: that the United States has the right to lead the world.” Which emphasizes his view on the U.S.