Resource Unit on Post
World War II and
Beginnings of the Cold War
Kevin Hill
ED 639
Introduction
► This
unit is designed for 10th grade
American History. It is intended to cover
the opening stages of the Cold War and
other important elements of the era, within
a two-week frame of time.
Introduction
► The
late 1940s and 1950s represented a
new era in American power and influence.
America remained one of the few countries
largely unscathed by World War II, and in
Europe’s ashes it rose to its greatest
prominence. Citizens were ready to enjoy a
newfound prosperity and luxury they had
not known since before the Great
Depression. Confidence and hope for a
better future seemed to flow freely.
Introduction
►
However, this supremacy did not go unchallenged. The
Soviet Union was the antithesis to what the western United
States and its allies stood for. Opposed on political and
economic spectrums, the two super-powers began a
decades-long antagonism that permeated into mainstream
society. Despite the huge swell of patriotism during World
War II, America found itself fearful and suspicious of its
own citizens amidst sensational stories of spies such as the
Rosenthalls, Alger Hiss, and culminating in the most
flamboyant communist witch hunt of the era under the
guidance of Joseph McCarthy.
Introduction
► In
addition, the truth was that prosperity did
not extend to all within America. Minority
groups remain disenfranchised, and
systematic efforts for protest and change
received widespread public attention. The
post war era may maintain a symbolic and
feel-good “Father Knows Best” quality, but
the reality of the times was much more
dynamic, challenging, and uncertain.
Content – Key Terms
Capitalism
Communism
► West vs. East
► Yalta Conference
► Atomic Bomb
► GI Bill
► suburbs
► Civil Rights
► Nuclear family
► 38th Parallel
► Cold War
► NATO
►
►
Boycott
Sit-in
► Truman Doctrine
► Containment
► McCarthyism
► Warsaw Pact
► Marshall Plan
► Espionage
► Fair Deal
► Berlin Airlift
► Subversive
► HUAC
►
►
Content – Summary of Material
► Post
World War II:
 Following the devastation of World War II, the United
States and the Soviet Union were the remaining super
powers of the world. War-time cooperation quickly
faded, as mutual fears of the other’s power and
expansion rose. The United States aided in rebuilding
western Europe through the Marshall Plan, while the
Soviet-occupied eastern European countries received
Soviet aid. Soviet blockade of supplies to Berlin led to
the “Berlin Airlift”. NATO formed as a counter to Soviet
expansion in Europe, and consequent Warsaw Pact
formation as a counter to NATO.
Content – Summary of Material
► Korean
Conflict:
 The “Truman Doctrine” and its avocation of
containment prompted a United Nations
response to the invasion of South Korea by the
communist North Korea. Early North Korean
success was repulsed by U.S. forces, until the
intervention by the Chinese. Subsequently,
Allied forces endured several years of
stalemate, with an unsatisfying conclusion to
the conflict.
Content – Summary of Material
► Domestic
Communist Threat and McCarthyism:
 Soviet spies and sympathizers had been active in the
U.S. during World War II. Soviet development of the
nuclear bomb was aided by such espionage. Events like
the Alger Hiss trial and the conviction and execution of
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg raised fears of communist
subversion to new heights. Joseph McCarthy rode this
wave of paranoia by making blanket accusations based
on the shakiest of evidence, if any. Freedom of thought
was chilled, and innocent lives were ruined by
unfounded charges and guilt by association
Content – Summary of Material
► Society:
 Following the end of World War II, Americans enjoyed
prosperity they had not seen in almost two decades.
The image of the nuclear family was ubiquitous.
However, the reality was that many groups were
unsatisfied. Women often did not find satisfaction in
their role as housekeeper and had the recent work
experience during World War II to reference in
comparison. Black Americans and the Civil Rights
movement began to receive national attention after
events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1954. Youth
culture began identifying themselves through rebellious
icons like James Dean, and the advent of rock and roll
music.
Objectives
Through this lesson, students should be able to identify and answer the following
questions:
► Explain how the United States rose to pre-eminence in the western world
during and following World War II.
► Recognize the roots of Soviet antagonism towards the western world.
► Identify and explain the Marshall Plan.
► Identify the Berlin Airlift.
► Define “Cold War”.
► Explain the significance of the Berlin Wall and Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech
► Explain the rise of nuclear arsenals and their repercussions.
► Recognize the philosophical, political, and economic differences between
communism and capitalism.
► Summarize the strengths of both the Western allies and Soviet bloc countries.
► Recognize the fall of China.
► Identify and explain aspects of the Korean War.
► Evaluate the Truman Administration.
► Comment on domestic spies and espionage in America.
► Explain the rise of Joseph McCarthy and his eventual fall
► Be able to explain the appeal of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Activities
► Day
1: Introduction to theme
 Class will watch segments of The Century:
America’s Time
 Students will be assigned to read the chapter
for homework
► Day
2: Guided lecture on administration of
Harry S. Truman, and growing tensions
between U.S. and USSR in Europe
Activities
► Day
3: Lecture on Korean War. Have students
form into two groups. Relying on knowledge from
class and documents provided to them, have
students debate amongst each other the merits
and flaws of the policy of containment and its
practice in Korea, arguments for escalating the
war, etc.
► Day 4: Students will take a quiz on material
covered so far
Activities
► Day
5: Guided lecture on the Communist segment
in American society of the era, Soviet espionage,
and the ensuing Red Scare exemplified by
McCarthyism.
► Day 6: Cover segments of American society,
including popular culture, the Civil Rights
movement in the South, gender roles, etc.
► Day 7: Watch Dr. Strangelove in class. Assign
students to write a short paper summarizing the
major points of the chapter.
Activities
► Day
8: Finish watching Dr. Strangelove.
► Day
9: Collect Papers. Conduct “Jeopardy”
Review of chapter materials.
► Day
10: Students will take the Unit Exam
for the chapter.
Evaluation (Sample Test Questions)
Multiple Choice:
► 1. The Marshall Plan was an economic aid program to:




►
A) the American people
B) western Europe
C) the Soviet Union
D) China
The United States President during the Korean War was:




A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Harry S. Truman
C) Dwight D. Eisenhower
D) Joseph Stalin
Evaluation (Sample Test Questions)
Which of the following was not a reason for
Soviet mistrust of America following World War
II?
►




A) America threatened to remove the USSR from the
United Nations
B) America had interfered in the Russian Civil War in
1918
C) Russia had taken most of the pressure in World
War II and suffered the highest Allied casualties
D) America embraced capitalism while the USSR
embraced communism
Evaluation (Sample Test Questions)
Which of the following was not a sign of economic and
social prosperity following World War II?
►




A) The rise of suburban neighborhoods
B) More people could attend college due to the G.I. Bill
C) Previously rare luxuries like televisions and new cars became
much more common
D) America had a national deficit from government spending
before and during the war
The Montgomery Bus Boycotts witnessed the rise of
influence of what major civil rights figure?
►




A) Martin Luther King Jr.
B) Malcolm X
C) Jesse Jackson
D) Cesar Chavez
Evaluation (Sample Test Questions)
True False:
► The Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall because they didn’t
want citizens of West Berlin entering East Berlin
► McCarthyism eased American fears of communists within
the country
Short Essay:
► Explain the course of events that brought the United States
and Soviet Union from being allies to confrontational
superpowers.
► Give examples and explain the significance of the rise of
public fear of Soviet espionage in America.
Instructional Resources
►
►
1. Frankel, Benjamin, ed. The Cold War, 1945-1991 (Detroit: Gale
Research, 1992), 3 volumes; v. 1 Leaders and Other Important Figures
in the United States and Western Europe; v. 2 Leaders and Other
Important Figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the
Third World; v. 3 Resources: Chronology, History, Concepts, Events,
Organizations, Bibliography, Archives. This is a highly useful set of
references books, which will serve both student and scholar alike
2. Hill, Kenneth L., ed. Cold War Chronology : Soviet-American
Relations, 1945-1991 (Washington, D.C. : Congressional Quarterly,
1993) 362 pp., index. This book presents a straightforward, annotated
chronology of U.S.-Soviet relations from the end of World War II to the
end of the Cold War.
Instructional Resources
3. May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era
(New York: Basic Books, 1988), 284 pp., illustrations, index. May explores the
complex historical reasons why Americans chose to live in suburbanized
nuclear families and retain traditional gender roles in the two decades
following the Second World War. By combining statistical, economic, and
psychological studies with cultural analyses of the period's television, film, and
popular science, May argues that the new American family order did two things
during the Cold War: first, it defused the potentially revolutionary effects of the
vast changes wrought in the very nature of work by the Depression, World War
II, and the United States' strong post-war economy; and second, it served to
allay the anxieties about personal and national security that characterized Cold
War American culture.
► 4. Herken, Gregg. The Winning Weapon: The Atomic Bomb in the Cold War,
1945-1950 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988) 425 pp., index. In
commanding detail, Herken describes the powerful, often-perverse influence
the atomic bomb played in international relations between the end of World
War II and the Korean War. This book is especially good in interpreting the
debate over the internationalization of the atom and the domestic context in
which that debate was conducted.
►
Instructional Resources
►
5. Carry Me Home: Birmingham Alabama - The
Climactic Battle of The Civil Rights Movement
by Diane McWhorter. This book is a personal memoir as
well as a detailed historical look at the Civil Rights
Movement. It chronicles the rise and fall of segregation in
one of the most segregated cities in America, Birmingham,
Alabama. McWhorter traces the roots of the civil rights
movement back to the labor movement and the New
Deal. She also offers new revelations about the Sixteenth
Street Baptist Church bombings.
Student Resources
►
1. Stokesbury, James. L. A Short History of the Korean War (Quill;
Reprint edition (December 1989) 280 pp
Reducing an entire war to manageable length is a high literary art
form, and Professor Stokesbury has mastered it. In the case of this
Korean War history, short does not mean banal condensation or a
dismal list of statistics and facts. Rather, Stokesbury begins from
scratch and describes and interprets each phase of the war, as he did
in his readable and well-known short histories of World Wars I and II.
The narrative makes good sense of the infantry's complicated
battlefield movements; and his interpretation of the air war is
exemplary. The result is a concise but totally independent history that
can stand alongside any of the recent crop of new Korean War titles.
Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Student Resources
► 2.
Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech
►
http://www.hpol.org/churchill/
►
3. George Marshall on the Marshall Plan:
►
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947mar
shallplan1.html
►
4. Truman Doctrine:
►
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947TRU
MAN.html
Student Resources
►
►
5. Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a formative moment in
twentieth-century history: a harbinger of the African American freedom
movement, a springboard for the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr.,
and a crucial step in the struggle to realize the American dream of
liberty and equality for all. In Daybreak of Freedom, Stewart Burns
presents a groundbreaking documentary history of the boycott. Using
an extraordinary array of more than one hundred original documents,
he crafts a compelling and comprehensive account of this celebrated
year-long protest of racial segregation. Daybreak of Freedom
reverberates with the voices of those closest to the bus boycott,
ranging from King and his inner circle, to Jo Ann Robinson and other
women leaders who started the protest, to the maids, cooks, and other
'foot soldiers' who carried out the struggle. With a deft narrative hand
and editorial touch, Burns weaves their testimony into a riveting story
that shows how events in Montgomery pushed the entire nation to
keep faith with its stated principles.
Student Resources
►
6. AMERICA IN THE 1950s
By Edmund Lindop. Offering a lively and informative overview of one of
the most pivotal decades of the 20th century, this wide-ranging history
chronicles the major political, social, and cultural events of the 1950s.
Chapters discuss the Korean War, McCarthyism, the EisenhowerStevenson presidential contests, Brown v. Board of Education and the
civil rights movement, Cold War tensions, the changing roles of
women, the rise of suburbia, America's automobile culture, television,
movies, music, popular culture, art and architecture, and sports.
Grades 7 and up. Chronology. Notes. Further reading. Index. 8 x 10.
Twenty-First Century. 128 pages. ©2002
http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF35390+s@.
XhI7qpdNNkPo
Student Resources
7. CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR, PART 1: 1946–1960
Simulates the Cold War years as students pose as
competing teams of presidential advisers who must choose
options to submit to the president as actual historical
events and crises occur. Revised. ©2005.
► 8. PowerPoint: 1950s
Explores post-WWII America with an emphasis on
consumerism, conformity, McCarthyism, new technologies,
and popular culture.
► http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF
36007+s@.XhI7qpdNNkPo
►
Student Resources
►
►
►
9. THE PALGRAVE CONCISE HISTORICAL ATLAS OF THE COLD
WAR
By John Swift. Fifty full-page maps with facing-page articles depict the
Cold War in five stages: origins, initial outbreak, the conflict’s height
(1950s & 60s), later happenings, and Cold War’s end and aftermath.
Finely drawn in shades of green, maps are uncluttered to show only
necessary information. Map subjects include Stalin’s foreign policy,
Chinese Communist victory, Cuban Missile Crisis, the arms race,
detente in the 1970s, Cold War in Africa, and fall of communism in
Eastern Europe. Grades 9 and up. Index. Bibliography. 7½" x 9".
Palgrave Macmillan. 120 pages. ©2003.
http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF36912+s@.
XhI7qpdNNkPo
Student Resources
►
►
10. COMMUNISM, ESPIONAGE, AND THE COLD WAR
Primary sources form the heart of five lessons on Cold War
topics. Lessons cover investigating Communism with HUAC
and Elizabeth Bentley, the work of Senator Joseph R.
McCarthy and rise of McCarthyism, the Verona Project and
KGB files, Whitaker Chambers and Alger Hiss, and Julius
and Ethel Rosenberg. Includes unit overviews, objectives,
standards correlation, and teacher background materials.
Grades 9–12. Bibliography. 104 pages. ©2004.
http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF
37248+s@.XhI7qpdNNkPo
Multimedia
►
(VHS)
1. “Race for the
Superbomb”http://www.amazon.com/AmericanExperience-Race-Superbomb/dp/B00000INZ5
2. "Cold War" A 24-part series which deals with the
relations between the United States, the Soviet Union
and their respective allies between the end of World
War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0170896/
3. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”
1950s B sci-fi movie with frequently cited allegories to
communism and/or McCarthyism.
Multimedia
4. The Century: America’s Time
Expansive TV series, hosted by newsman Jennings,
chronicles defining moments, people, and trends of the
20th century. Never-before-seen footage and real-life
stories in collectable box-set delights nostalgic viewers,
arm-chair historians.
5. THE 1950s: Promoting the American Dream
Subjects: family values, the Cold War, Korea, civil
rights movement, McCarthyism, the influence of
television, rock and roll on stage, the Eisenhower
years, religion in America. 85 minutes.
 http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF31634+
s@xc90J9VPTVNj6
Multimedia
6. THE ATOMIC BOMB
Main topics: development and testing of the
bomb, Potsdam Declaration, Truman's
decision, USS Indianapolis tragedy, flights of
B-29s Enola Gay and Box Car to Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. 25 minutes.
► http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.h
tml?record@TF36360+s@xc90J9VPTVNj6
Multimedia
►
►
(DVD)
1. Boycott
Based on the book Daybreak of Freedom by Stewart Burns, Boycott
tells the story of how Rosa Parks’s refusal to give up her seat to a
white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus inspired an uprising that
made history, and made a leader of a young new preacher in town,
Martin Luther King, Jr. (played convincingly by Jeffrey Wright). The film
brings to life both the racial climate of the 1950s and the people who
had the courage to do something about it. DVD special features
include director’s commentary, chapter selections, subtitles, audio
options, historical background, Web links, and cast and crew bios.
Rated PG for thematic material and racist language. Closed captioned.
Color and black-and-white. 112 minutes. HBO. ©2001.VC3
 http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF35410+s@.XhI
7qpdNNkPo
Multimedia
2. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
Directed by John Frankenheimer. Brainwashed by his communist
captors, Raymond Shaw returns to the USA a Korean War hero—with
inexplicable night sweats. What dire knowledge is his own mind
repressing? Capturing the haunted underside of the 1950s, this classic
1962 film includes a McCarthy-like senator with a list of names,
insidious Communist infiltrators posing as respectable American
citizens, and democracy subverted by politicians who lie. Based on the
novel by Richard Condon. Stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet
Leigh, and Angela Lansbury. Closed captioned. Black-and-white. 129
minutes. United Artists.
 http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF38335+s@xc90
J9VPTVNj6
Multimedia
3. THE COLLAPSE OF PEACE
The aftermath of World War II and the origins of
the Cold War. Soviet-American tensions during
WWI and Yalta Conference. Truman succeeds
Roosevelt as president. Failure of Potsdam and
China problems. The Containment Doctrine; the
Marshall Plan. Mobilization at home and creation
of NATO. American society and politics after the
War: GI bill, Fair Deal, Taft-Hartley Labor Act.
 http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record
@TF37298+s@xc90J9VPTVNj6
Multimedia
(Book)
1. RED SCARED!—The Commie Menace in Propaganda and
Popular Culture
By Michael Barson and Steven Heller. Hundreds of movie posters,
magazine covers, book jackets, pamphlets, comic strips, handbills,
photographs, and newspaper stories vividly recall American views of
communism from the October Revolution to the demise of the USSR.
The full-color visuals, combined with historically accurate and lucid
text, show how political ideology is promoted in everyday life, while
double-page timelines within chapters keep readers abreast of
unfolding events. Printed on heavy, coated stock for long wear, the
book is a valuable resource for world history or media studies. Grades
7 and up. 7½" x 10". Chronicle Books. 160 pages. ©2001
 http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF35353+s@xc90
J9VPTVNj6
Multimedia
(Newspaper Front Page)
1. “Army Head Raps M'Carthy-Cohn
Tactics”
Contemporary Newspaper Front Page during
McCarthy tribunal era
 http://www.cspan.org/images/special/news04231954b.gif
Multimedia
► (Posters)
 http://www.englishrussia.com/?p=312
 A website of Soviet Anti-American propaganda posters
► (Audio
CD)
 1. CD with a collection of Elvis Presley’s 1950 rock and
roll music sensation.
 http://shop.elvis.com.au/category71_1.htm
► (Online-Video)
1. “Duck and Cover” Video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1528313029232126903
Multimedia
►
(LaserDisc)
1. “Dr. StrangeLove”
Classic satire on the atomic bomb and nature of the
Cold War.

►
http://www.bizrate.com/comedydvds_videos/dr.-strangelove-vhslaserdisc-dvd--pid2004882/information.html
(Maps)
 1. Map of Divided Berlin
► http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/art-54542
 2. Map of Europe
► http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/art-55228
 3. Map and Progression of the Korean War
► http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/korea.htm
Multimedia
►
(CD Software)
1. THE COLD WAR: Decisions, Decisions
Designed to illuminate the foreign policy issues, ideological conflict, and
military initiatives of the Cold War era, this simulation's plot incorporates
actual historical incidents to teach students about the delicate task of
diplomacy in the nuclear era. Users assume the role of the elected
president of Libros, the world's preeminent democracy, and must deal with
a rapidly brewing crisis in Strato, one of Libros's key allies: Tora, Libros's
communist rival, may be supporting rebels who wish to take over the
country. Four trusted confidants (the secretaries of State and Defense,
Chief of Staff, and campaign manager) offer advice on how best to support
Strato, avoid a major conflict with Tora, and maintain popularity at home in
order to insure reelection. The simulation comes with 28 student booklets
and a comprehensive teacher's guide with reproducible worksheets.
Grades 5–12. Tom Snyder. ©1997.
 http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF22609+s@.XhI
7qpdNNkPo
Multimedia
►
2. AMERICAN HISTORY PICTUREPACKS
Each of these unique pictorial collections on CD-ROM contains 130–290 images
that spotlight events, people, places, and trends in United States history. Each
collection covers the major highlights of a specific time period, and includes an
engaging full-screen image to illustrate the article. Topics include political
events, wars and conflict, immigration, inventions, exploration, social and
cultural trends, farming and manufacturing changes, and more. Users can
access drawings, paintings, chromolithographs, maps, photographs, and other
images through their Web browser, allowing them to quickly flip through the
images and explanatory text. The program also facilitates the transport of
images to PowerPoint presentations, Microsoft Word documents, and other
programs. Grades 6 and up. Instructional Resources Corporation. ©2001.
http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/product.html?record@TF33491+s@.XhI7qpd
NNkPo