Unit 9 - The Cold War Era (1945-1990)
After World War II ends, the nation will attempt to spread its influence around the world as seen in the Cold War - Freeze to Thaw short timeline and statistics table that will complement the following handouts. This handout covers The Beginning of the Cold War that details the events that took place in Europe, Asia and the United States. To supplement the first part of this handout this link opens to a map showing the Cold War in Europe. I have added other links that validate the events in Western Europe that are a map of the Marshall Plan that shows the NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations.
After World War II ends, the nation will attempt to spread its influence around the world as seen in the Cold War - Freeze to Thaw short timeline and statistics table that will complement the following handouts. This handout covers The Beginning of the Cold War that details the events that took place in Europe, Asia and the United States. To supplement the first part of this handout this link opens to a map showing the Cold War in Europe. I have added other links that validate the events in Western Europe that are a map of the Marshall Plan that shows the NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations.
One of the first threats to the containment of communism in the Post-War era came with the Korean War, later known as the "Forgotten War" the details of which are included in this document. Then, in the early 1960's, the Cuban Missile Crisis shook the nation and created a fear of mass destruction of the planet. Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed but the purge against communism became stronger and gave rise to the famous events of McCarthyism.
I have added three additional links for this unit that are the summary of the Cold War taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica, an extensive Timeline of the Cold War showing brief facts and pictures of the global and American situations relating to each event and finally the attached opens to an interactive map of the Cold War (source: With many thanks to Jeffrey Shen and Free Technology for Teachers @ freetech4teachers.com).
The next part of this unit will cover the Vietnam War. This extensive lesson covers the events from the Eisenhower presidency up to the fall of Saigon and the consequences socially, politically and economically of American being involved in the war.
Special Assignment: Vietnam War letters. Open this link, read the primary source documents and answer the questions that follow.
To continue in the Cold War the following handout, The Arms Race and Changes in Foreign Policy discusses events from Eisenhower to Nixon that shaped the foreign policy of the nation.
The Middle East was a very tense area during the Cold War and this handout covers the Tensions and Conflicts in the Middle East that includes events in Israel and Palestine as well as religious and political disputes over oil.
The Middle East was a very tense area during the Cold War and this handout covers the Tensions and Conflicts in the Middle East that includes events in Israel and Palestine as well as religious and political disputes over oil.
The final handout for this section is The End of the Cold War and it covers some of the events that took place in Germany that would ultimately end the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
