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Baby It's Cold Outside: The International Impact of the Cold War on the United States
Jennifer Wheeler
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This lesson provides insight into the international impact of the Cold War on the United States. It describes the creation of the Marshall Plan, U.S. committment to Europe, the Truman Doctrine, and the orgins and implications of the containment policy through the use and interpretation of political cartoons.
A copy of the Truman Doctrine accessed from The Avalon Project at Yale Law School at http//:www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/trudoc.htm
A set of dominos.
Handout on the policy of containment.
Teacher Reference Notes for "Baby It's Cold Outside" Cold War Lesson
Political Cartoons about the Truman Doctrine, Containment, Domino Theory, Marshall Plan, etc. accessed from
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/fire.html
http://www.piedmontcommunities.us/servlet/go_ProcServ/dbpage=page&gid=01360001151140401687191186
or other internet sources, books, etc.
Summarizing questions on U.S. foreign policy during Cold War to be used for paper war.
60 minutes
1
How effective was containment as a foreign policy strategy in the aftermath of World War II?
The Truman Doctrine was a proclamation by U.S. President Harry Truman made on March 12, 1947. It stated that the U.S. would support the countries of Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the communist Soviet sphere. The Doctrine shifted American foreign policy towards a policy of containing communism and Soviet expansion.
Students will read the following excerpt from the Truman Doctrine accessed from http//:www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/trudoc.htm and record a summary of this document in their own words.
Excerpt from the Truman Doctrine:
One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life, upon other nations.
To ensure the peaceful development of nations, free from coercion, the United States has taken a leading part in establishing the United Nations, The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members. We shall not realize our objectives, however, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes. This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed on free peoples, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States.
The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. The Government of the United States has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation, in violation of the Yalta agreement, in Poland, Rumania, and Bulgaria. I must also state that in a number of other countries there have been similar developments.
At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one.
One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.
The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.
I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.
I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.
I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.
The world is not static, and the status quo is not sacred. But we cannot allow changes in the status quo in violation of the Charter of the United Nations by such methods as coercion, or by such subterfuges as political infiltration. In helping free and independent nations to maintain their freedom, the United States will be giving effect to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive.
The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms.
If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world -- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.
Great responsibilities have been placed upon us by the swift movement of events.
I am confident that the Congress will face these responsibilities squarely.
Teacher or students will set up dominos in a line so that if one is pushed all the others will fall down. The teacher or a student will then push the first domino over, causing all the surrounding dominos to fall. The teacher will then explain the domino theory and the U.S. commitment to containment. Students will also read the handout on containment.
Teacher will give a brief overview of the beginning of the Cold War using the Teacher Reference Notes or their own notes.
The teacher will show political cartoons on the Cold War on a overhead projector and interpret them as a class.
A political cartoon is a type of drawing used to present opinions, comments, or criticisms of a situation, person, or event. Cartoons help us understand information by presenting it in a visual and memorable way. Cartoonists use many different techniques to achieve their goals:
- Caricature - exaggerating one or more physical features - a large mouth to show someone who often speaks out on an issue.
Symbols - using a recognizable item to communicate an idea - an elephant to represent the Republican Party.
Caption - having the characters speak or summarizing the message in a few words above or below the cartoon.
The following could be used to interpret political cartoons:
- List the objects or people that you see in the cartoon.
Which objects/people are symbols? What do you think each one means?
Are there any important clues (words, places, numbers) in the cartoon?
Describe what is happening in the four quadrants of the cartoon.
What is the political or social issue presented in the cartoon?
What is the cartoonist's viewpoint on this issue? How do you know?
Who might agree/disagree with the cartoon? Why?
Describe how you were able to interpret this cartoon.
Students will create their own political cartoon on one aspect of the beginning of the Cold War using newspaper print. The cartoon must be colored and may or may not have a caption.
Political Cartoons about the Truman Doctrine, Containment, Domino Theory, Marshall Plan, etc. accessed from
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/fire.html
http://www.piedmontcommunities.us/servlet/go_ProcServ/dbpage=page&gid=01360001151140401687191186
or other internet sources, books, etc.
Students will present their political cartoons. Students will explain how their cartoon reflects the effectiveness of containment as a foreign policy strategy.
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Containment_1Y3 Wheeler
Baby Its Cold Outside Reference Notes_Wheeler