Students will examine the historical interpretation of the origins of the Cold War and use primary documents to defend or refute a particular historical interpretation.
This lesson allows students to explore the historical thinking skill of historical interpretation and strengthen their abilities to use primary sources as evidence to support a position. It also explores essential content in American history.
- Evaluate historical interpretation of the origins of the Cold War.
- Use primary source documents to defend or refute historical interpretation of the origins of the Cold War.
- Strengthen his or her ability to participate in class discussion to defend a position.
- Describe and evaluate the evolution of United States domestic and foreign policies from Reconstruction to the present, including: . . . two world wars (and the) Cold War. (Missouri Social Studies High School standard 3a.w)
- Examine the wars of the twentieth-century pertinent to US history including: causes, comparisons, consequences and peace efforts (Missouri High School Social Studies standard 3a.x)
- Be able to analyze diverse historical interpretations (College Board Advanced Placement United States History Skill 8)
- Based on analysis and evaluation of historical evidence, make supportable inferences and draw appropriate conclusions. (College Board Advanced Placement United States History Skill 7)
- Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill and Truman – from World War to Cold War, by Michael Dobbs (2012) – opening excerpt
https://www.c-span.org/video/?314968-1/six-months-1945
- Article: “The Inevitability of the Cold War,” by Michael Dobbs, History News Network, George Mason University, 29 October 2012.
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/148999#:~:text=Michael%20Dobbs%20is%20author%20of,%3A%20Wikimedia%20Commons%2FHNN%20staff.
- Minutes from The Crimea Conference (Yalta), excerpt from February 8, 1945 section, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers as President: Map Room Papers, 1941-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
< http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/mr/mr0129.pdf>
- Photograph: Crimean Conference--Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Marshal Joseph Stalin at the palace in Yalta, where the Big Three met, Library of Congress
< http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/96522032/>
- Notes by Harry S. Truman on the Potsdam Conference, July 17-30, 1945. President’s Secretary’s File, Truman Papers.
July 17, 1945
July 18, 1945
July 20, 1945
July 25, 1945
July 26, 1945
July 30, 1945 - Photograph: Churchill, Stalin, Truman at Potsdam, United States Army Signal Corps Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. Accession Number: 63-1457-28
- Henry Stimson to Harry S. Truman, accompanied by a memorandum, September 11, 1945. President’s Secretary’s File, Truman Papers.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/313172409
- Winston Churchill, “Sinews of Peace” (excerpt), Westminster College, 1946
< http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/the-sinews-of-peace>
- Telegram, George Kennan to James Byrnes ["Long Telegram"], February 22, 1946. Harry S. Truman Administration File, Elsey Papers.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/301668215
Internet
1. Present essential question: When did the Cold War begin? (Teacher may have assigned textbook reading on origins of Cold War, or students may just have finished examining World War II.) Depending on the students’ prior knowledge, some may mention the “Iron Curtain” speech or even the Truman Doctrine. If students know nothing about the origins of the Cold War, teacher should provide some background as to what the Cold War was and how it grew out of World War II.
2. Present students with excerpt from historian Michael Dobbs’ monograph, Six Months in 1945: From World War to Cold War. (If teachers prefer, they may assign Dobbs’ article, “The Inevitability of the Cold War,” from History News Network.) After reading the excerpt, students should discuss the following in small groups: What is Dobbs’ argument regarding the beginning of the Cold War? (By the time students examine the Cold War in an AP US History class, they should have had lots of practice identifying an author’s thesis. If students have not done this in other classes, the teacher should talk about historiography a bit, explaining that historians have different viewpoints and that there is no “right answer.” History is interpretation.)
3. Discuss Dobbs’ thesis as a class, honing in on the argument that while many historians place the origins of the Cold War with various events (The Iron Curtain Speech, George Kennan’s push for containment, the Truman Doctrine, etc.), Dobbs argues that the Cold War began during the last six months of World War II, from February to August 1945. Have students share which ONE SENTENCE in the excerpt best summarizes this argument. (Suggested response: “The six months between Yalta and Hiroshima form a hinge between two very different wars and two very different worlds.”)
4. The main task for the class period is to assess the validity of Dobbs’ claim, to determine whether historical evidence proves his thesis. Students will work in groups to analyze the primary documents listed above. To analyze the documents students will complete the following tasks:
a. Examine the source of the document. Discuss the author’s background (if relevant) and the capacity in which the writer produced the document.
b. Discuss the historical context -- time and place – in which the document was written. Obviously, these documents were written during or immediately following World War II. What other specific details can students provide to add meaning to the documents?
c. Discuss the main points of each document, particularly as they show growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.
d. Draw comparisons among documents. How are the documents similar to one another? How are they different? (Particularly important with the two photographs)
e. Evaluate the extent to which the document support Dobbs’ argument, that the Cold War began within the final six months of World War II.
***The document analysis portion of this lesson could be rather time-consuming, depending on students’ comfort level with reading primary sources. The Truman notes on Potsdam may give them difficulties due to the handwriting, and the minutes from the Crimea (Yalta) conference are rather lengthy. However, for my purposes, reading these documents in their entirety and in the provided format is an important part of historiography in my classroom. Teachers