History 474A

Devine

 

 

Study Questions for the Origins of the Cold War

 

 

  1. How did events before the end of World War II contribute to U.S. – Soviet tensions after 1945?

 

  1. Franklin Roosevelt’s critics have long claimed he “sold out” the United States at Yalta.  What do you think?

 

  1. What factor seems to have played a larger role in fueling the Cold War – individual personalities (Truman and Stalin, for example) or circumstances? 

 

  1. What made the Soviet Union suspicious of the Western powers?  What made the Western powers suspicious of the Soviet Union?  Who had more reason to be suspicious?

 

  1. Why does the author argue that the breakdown of U.S.—Soviet relations was “mutually induced?”  What issues brought the superpowers into disagreement?

 

  1. What role did atomic weapons play in the Truman Administration’s diplomacy?

 

  1. How did myths and analogies on both sides contribute to the Cold War?

 

  1. How did Communist ideology contribute to the Cold War?

 

  1. Why did the United States decide to pursue a policy of “containment?”

 

  1. Why does the author say the period 1950-1952 was the “most dangerous phase” of the Cold War?