1- This DBQ is about the Cold War.

Create a quick list on the Cold War:

  • ______
  • ______
  • ______

2- It is about foreign policy.

Define foreign policy:

______

3- It focuses on President Kennedy, President Nixon and President Reagan.

Write three facts about each President:

Kennedy:

  • ______
  • ______
  • ______

Nixon:

  • ______
  • ______
  • ______

Reagan:

  • ______
  • ______
  • ______

Now, let’s analyze each document:

Document 1:

  • The document is an excerpt from a speech by President Kennedy.
  • The question concerns one action the President suggests in dealing with Cold War rivals [competitors].
  • Two sentences that might help:

“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fearto negotiate.”

  • Kennedy is writing about two different approaches for dealing with the Cold War but clearly favors one approach. What approach does Kennedy favor?

Document 2:

  • The document is a map.
  • What is the map about and what can we learn from the map?
  • We must find one action that Kennedy ordered during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The action must be clearly stated on the map. What is the action?

Document 3a:

  • It is a cartoon.

-Who are the individuals in the cartoon?

-What are the individuals in the cartoon doing?

-What is the meaning of the cartoon?

Document 3b:

  • It is a speech given by President Kennedy.
  • It begins, “I speak of peace because of the new face of war.”
  • Why, according to President Kennedy, is it in the best interest of both the United States and the Soviet Union to work together for peace?
  • The question: “What are two reasons the United States and the Soviet Union needed to addressthe issue of nuclear war?”

[Did you notice that the first three documents were Kennedy? A DBQ typically has nine documents. If there are three Presidents, there will be three documents for each President.]

Document 4:

  • The document is an excerpt from a book about President Nixon
  • The question is: what are two ways the new United States policy toward China improved United States–Soviet relations?
  • That is a little tricky – how did a U.S. policy toward China improve U.S. relations with the Soviet Union?
  • Key sentences:

-[Nixon] knew that China would become an important country; our approach to China would give the Soviet Union an incentive to have better relations with us, in that they might get a bit nervous about our dealings with the Chinese

-SALT [Strategic Arms Limitation Talks]

Document 5:

  • The source is a magazine article on President Nixon
  • The question is “why was the Moscow summit important to United States–Soviet relations?”
  • Key sentence:

-The meeting underscored [emphasized] the drive toward detente based on mutual self-interest – especially economic self-interest on the part of the Soviets, who want trade and technology from the West.

  • Define détente.

[We studied détente in class. If you know the definition of détente, it makes the question much easier to answer.]

Document 6:

  • The source is an excerpt from a speech given by President Nixon.
  • The question is “what is one reason the United States should continue its negotiations with the Soviet Union?”
  • Key sentence:

“Do we want to go back to a period when theUnited States and the Soviet Union, the two greatsuperpowers, stood in confrontation againsteach other and risk a runaway nuclear arms race…?”

[We have completed three documents on President Nixon. Thus, it is time for the final President in the DBQ – Reagan.]

Document 7:

  • The source is an excerpt from a book about President Reagan.
  • The question is “what was one action taken by theReagan administration that demonstrated an anti-Soviet foreign policy?”
  • Key Sentences:

-Ronald Reagan entered office [the presidency] as the most emphatically anti-Soviet American chief executive since Harry Truman…”

-“It [the Reagan Administration] orchestrated the most expensive peacetime military buildup in American history and began the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was designed to free the world from the nuclear stalemate in which each side’s society was hostage to the weapons of the other.”

Document 8:

  • The source is an excerpt from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan.
  • The first question is “what is one action taken by the Soviet Union that indicates it may be reforming its policies?”
  • Define reform.
  • Key sentences:

-“We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness.”

-“Some political prisoners have been released.”

-“Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed.”

-“Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.”

  • The second question is “According to President Ronald Reagan, what is one action that General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev should take to advance the cause of freedom and peace?”
  • Key sentence:

-“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Document 9:

  • The source is written by Mikhail Gorbachev.
  • List three facts about Mikhail Gorbachev:

-______

-______

-______

  • The question is how did President Ronald Reagan’s attitude toward the Soviet Union change during his second term?
  • Key Sentences:

-It seemed that the most important thing about Reagan was his anti-Communism and his reputation as a hawk who saw the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.”

Yet his second term as president emphasized adifferent set of goals. I think he understood thatit is the peacemakers, above all, who earn a place in history.”

Essay Question:

Discuss how the United States dealt with the Soviet Union during thepresidencies of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.

  • You must write about all three Presidents.
  • You must include at least five documents in the essay.
  • You must cite documents.
  • You must include outside information or at least, one fact that is not in any document but helps to answer the essay question.