Understanding the Cold War
through the Singing Revolution
AIM
How does the experience of Estonia
reflect the political evolution of the
Cold War?
Bell Ringer
Read the following quote by President Truman at the start of the Cold War.
1) What does he foresee as the Soviets’ strategy for winning the
ideological battle between them?
2) What did this mean for countries with less political and military
strength than the Soviets?
"I Suppose that history will remember my term in office as the
years when the Cold War began to overshadow our lives. I have
hardly a day in office that has not been dominated by this allembracing struggle. And always in the background there has
been the atomic bomb. But when history says that my term of
office saw the beginning of the Cold War, it will also say that in
those eight years we have set the course that can win it. The
Soviet Union does not have to attack the United States to secure
domination of the world. It can achieve its ends by isolating us
and swallowing up all our allies."
Cold War Definition
• The Cold War was an ideological conflict between the two main
victors of World War II:
The United States and the Soviet Union.
• The end of this war meant:
A realignment of the international order that had broken
down with the beginning of the first World War. It was
replaced by a new order dominated by the United States and
the Soviet Union.
• The ideological battle was between ideas of how to govern society
and manage its economy:
These ideas are known as “Communism” and “Capitalism.”
Understanding the Conflict
We will investigate the Cold War using two approaches:
1) You will learn of the conflict using a “global” approach in
which we examine a four-stage issue cycle.
2) You will observe the “local” impact of the Cold War by
viewing its effect on the Baltic country of Estonia.
The Issue Cycle
To better comprehend the Cold War, we will use the
following issue cycle:
• Genesis
• Crisis
• Ritualization
• Resolution
This format matches your graphic organizer.
You will fill in the appropriate definitions and local examples
next to each term.
Genesis
“An issue’s genesis places it on the global agenda by bringing it to the
attention of leaders. The global agenda consists of matters which
attract attention and to which participants are prepared to devote
resources.” (Mansbach, 99)
We will now watch the opening to The Singing Revolution and a 1945
newsreel of Yalta. As you watch the film clips, identify the:
a. Issue(s)
b. Leaders
c. Participants
d. Resources (think of tools the leaders and participants are capable and willing to use.)
Crisis
“During the crisis stage, an issue assumes
urgency -- the belief grows that, unless something
is done quickly, matters will deteriorate.” (Mansbach,
100)
It is at this point that a clear division and area of
contention was established between the two
powers. In this stage, you will learn how the
United States and Soviet Union took firm positions
against each other.
Research Time!
• Using the internet or school-provided online databases, identify the following terms
that demonstrate the crisis stage of the Cold War.
Note: If a library or computer lab is not available, textbooks can be used. If there is
no other way to conduct research, the information is provided in the PowerPoint on
slide #10.
• Next to each term on your graphic organizer, write a description and an explanation
of how it “escalated” the conflict.
For example: NSC-68 is a report written by the U.S. National Security Council
in 1950, outlining the U.S. position on the Soviet Union and the spread of
International Communism. This document essentially outlined the Soviet threat
to the United States and its allies.
- Truman Doctrine
- Marshall Plan
- Berlin Air Lift
- Korean War
Crisis Summation
Compare your responses to those below. Did you reach the same conclusions? If not, add
them to your notes. If you found more info, or a more significant event, please write that on
your exit ticket.
– Truman Doctrine: As the Soviets attempted to expand their control, President Truman
established the U.S. position of aiding people across the world (Greece, Turkey) in danger of
losing their free institutions. This directly placed the U.S. in conflict with Soviet ideology of
Communism.
– Marshall Plan: A plan created by the U.S. to provide economic assistance and rebuild
Western Europe. This was meant to hold back Soviet expansion and unite Western Europe
against the Soviets.
– Berlin Air Lift: The German city of Berlin, that had been divided between the allies after
World War II, was blockaded by the Soviets in a pressure move against the other allies. The
Western allies initiated a massive program to bring food, fuel, and other supplies to the
besieged city. This established the manner in which the war would be fought: through
proxy nations, thus preventing the major powers from directly going to war.
– Korean War: This war spread the Cold War from Europe to Asia, as Korea split between
Communist and Democratic factions. The Soviets backed the Chinese who assisted the
Northern Koreans, while the U.S. intervened in the South through the United Nations. This
demonstrated to the world that the Cold War was not a European, but a global conflict.
Exit Ticket
On a small slip of paper, write down which event
you found to be the most ESCALATING.
(In other words, which event brought the world closest to another
World War?)
Explain your reasoning.
Stage 3: Ritualization
a.
“Having groped in the dark to find mutually acceptable and stable norms of behavior, actors may
acquire patterned and stable mutual expectations about how they should interact in the future.”
(Mansbach, 101)
b.
“By the 1960’s the superpowers concluded that their relations had to be governed by rules and
procedures that would reduce the likelihood of mutual annihilation and allow them to coexist.”
(Mansbach, 115)
c.
The basic rule was that each superpower would not intervene in the “spheres” of another. In essence,
“I’ll stay out of your backyard” (e.g., Czechoslovakia and Hungary).
d.
The Cold War would be a series of hot/cold moments defined by massive military escalation on both
sides and indirect confrontation through proxies (other nations engaged in the conflict).
•
As you watch the film, identify the “normalizing” features of life under the Soviets.
How have the Soviets established their control in Estonia, beyond the use of
military force? What aspect of Soviet Ritualization created an opening for the
Estonians to reclaim their independence?
Extension activity:
•
Describe the events that took place in Hungary in 1956. How does this reflect the larger
theme of ritualization of the Cold War?
Stage 4: Resolution
• The resolution stage is the removal of an issue from the agenda
by formal or informal agreements among competitors.
• The Cold War would come to an end by the early 1990s.
Following 50 years of competition against more prosperous
nations, economic decay in the Soviet Union and an aggressive
military build-up by the United States, the Soviet leadership
responded with a new program that would result in its
destruction from within.
• We will observe how this took place in the country of Estonia.
As you watch the film, add key events to your timeline and
define the vocabulary.
Writing Prompt
• Over sixty years ago, President Truman recognized the danger
of the internationalization of the Soviet Union and engaged the
United States in a process that led to a “Cold War.”
• Your task is to use the information you’ve gathered to:
– Define and describe the conflict including the major and minor
players you’ve learned about.
– Explain the development of this conflict using the four-stage issue
process identified in your graphic organizer.
– Explain how the experience of Estonia reflects the political
evolution of the Cold War.
Works Cited
Books:
Mansbach, Richard. The Global Puzzle. Houghton Mifflin. New York. 1997 pgs. 98-127
Images:
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