Top of page

Primary Source Set The Cold War

The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. If your use will be beyond a single classroom, please review the copyright and fair use guidelines.

Teacher’s Guide

To help your students analyze these primary sources, get a graphic organizer and guides: Analysis Tool and Guides

Background

In the years after World War II, the rise of atomic weapons, along with competing political and economic ideologies from two global powers – the United States and the Soviet Union – set into motion an era of competition and mistrust known today as the Cold War. The United States exerted its power and influence over a number of countries, including much of Western Europe, while the Soviet Union dominated life in Eastern Europe. As more countries successfully tested nuclear weapons, nuclear drills and fear of nuclear war became a way of life.

In the U.S., concerns that communism might take hold in American life led to investigations and legislation to curtail membership in or association with communist organizations. The U.S. also attempted to limit the reach of communism abroad by instituting policies that directed aid to allied countries or those countries they hoped to keep aligned with United States’ interests.

Globally, the Cold War shaped relationships between nations, with new international alliances and organizations emerging.

  • United Nations (1945) An international organization of member countries, formed at the end of World War II. The organization committed to uphold global security in a postwar world.
  • NATO (1949) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, created by the United States, Canada, and Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
  • Warsaw Pact (1955) An alliance between the Soviet Union and Eastern European nations to counter the influence and power of NATO.

While the armed forces of the United States and the Soviet Union did not engage directly with each other in significant combat, the two nations supported conflicts by proxy that had lasting effects on countries around the world. Some episodes of conflict included:

  • Chinese Revolution (1949) Following World War II, a civil war erupted between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. The Communist Party’s victory in the war led to a severing of ties between the United States and China that lasted for decades.
  • Berlin Airlift (1949) Soviet forces blockaded access to areas of Berlin controlled by the Western Allies. The U.S. and Great Britain responded by supplying fuel and food to Berlin by air. Eventually the Soviet Union lifted the blockade.
  • Korean War (1950-53) The United States, with support from the United Nations, intervened in a war to stop Northern Korean forces from unifying Korea under a communist government. China and the Soviet Union supported North Korean forces. The war ended with a treaty that kept Korea divided between North and South.
  • The Berlin Wall (1961) The Soviet-backed East German government installed a wire fence to separate East and West Berlin. The fence expanded to include cement walls and guard towers, making travel between sectors nearly impossible.
  • The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) After a failed U.S.-backed invasion and attempt to overthrow Cuba’s communist government, the Soviet Union, an ally of Cuba, began supplying the nation with missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The U.S. and the Soviet Union faced off over several days before the two nations reached an agreement that avoided nuclear conflict.
  • U.S. Involvement in Vietnam (1955-1975) Starting as advisors in the aftermath of Vietnam’s independence from French colonial rule, the United States remained an active presence and later, a consequential player in the Vietnam War. Seeing the Southeast Asia region as vulnerable to Communist takeover, the United States government believed that keeping Vietnam under its influence was important to regional stability.

In the late 1980s, a tide of resistance and call for change took hold throughout Eastern Europe. In November 1989 the Berlin Wall came down, and in the months that followed a number of Soviet republics declared their independence. By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union had been dissolved.

Suggestions for Teachers

  • Direct students to read one or more text-based sources from the set. Encourage them to examine the author’s language choices. Remind them to consider the audience and how the audience might have responded to the text. Students might notice interesting patterns, depending on the source they selected. Ask them to explain what they think was the author’s goal in writing the text.
  • Allow students time to examine a range of sources and formats from the set. Then, ask them to look for examples of fear or mistrust represented in the sources. How are these emotions presented and what impact do students think it might have had on the intended audience?
  • Give students time to read one or more of the newspaper articles. As needed, help students with identifying the who, what, when, where, and why of the article. Then, direct them to examine other images, headlines, advertisements, or stories that appear on the same page. How does this affect students’ initial read of the featured article? What additional information does it provide and what new questions does it raise?
  • Assign students at least two types of sources: video, map, interview, newspaper article, photograph, report from the Congressional Record, or a political cartoon. Help students think about the different strengths and limitations of different formats to understanding aspects of the Cold War. Ask them: What can you learn from one source that might be absent from another? What perspectives are offered, and which are missing? How do the sources work together and in what ways might they contradict one another? Support students as they reflect on the significance of different types of sources to understanding complex topics, such as the Cold War.

Additional Resources