Chapter 27—The Cold War

BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS FOR SECTION I: How did events at the conclusion of WWII set the stage for the Cold War?

I.Origins of the Cold War

  1. Sources of Soviet-American Tension
  2. America’s Postwar Vision—What was America’s post-war vision?
  3. Spheres of Influence—How did Churchill and Stalin’s view of the post-war world differ from the U.S. view?
  4. Wartime Diplomacy—What did Stalin most want from FDR and Churchill?
  5. Dispute over Poland—What dispute arose over Poland?
  6. Yalta
  7. United Nations—What was the United Nations and how would power be distributed? What issues remained over Poland?
  8. Disagreements over Germany—How did visions of post-war Germany differ? How would Germany be divided? What was actually accomplished at Yalta? What happened to FDR?

BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS FOR SECTION II: How did U.S. policies toward the Soviet Union unfold after WWII?

II.The Collapse of the Peace—How did Harry S. Truman differ from FDR’s approach to the Soviets?

  1. The Failure of Potsdam
  2. Truman’s “Get Tough” Policy—How was Germany permanently divided?
  3. The China Problem
  4. Chiang Kai-Shek—Who was Chiang Kai-Shek and what problem did he pose for America in China? Who was Mao Zedong?
  5. Restoring Japan—Instead of China, what became America’s plan for influence in East Asia?
  6. The Containment Doctrine—What was “containment”?
  7. Truman Doctrine—Who was George Kennan and what was his plan? What was the “Truman Doctrine” and to what areas of the world did it apply?
  8. The Marshall Plan
  9. Rebuilding Europe—What four motives did the U.S. have for rebuilding Europe? What was Secretary of State Marshall’s plan?
  10. Mobilization at Home—What did the revived Selective Service Act do? What new weapons did the U.S. develop?
  11. National Security Act of 1947—What new national security structures were established?
  12. The Road to NATO—What did Stalin do to Berlin? How did Truman respond?
  13. NATO—What did NATO stand for, and what was its purpose? How did the Soviets respond?
  14. Reevaluating Cold War Policy—What events occurred in 1949 to accelerate the Cold War?
  15. NSC-68—What approach did this report suggest that the U.S. should take towards Communism?

BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS FOR SECTION III: What problems did President Truman face after WWII?

III.American Society and Politics After the War

  1. The Problems of Reconversion—What was reconversion and why did it cause problems?
  2. GI Bill—What was the GI Bill, and what did it do?
  3. Postwar Labor Unrest—How did Truman respond to strikes in mines and on the railways? What happened to women and minorities during reconversion?
  4. The Fair Deal Rejected
  5. Truman’s “Fair Deal”—What were some of the things that Truman wanted to accomplish in his “Fair Deal”? How did Republicans react?
  6. Taft-Hartley Act—How did this act restrict the power of unions?
  7. The Election of 1948
  8. Democratic Defections—What were the different factions within the Democratic Party, and who led them? Who did the Republicans nominate for president? What did Truman’s prospects for reelection look like? How did he campaign?
  9. Truman’s Surprising Victory—Who won the election of 1948?
  10. The Fair Deal Revived—How did Congress react to Truman’s Fair Deal after his election?
  11. Truman Stymied—How did Truman try to fight racial discrimination?
  12. The Nuclear Age
  13. Conflicting Views of Nuclear Power—How did views conflict over nuclear power? How did these views affect society?

BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS FOR SECTION IV: How did the Korean War begin?

IV.The Korean War—When did the Korean War begin?

  1. The DividedPeninsula—When, where, and why was Korea divided?
  2. Syngman Rhee—How did the United Nations respond to the North Korean invasion? Who led the U.S. forces?
  3. “Liberation”—How did the mission in Korea stray from the goals stated in NSC-68?
  4. From Invasion to Stalemate—How did China react? What events happened that ultimately locked the war into a stalemate? How did Truman and General MacArthur differ on the strategy of the war? What did MacArthur do?
  5. Truman-MacArthur Controversy—How did Truman react to MacArthur’s actions?
  6. Limited Mobilization

BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS FOR SECTION V: How did fear of Communism affect American society in the 1950s?

V.The Crusade Against Subversion—What were the sources of the 2nd Red Scare of the 20th century?

  1. HUAC and Alger Hiss—What was HUAC? What did they investigate?
  2. Alger Hiss—Who was Alger Hiss? What happened to him?
  3. The Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case—What did President Truman do to ensure the “loyalty” of federal employees?
  4. The McCarran Internal Security Act—What did this act do? Who were the Rosenbergs and what happened to them?
  5. Anticommunist Hysteria—What helped intensify fear of communist subversion? How did this affect society?
  6. McCarthyism—Who was Joseph McCarthy and what claims did he make? How did he begin to investigate these claims?
  7. McCarthyism’s Appeal—Did McCarthy ever find any real evidence of Communist infiltration? Why didn’t more people challenge McCarthy?
  8. The Republican Revival
  9. Dwight Eisenhower—What party did Eisenhower run for? What made Eisenhower popular?