Lesson 1: Who's & What's the Cold War
Introduction
In this unit, we will learn about how the outcomes of World War II led to the Cold War, and how this affected American life.
To do this, we will take on the “us versus them” mentality that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union. To understand this, we will discuss how the “superpowers” followed policies that increased tension and conflicts. The United States wanted to spread the ideas of democracy and capitalism while following a policy that promoted to stop the spread of communism.
The Soviet Union, on the other hand, desired to promote the ideas of communism to other countries. In this unit, we will define the term ‘Cold War’ and how it refers to the tensions between the United States, Soviet Union, and the allies of each. Even though the Cold War was largely a diplomatic war of words, at times certain events made the Cold War turn “hot,” and armed conflict occurred.
Focus Questions:
What was the term “Iron Curtain”?
How did the United States seek to end the spread of communism?
What was the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War?
The Who's & What's of the Cold War
Welcome Back, Students!
Today we will begin learning about the time period after World War II known as the Cold War. This was a time period that involved mostly a war of words instead of active combat.
In your journal: To begin, please draw the following table in your social studies journal. Then, I want you to consider each person or event and record what you know, have heard, or predict about each one. As you learn about the terms, you will come back to this chart and complete the bottom portion.
Don’t forget to come back to this chart throughout the unit to add information to the “What is it?” section of each person, event, or term.
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