Containment
Topic: Containment (The Cold, Korean, and Vietnam War)
(middle/high school US history)
by Lodge
Containment
A Cold War story
The 20th century
US and Western Europe face off against the Soviet Union
Had an agreement
But Stalin changed it
Now this Iron Curtain
Is pulled across the Communist nations
Truman vows containment yea with troops and some money
Germany is now split into the east and the west
While McCarthy in the states uncovering the Communist Party
The Red Scare plants a fear of losing Democracy
With Communism on the rise
McCarthy’s list comes alive
And helps contain it here
While we charge right up with the Truman Doctrine
And become the World Police
To stop this spreading disease
This containment is for our survival
After World War 2,
The winners knew
To divide Korea half and half at the 38th parallel
North with Stalin
To share in common
His communistic talkin’
Yea North wanted the Southern part too
The US said, this wont spread
The Doctrine will justify
So MacArthur sends troops of men
In a Korean War
It’s Stalemate at 38 – Korea Divided
But it proved that the US had containment belief
Fast forward to the falling of the Berlin Wall
Yea containment made the Soviets fall
In the 1960s we have Vietnam
Split across the 17th - parallel
Sounds so familiar
The North was communist
And forced elections
Then guerilla Vietcong attacked the southern populations
The US said, this wont spread
The Doctrine will justify
Our peaceful troops escalate while war is dividing
The Tet Offensive devastates
Chase us to Saigon
Nixon pulls out and communism prevails
Student Lyric Guide
Name: __________________________
Containment
A Cold War story
The 20th century
When was the Cold War?
_________________________________
US and Western Europe face off against the Soviet Union
The two most significant Western European allies to the US in the Cold War
1. ______________________
2. ______________________
Had an agreement
But Stalin changed it
What was Stalin's agreement after World War II?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
What did Stalin do instead?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Now this Iron Curtain
Is pulled across the Communist nations
The _____________ ______________ divided Eastern and Western Europe.
_____________
____________ created alliances with the communist Soviet
Union while ______________
______________ created alliances with the
democratic United States
Truman vows containment yea with troops and some money
The President of the United States at the beginning of the the Cold War:
________________ ________________
Truman vowed to contain ______________________
Germany is now split into the east and the west
The ___________
____________ divides ____________ into East and West
While McCarthy in the states uncovering the Communist Party
The Red Scare plants a fear of losing Democracy
Explain Senator McCarthy's Red Scare:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
With Communism on the rise
McCarthy’s list comes alive
And helps contain it here
What was McCarthy's list? What was the purpose?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
While we charge right up with the Truman Doctrine
The purpose of the Truman Doctrine:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
And become the World Police
Before the Truman Doctrine, the US was a _____________ ______________
After the Truman Doctrine, the US was the _____________ ______________
To stop this spreading disease
This containment is for our survival
Define Containment:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
After World War 2,
The winners knew
To divide Korea half and half at the 38th parallel
After World War II, Korea was divided at the ______
North with Stalin
To share in common
His communistic talkin’
_______________
North Korea was controlled by _______________________________________
South Korea was controlled by _______________________________________
Yea North wanted the Southern part too
What did North Korea want?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
The US said, this wont spread
The Doctrine will justify
How did Truman respond to North Korea's actions?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
So MacArthur sends troops of men
In a Korean War
___________ _____________ _____________ was the commander of the US
military forces in South Korea during the Korean War
It’s Stalemate at 38 – Korea Divided
Who won the Korean war?
________________________________________________________________
But it proved that the US had containment belief
Explain the line: "it proved that the US had containment belief"
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Fast forward to the falling of the Berlin Wall
What was the Berlin Wall:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
The Berlin Wall was taken down in ___________
Why was the Berlin Wall taken down?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Yea containment made the Soviets fall
How did containment make the Soviet Union fall?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
In the 1960s we have Vietnam
Split across the 17th - parallel
Sounds so familiar
The North was communist
And forced elections
In what ways does the story of the Vietnam War sound similar to the Korean
War?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Then guerilla Vietcong attacked the southern populations
Who were the Vietcong?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
The US said, this wont spread
The Doctrine will justify
Our peaceful troops escalate while war is dividing
Explain the line: "Our peaceful troops escalate while war is dividing"
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
The Tet Offensive devastates
Chase us to Saigon
The ________ ______________ was a massive attack by the army of
________ ________________ in order to end the war
Did the Tet Offensive work? Explain.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Nixon pulls out and communism prevails
Who was the US president during the end of the Vietnam War?
__________ _____________
Teacher Key
Name: ________KEY__________________
Containment
A Cold War story
The 20th century
When was the Cold War?
1945 - 1991
US and Western Europe face off against the Soviet Union
The two most significant Western European allies to the US in the Cold War
1. England
2. France
Had an agreement
But Stalin changed it
What was Stalin's agreement after World War II?
He agreed to make the Soviet Union a democratic country.
What did Stalin do instead?
He declared that the Soviet Union would be a communist nation
Now this Iron Curtain
Is pulled across the Communist nations
The ________ Iron ___________ curtain divided Eastern and Western Europe.
_________Eastern _________ Europe created alliances with the communist
Soviet Union
________Western __________Europe created alliances with the democratic
United States
Truman vows containment yea with troops and some money
The President of the United States at the beginning of the the Cold War:
____________ Harry ___________ Truman
Truman vowed to contain ____________Communism
Germany is now split into the east and the west
The ___________Iron ________Curtain divides ____________ Germany into
East and West
While McCarthy in the states uncovering the Communist Party
The Red Scare plants a fear of losing Democracy
Explain Senator McCarthy's Red Scare:
McCarthy led the charge in the US to find out if anyone was a communist, and
have them kicked out or killed. He created a panic called the red scare which
implanted fear in the people of the US of being overtaken by the Communists.
With Communism on the rise
McCarthy’s list comes alive
And helps contain it here
What was McCarthy's list? What was the purpose?
A list of people living in the United States that might be Communists. I was meant
to contain Communism in the United States
While we charge right up with the Truman Doctrine
The purpose of the Truman Doctrine: The US will do whatever it takes to contain
the spread of communism
And become the World Police
Before the Truman Doctrine, the US was a _________World ___________Power
After the Truman Doctrine, the US was the ___________World ________Police
To stop this spreading disease
This containment is for our survival
Define Containment:
An effort during the cold war to keep communism from spreading to other
countries.
After World War 2,
The winners knew
To divide Korea half and half at the 38th parallel
After World War II, Korea was divided at the ________38th __________parallel
North with Stalin
To share in common
His communistic talkin’
North Korea was controlled by _______________ Stalin and the Soviet Union
South Korea was controlled by _____________ Truman and the United States
Yea North wanted the Southern part too
What did North Korea want?
To unite the entire country (both North and South) into a communist Korean
nation - so they tried to take over South Korea
The US said, this wont spread
The Doctrine will justify
How did Truman respond to North Korea's actions?
According to the Truman Doctrine, the US will do anything to stop the spread of
communism. So we went to war to stop communism from spreading into South
Korea.
So MacArthur sends troops of men
In a Korean War
_________ General _________Douglas __________MacArthur was the
commander of the US military forces in South Korea during the Korean War
It’s Stalemate at 38 – Korea Divided
Who won the Korean war?
No one. The country is still divided along the 38th parallel
But it proved that the US had containment belief
Explain the line: "it proved that the US had containment belief"
this was the first time the Truman Doctrine had been tested out - it was not just a
bunch of talk
Fast forward to the falling of the Berlin Wall
What was the Berlin Wall:
An actual wall that split German in half - East was communist, and West was
democratic
The Berlin Wall was taken down in ___________1989
Why was the Berlin Wall taken down?
The people of East Germany want a better more democratic life. The Soviet
Union had not been able to support East Germany, so they tore down the wall
and united a democratic country.
Yea containment made the Soviets fall
How did containment make the Soviet Union fall?
The US used global influence to cut the Soviet Union off from trade partnerships.
So, with no demand for their exports, the country was slipping into an
impoverished state. They gave up on communism in 1991.
In the 1960s we have Vietnam
Split across the 17th - parallel
Sounds so familiar
The North was communist
And forced elections
In what ways does the story of the Vietnam War sound similar to the Korean
War?
A country split in half at the 17th parallel. North was controlled by communists,
south was controlled by democrat nations. North wanted to take over the South
and unit the country into a communist nation. According to the Truman Doctrine,
we sent troops to stop the spread of communism.
Then guerilla Vietcong attacked the southern populations
Who were the Vietcong?
They were communist soldiers living in South Vietnam that fought for the North
using guerrilla warfare and tactics.
The US said, this wont spread
The Doctrine will justify
Our peaceful troops escalate while war is dividing
Explain the line: "Our peaceful troops escalate while war is dividing"
The US kept sending more troops to protect South Vietnam. Meanwhile, back in
the US the country was divided because many people believed that we had no
business being in Vietnam.
The Tet Offensive devastates
Chase us to Saigon
The ________Tet _________Offensive was a massive attack by the army of
________North ____________Vietnam in order to end the war
Did the Tet Offensive work? Explain.
It did work. It drove our troops out of Vietnam. Once the US troops were gone,
South Vietnam fell and became part of communist Vietnam
Nixon pulls out and communism prevails
Who was the US president during the end of the Vietnam War?
Richard Nixon
Music Video Extension Activity
1. Hand out or project the lyrics and read them out loud and discuss their meaning
2. Play the song for the students, multiple times, encouraging them to sing along
3. Use the student lyric guide in place of, or to supplement class notes
4. Allow students class time, in small groups, to “act” out a portion of the song
5. Film the student groups singing/acting out the song