cold war critical thinking questions

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History Resources

The Cold War Across Time (1945–1990): A Jigsaw with Expert Groups

By wendy thowdis.

To discover the impact the Cold War had on multiple aspects of life, both in the United States and around the world, by exploring changes over time. 

Overview of Jigsaw Process

Expert Groups will create four timelines relating to key political and economic events and policies that occurred between 1945 and 1990 as a result of the Cold War. With timelines in hand, each member of the Expert Groups will create seven Home Groups and share their timeline information. These Home Groups will then create one Essential Question and five critical thinking questions that tie all four timelines together to analyze the impact the Cold War.

Create four Expert Groups (7–8 in each group):        

• Vietnam War
• Defense Spending (as a percent of the total US budget)

These groups are to research and decide on ten of the most events in time for their subject that reflect the impact of the Cold War. When the group has selected these ten points, they are to plot them on a timeline with a brief explanation of each event's importance and print a copy of this timeline for each group member.

A good document to begin with: 

• NSC-68, US Objectives and Programs for National Security, April 14, 1950 , Mt. Holyoke College

Other helpful sources include:

• Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy page , Mt. Holyoke College
• The Cold War , National Archives, UK
• Timeline of the Nuclear Age , NuclearFiles.org

For upper elementary students and students who have trouble reading longer documents, use the following reading excerpts from Gilder Lehrman:

• Soviet-American Confrontation
• The Containment Policy
• The Korean War
• Anti-Communism at Home

Create seven Home Groups with one Expert from each of the above areas.

• Each Expert will briefly discuss their timeline by explaining why its ten events were selected.
• The Home Group will then create an Essential Question about the impact of the Cold War based on all four timelines.
• The Home Group will next create five critical thinking questions (Bloom) for students to answer which will guide them in analyzing the events and policies of the Cold War.

Each group will share their work by reading their Essential Question and their five guiding questions out loud.

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Home » Resources » Cold War Document Based Question

Cold War Document Based Question

Utilizing primary source documents from the archives of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, and Reagan, this piece of curriculum is modeled after the Advanced Placement Document Based Questions. This question invites students to explore U.S. Cold War foreign policy through the lens the office of the presidency, and to develop crucial critical thinking and writing skills.

Resource Types

Teaching strategies, more resources like this.

• Interactions Between the Branches
• Lessons plans for “The Supreme Court and the 1876 Presidential Election”
• The Supreme Court and the 1876 Presidential Election – Video

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5 Modern History: Cold War activities

1. competing ideologies: communism vs. liberal democracy and capitalism, victoria smart.

Is this tomorrow?   by Catechetical Guild, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

In this activity you will work in groups of three and each of you will be given one of these ideologies to research. Your task is to create a poster, either digitally or by hand, which you will present to your group members to teach them about your ideology and how it contributed to causing the Cold War.

a) Research your ideology

Negotiate with your group the ideology you will research and present to one another: communism, capitalism, or liberal democracy. Undertake independent research to find out about your ideology and as you do so ask yourself if the information you are accessing is from a reliable source. As you research your ideology ensure you consider the following:

• Economic characteristics
• Political characteristics
• Social characteristics
• The world leaders who endorsed the ideology

Here are a few suggested websites to get you started:

• Ideological Conflict in the Cold War
• Communism: Karl Marx to Joseph Stalin
• Theory of Capitalism
• Liberal Democracy

b) Create a poster outlining the significant details of this ideology

You have creative freedom when creating your poster and may do so digitally or by hand.

c) Present your poster to your peers

Each person will present their poster to the group and in doing so teach their group members about the ideology they have researched.

d) In your group discuss the three ideologies considering following questions:

• Do they have any similarities?
• What are their main differences?
• How and why do these ideologies conflict with one another?
• What benefits and disadvantages are there to each ideology?
• Do you agree with each ideology? Why/why not?

Australian Politics (2021) Liberal Democracy , accessed 2 August 2022.

Beck E (5 March 2022) Ideological Conflict in Cold War , History Crunch, accessed 2 August 2022.

Columbia University (n.d.) Theory of Capitalism , The Centre on Capitalism and Society, accessed 2 August 2022.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2022) Communism: Karl Marx to Joseph Stalin , CES at UNC, accessed 2 August 2022.

2. Causes of the Cold War: Concept mapping ideologies

Bella swanick.

Stop Communism 1951 by The U.S. National Archives on: Picryl, Public Domain

In this activity you will be working in groups to compare the characteristics of the Cold War ideologies: communism and liberal democracy/capitalism. Each group will create a concept map on the ideology they are given.

Start by looking at this video The Cold War: Ideological Differences – Capitalism vs Communism

Step One: As individuals, write down a list of things you associate with the ideology your group has been given. Write down whatever comes to mind, the more the better!

Step Two: Now discuss with your group what you have all come up with, see if there are any differences or similarities. What questions do you both still have?

Step Three: On the paper provided write your ideology in the middle of the page. This will be the centre of your concept map

Step Four: Sort the ideas for everyone’s lists and organise them on the paper in a way that makes sense to the entire group. For example, you may decide to put the terms that were in the most lists close to the middle of the page, or organise the terms by categories (economic, political, social, significant people etc). Then look at the questions you still have.

Step Five: In your groups you need research the characteristics of your ideology and add detail to your concept map. Check the group’s initial ideas are correct.

Step Six: Explain your concept map to a group that did a different ideology.

Step Seven: Working with the two concept maps, create a venn diagram to compare the two ideologies. Also use this video  Ideology of the Cold War: Capitalism vs Communism.

I’m stuck (2017) The Cold War: Ideological Differences – Capitalism vs Communism,  accessed 18 September 2022

The Cold War (2019) Ideology of the Cold War: Capitalism vs Communism. The Cold War, You Tube, accessed 18 September 2022

3. Analysing Churchill’s Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain) Speech

Alistair mccann.

  Winston Churchill – Parkeston Quay by Harwich & Dovercourt, CC BY-SA 2.0 .

Part 1: Source analysis

Read and watch some of Winston Churchill’s Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain) speech and answer the following questions:

• What does Churchill mean when he says that an ‘Iron Curtain has descended across the continent (Europe)’?
• Identify reasons why Churchill may have made the speech. What was he attempting to achieve by this?
• Why did the United States and Western Europe oppose communism?

Using this source answer the following questions:

• Whose perspective is represented by the cartoon and how do you know?
• Why is important to understand which party created the cartoon?
• Identify which countries were at the most risk of adopting communism and why?
• How does this political cartoon relate to Winston Churchills ‘Iron Curtain’ speech? What is being represented by the boundary marked with the symbol of communism (hammer and sickle)?
• Evaluate the potential for the Cold War to develop into a ‘hot war’ if communism was not restricted.

Part 2: Debate

You will be separated into two groups either for or against the topic statement: ‘The United States and Western Europe were accurate in their suspicions of the spread of communism and therefore their actions to prevent the spread of communism was justified’. Prepare your group’s arguments and evidence.

Fitzpatrick D (2022)  ‘Russia: Imperialism’ , The New Imperialism, 1951, accessed 28 July 2022.

The National Archives (n.d) ‘Iron curtain’ speech , The National Archives, accessed 1 August 2022.

Westminster College (5 March 2016) ‘ Sir Winston Churchill – Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain) Speech’, Westminster College, YouTube, accessed 28 July 2022.

VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) (2020) VCE History Study Design , VCAA, accessed 28 July 2022.

4. Comparing the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

The Yalta Conference, February 1945 by Imperial War Museum, Picryl Public Domain

In this activity you will learn about and consider the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, the changing of perspectives of the parties and States involved over time (or how they did not change), and how these events contributed to causing the Cold War.  Analyse the sources provided and then compare key features of both conferences using the table provided. You will determine what information you believe is important to record on your table. Once completed you will compare your table with a peer and justify why you thought key features you included were important and, noting any differences with your peer, justify why you omitted certain features from your table.

a) Read/view the following sources taking notes of any information you deem important:

The Yalta Conference

The Potsdam Conference

The Big Three Conferences | Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam | WW2 Ends, Cold War Begins – (View from 3:05

b) Organise your notes into a table as the one below.

You have been provided with a few suggestions of key features to take note of, however, you must determine what other information is important. You are not limited to the five of rows provided, again, it is up to you to determine how much or little information to include to create a thorough yet succinct overview of each conference. As you decide which features to include consider the following questions:

• What was important about these conferences?
• Why or why not did certain individuals and states attend?
• Who were the conferences to benefit and disadvantage?
• Who agreed/disagreed on certain issues?
• Was there consistency or discrepancy between what was discussed at the conference and what actually occurred following the conference?

*Note that these questions should not be used as key feature headings but are to help guide you as you create your table.

c) Compare your table with a peer

There are a few purposes of sharing your table with a peer. You will:

• Practice justifying why you believe certain information is or is not important
• Observe that in the study of history people can disagree about what information is important
• Add to your own table any information you now believe is key after discussion with your peer.

DET (Department of Education and Training) (2021) Note-taking and summarising texts ,  Victorian Government, accessed 25 July 2022.

History Blast (7 July 2020) The Big Three Conferences | Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam | WW2 Ends, Cold War Begins History Blast, YouTube, accessed 1 August 2022.

University of Luxemburg (2022) The Potsdam Conference ,   CCVE.EU, accessed 1 August 2022.

University of Luxemburg (2022) The Yalta Conference ,  CCVE.EU, accessed 1 August 2022.

VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) (n.d.) Teaching and Learning Activities,   accessed 25 July 2022

5. The Big Three’s perspectives

Tahlia webb.

The Big Three 1943 by US Army, Public Domain

We are beginning our investigation into the many causes of the Cold War focusing on the Yalta and Potsdam conferences that occurred in 1945. In groups of three you will pick one of the concerns listed below that were discussed by Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill at these conferences. You will then research the stances of the Big Three on one of these issues and fill out the table on this work sheet. Next you will script and present a re-enactment of the world leaders discussing this matter. Each group must focus on a different issue.

• Reparations
• Atomic Bomb
• The United Nations

During classmates’ presentations, you are required to fill out the table below.

VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) (2020) VCE History Study Design , VCAA, accessed 28 July 2022

6. Where to from WWII? The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

Brett fletcher.

Winston Churchill, President Truman and Stalin at the Potsdam conference, 23 July 1945 , by Lockyear (Capt), No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

At the conclusion of the following activities, you will be asked to assume the role of an advisor to the leader of the USA or the USSR, who is tasked with conveying your suspicions and concerns regarding your new ideological adversary. You will first complete the  table below to assist in recalling key knowledge and circumstances faced by key stakeholders at the conclusion of WWII. The activity then requires you to analyse the below sources to help answer questions about the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences.

Table: Global political situation at the conclusion of WWII

1.     Read this article , and answer the following questions about the Yalta Conference:

a)     Who was present at the Yalta Conference? And who was significantly absent?

b)    List and describe four matters addressed at the Yalta Conference, in order of most to least significant.

c)     Which matters were agreed upon?  How was this viewed by each representative? ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ­

d)     Using terms found in the previous questions, conduct an online search and identify the context of the image found at Source 1. Then, complete a who, what, when, where and why report on your findings.

2.     Read this article   and answer the below questions about the Potsdam Conference:

a)    What changes in state representation occurred between the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences?

b)    What significant changes had occurred in relation to the ongoing war since the Yalta Conference?

c)     What concerns had started to rise for the allies between the two conferences?

3.     Now you have analysed both conferences, sort yourselves into small groups of 3-4 learners and create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences. Consider:

• Attendees/absences
• Stage of war (Europe & Pacific)
• Matters at hand
• Agreements reached
• Tensions between parties

1. Using an online source/s of your own choosing, research and provide a succinct response to the below questions:

a) Why was the change in American presidents between the two conferences significant? How did this make the Potsdam Conference more polarising than the Yalta Conference?

b) Analyse the significance of the USA’s successful detonation of the A-Bomb during the Potsdam Conference. How did this impact the proceedings?

c) If there was doubt about Stalin’s intent to hold free elections in the USSR’s occupied territories, why were the allies willing to accept this promise as part of negotiations?

2. Your final task is to assume the role of a senior advisor to the leader of either the USA or the USSR. Using your knowledge and understanding of the post WW2 global political climate, you will compose a memo to your leader, outlining your suspicions towards your adversary. Ensure you avoid ‘time-travel’, you may not use events of the future as evidence to strengthen your argument. You may, however, use the benefit of hindsight to advise your leader of what you think may happen in this future ‘cold war’ so long as these suspicions are grounded in evidence available at the time of writing. You may consider in your research:

• Free elections in Poland and other Soviet satellite states
• Territory gained during WW2
• The USA’s detonation of the A-Bomb

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2022) The Yalta Conference , accessed 21 July 2022.

Office of the Historian (n.d.) The Yalta Conference, 1945 , Department of State, United States of America, accessed 21 July 2022.

Office of the Historian (n.d.) The Potsdam Conference, 1945 , Department of State, United States of America, accessed 21 July 2022.

VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) (2020) VCE History Study Design , VCAA, accessed 15 July 2022.

7. Cuban Missile Crisis: Film and source analysis

Cuban Crisis Map Missile Range by CIA Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

In this activity, you will investigate the Cuban Missile Crisis by examining a series of primary and secondary sources. By critically analysing these sources to formulate and answer questions on the causes and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis, you will also evaluate its significance in influencing the Cold War and the relationship between the two superpowers: the United States of America and the Soviet Union.

Source 1: Historical interpretation of the Bay of Pigs invasion

Source 2 : Kennedy’s address to the nation (0:36 – 3:11)

Source 3: A map of the missile range in Cuba

Source 4 : Scene from the film Thirteen Days on the discovery of missiles (13:14-16:29)

Source 5: Cold War Arm Wrestling: A Cartoon of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Leslie Gilbert Illingworth

Source 6: Scenes from Thirteen Days : (1:03:33-1:04:01), (1:16:53-1:18:13), (1:32:45-1:33:06), (1:43:19-1:44:53), (1:47:26- 1:51:36)

Source 7: A historical interpretation of the U-2 incident over Cuba

…U.S. Air Force Major Rudolph Anderson Jr., took off… in a Strategic Air Command (SAC) U-2 on his sixth mission over Castro’s Cuba since the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis… ”

  (Whitten, 2016, p. 144)

“…he was shot down without warning by a Soviet SAM shortly before he was to exit Cuban airspace. He became the lone combat casualty of the crisis that took the U.S. to the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union…”

(Whitten, 2016, p. 144)

Source 8: A historical interpretation from historian, Thomas Blanton, describing the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Source 9 : An excerpt from Khrushchev’s first letter to President Kennedy 26th October 1962

“Let us therefore show statesmanlike wisdom. I propose: We, for our part, will declare that our ships, bound for Cuba, will not carry any kind of armaments. You would declare that the United States will not invade Cuba with its forces and will not support any sort of forces which might intend to carry out an invasion of Cuba. Then the necessity for the presence of our military specialists in Cuba would disappear…. These thoughts are dictated by a sincere desire to relieve the situation, to remove the threat of war.”

(Alpha History, n.d.)

Source 10: Kennedy’s response to Khrushchev’s letter

• “You would agree to remove these weapons systems from Cuba under appropriate United Nations observation and supervision…  to halt the further introduction of such weapons systems into Cuba.
• to remove promptly the quarantine measures now in effect and
• to give assurances against an invasion of Cuba.”

(University of Groningen, n.d.)

“…I would like to say again that the United States is very much interested in reducing tension and halt the arms race…”

(University of Groningen, n.d)

• To what extent did the failed Bay of Pigs invasion contribute to the armament of Cuba? Use your knowledge of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the U.S. policy on containment to formulate your response.
• Using Sources 2 and 3, does the presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba signify a threat to the Western Hemisphere? Why or why not?
• How does the presence of missiles in Cuba shift the balance of power in the Cold War? Use Sources 3 and 4 and your knowledge of the arms race and MAD to answer the question.
• Source 8 mentions the word, “brinkmanship.” In your own words, define brinkmanship and explain how the word relates to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War as a whole.
• Analyse Sources 5, 6 and 7. How do these sources depict the tension between the USA and the Soviet Union?
• Summarise the main messages of Source 9 and 10. How are the attitudes of both President Kennedy and Khrushchev in the letters different to the tense moments of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Use the relevant sources above to make your comparisons.
• Evaluate the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis in influencing the Cold War and relations between the USA and the Soviet Union. Use the relevant sources and your own knowledge to answer the question.

Alpha History (n.d) Khrushchev’s Letter to Kennedy on Cuba (1962) , Alpha History, accessed 4 August 2022.

AP Archive (2016)  JFK on the Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962|Today in History|22 Oct 16 , 2016 , YouTube, accessed 4 August 2022.

Bolt, J. (2022) The ‘Bay of Pigs Invasion’ and the Pitfalls of U.S. Covert Action , Owlcation, accessed 4 August 2022.

Blanton, Thomas (n.d.) Annals of Brinkmanship , The National Archive: George Washington University, accessed 4 August 2022.

Donaldson, R. (2000) Thirteen Days, New Line Cinema.

The National Library of Wales (n.d.) Cold War Arm Wrestling, The National Library of Wales, accessed 4 August 2022.

University of Groningen (n.d.) P resident Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev, 27 October 1962 , University of Groningen, accessed 4 August 2022.

Whitten, H. W. (2016) ‘Without a Warning: The Story of the Shoot Down of a U-2 Spy Plane During the Cuban Missile Crisis’, American Intelligence Journal , vol. 33, no. 2, p. 144.

VCAA (2020), VCE History Study Design , VCAA, accessed 4 August 2022.

8. John F. Kennedy goes to the moon

  brandon tilley.

Wernher von Braun and President John F. Kennedy JFK Library , CC01.0

In this activity you will study John F. Kennedy’s Address before the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations.   You will develop an understanding of how ideology, technology, competition and even cooperation helped shape the dynamics of the Cold War by analysing his ideas and of the historical context of this speech and the space programme it helped launch.

Explore historical perspectives

‘Comprehending the past involves consideration of how historical actors understood their world. Historical thinking involves making judgments by analysing, within their context, the actions, beliefs, values and attitudes of people in the past. Identifying and comparing different historical perspectives develops an understanding that perspectives were different in the past and that these mindsets may differ from those of the present. Historical perspectives are often found in primary sources. In order to make use of primary sources as evidence, they must be critically evaluated’ (VCAA 2021:6).

Historical context

• Begin by watching Matthew Jordan’s TED-Ed presentation on The History of the Cuban Missile Crisis , the series of events that transpired in October, 1962, after a U-2 spy plane discovered that USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev had positioned Soviet missiles in Cuba, just 100 miles from US shores. What is President Kennedy’s overall message to the American people?  Take some notes on key statements he makes in this speech.
• As you listen to the speech, mark the major “pivot points” in Kennedy’s speech. What is the main topic in each section of the speech.  Using different colour highlighters, mark where each new topic begins, and make a brief note in the margin of the transcript to indicate each new topic.
• What role does Kennedy think the United Nations should play in global politics?
• What opportunities for cooperation between the US and the USSR does Kennedy propose in this speech?
• In small group, discuss any similarities you see between the ideas in President Kennedy’s speech and the present.

Jordan, M (2016) The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis , TED-Ed, accessed 11 August 2022.

Kennedy, JF (1963) Address before the 18th Assembly of the United Nations , accessed 11 August 2022.

Kennedy, JF (1963) Address before the 18th Assembly of the United Nations transcript , accessed 11 August 2022.

VCAA [Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority] (2020) VCE History Study Design , accessed 5 August 2022.

9. Causes of the Vietnam War

Nicholas bridges.

The Geneva Conference Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Provide short answer responses to these questions. Everyone should begin by answering the three ‘mild’ questions to get an overarching view of the causes of the Vietnam War. Following this, choose either the ‘medium’ questions or the ‘hot’ questions if you would like more of a challenge. Some sources of information have been provided for each question.

Alpha History (2018) ‘ John F. Kennedy: Vietnam War’ , Alpha History, accessed 20 July 2022.

Alpha History (2018) ‘ Vietnam War timeline: 1955 to 1959’ , Alpha History, accessed 19 July 2022.

Alpha History (2018) ‘ Vietnam War timeline: 1960-1964’ , Alpha History, accessed 19 July 2022.

Alpha History (2019) ‘ Lyndon Johnson: Vietnam War’ , Alpha History, accessed 20 July 2022

Alpha History (2019) ‘ The Geneva Accords of 1954’ , Alpha History, accessed 22 July 2022

Alpha History (2019) ‘ The Viet Cong’ , Alpha History, accessed 29 July 2022.

Hopkins GW (2000) ‘Historians and the Vietnam War: The Conflict Over Interpretations Continues’, Studies in Popular Culture, 23(2):99-108.

State Historical Society of Iowa (n.d.) Transcribed Excerpts from “America’s Stake in Vietnam” Speech by U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, June 1, 1956, accessed 21 July 2022

Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (2020) VCE History Study Design,  accessed 20 July 2022.

10. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Understanding the causality of events in the Cold War context

Nick frawley.

USS Hornet (CVS-12) underway in the Gulf of Tonkin on 5 September 1967 by United States Navy, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

In this activity you will collect information about the Tonkin Incident while viewing a video and then analyse it using this cause and consequence chart template .

a) Watch this video, The Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964) detailing the events at the Gulf of Tonkin that preceded America’s active involvement in the Vietnam War

Whilst watching the video, answer these questions:

• What countries were involved in the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
• Why was the United States concerned with aggression in the area of the incident?
• What miscommunication added to the expansion of the conflict?
• What was the reason given for the US Navy potentially misreading the events?
• Based off of the events depicted in the video, do you think this is enough motive to enter into a war?

b) Using this cause and consequence chart template , show how Americans firing on the North Vietnamese led to sequential events leading into the Vietnam War.

Global Education (2012) Consequences Chart . Commonwealth of Australia. Accessed 10 August 2022.

Simple History (2017) The Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964) . Simple History, You Tube. Accessed 10 August 2022.

11. The Berlin Wall: Jigsaw activity and concept map

Annaliese magee.

East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall , 20 November 1961 by National Archives Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Part 1: Jigsaw activity

In this jigsaw activity you will start in a home group, then become an expert on a certain topic relating to the Berlin Wall and then return to teach your home group about what you found out.

a) Watch The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall to get an overview and view this pictorial timeline In pictures: 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

b) You are to choose a home group of five then number yourselves 1-5. From there you will be assigned one of the five groups below. Go to a table with the other students with the same number. Then you and the group become an expert group on that topic number:

• The long-term causes of the division of Germany and Berlin
• Reasons/causes for the construction of the Berlin Wall
• Consequences for those who lived in West Germany (FRG) in 1945-1989
• Consequences for those who lived in East Germany (GDR) in 1945-1989
• The cause and consequence of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

c) Research together, gathering information and references for the sources you use. Create a short set of slides you can each use to teach your home group.

d) Go back to their original home group and each present your slides.

Part 2: Concept map

This activity builds on from the previous activity by categorising the types of consequences of the construction and destruction of the Berlin Wall using a concept map. Create a concept map based on the example below and identify at least three examples of short and long term social, political and economic consequences for both sides of the Wall. You could draw your concept map more creatively by drawing a wall.

Jarausch, K. H (2017) The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall . TED-Ed Your Tube. Accessed 13 September 2022.

ABC (2014) 25 years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall . ABC News. Accessed 13 September 2022.

12. Vietnam War song analysis and record cover activity

Hannah mcardle.

Record player by by Jace & Afsoon on Unsplash

In this activity you will analyse two sources– an image relating to anti-war protest and a song relating to the Vietnam War. You will present your analysis in the form of an album cover and song review.

• Choose a song from the list below; this will be the record you make the album cover art for. Listen to the song, find out when it was recorded and read the lyrics. What messages and images are evident in the lyrics? Use the questions below to guide your analysis.
• What’s going on – Marvin Gaye
• We gotta get out of this place – The Animals
• Khe sanh – Cold Chisel
• I was only 19 – Redgum and The Herd
• Saigon Bride – John Baez
• Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
• Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen
• Singing in the Vietnam blues – Johnny Cash
• Backlash Blues – Nina Simone

2. Choose an anti-war movement image from the sources listed below; this will be a part of the cover art for your album cover. Be as creative as you like when creating your front cover art but make sure the image you choose is copyright compliant–it must be in the public domain or have a Creative Commons licence. Chose an Australian image for an Australian song and an image related to the US for an American song.

Sources of copyright compliant images:

Wikimedia Commons

Australian War Memorial Vietnam photos (check copyright status of each image before using)

Search Google images using the Creative Commons search tool

3. Analyse the photo and song by completing a review on the back of the album cover. Use the questions below to guide your analysis.

Questions to guide your song and image analysis:

The VCAA has created this source analysis framework to help us evaluate sources (VCAA, 2021:6).

VCAA (2022) Advice for Teachers . Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Accessed 1 August 2022

13. Key moments in the Cold War: Peer teaching activity

Kostantinos georgiou.

South Vietnam. 1967. An American medical evacuation ‘dustoff’ helicopter takes aboard a casualty Australian War Memorial, Public Domain

For this group activity, you will break up into five different groups and each group will be assigned one historical context/key event of the Cold War:

1) The Berlin Blockade

2) The Korean War

3) The Cuban Missile Crisis

4) The Vietnam War

5) The Chernobyl Disaster

Your task is to become experts on your event and create a presentation that you will use to teach your peers about it. The presentation will answer several general questions about the event. All sources of information and images must be referenced using the Harvard system.

1) Discuss what took place in the lead up to your group’s event. What triggered it?

2) Outline the events that took place in your group’s key event.

3) Consider perspectives:

a) How did the West (United States/NATO) handle the situation, and if they were not directly involved how did they respond to it?

b) How did the East (Soviet Union) handle the situation, and if they were not directly involved how did they respond to it?

4) How was the event resolved, and if it was not, then what was done to try resolve it and why did it fail?

5) How did the key event contribute to the Cold War immediately and over the course of the Cold War?

Source to get started:

• Encyclopedia Britannica: Berlin Blockade
• Alphahistory: The Berlin Blockade
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Korean War
• Alphahistory: The Korean War
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Cuban Missile Crisis
• Alphahistory: The Cuban Missile Crisis
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Vietnam War
• Alphahistory: The Vietnam War
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Chernobyl Disaster
• Alphahistory: Stagnation in the Soviet Union – see Chernobyl

Encyclopedia Britannica (2022) Chernobyl Disaster Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, accessed 4 August 2022.

Encyclopedia Britannica (2022) Berlin Blockade Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, accessed 4 August 2022.

Encyclopedia Britannica (2022) Cuban Missile Crisis Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, accessed 4 August 2022.

Encyclopedia Britannica (2022) Vietnam War Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, accessed 4 August 2022.

Encyclopedia Britannica (2022) Korean War Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, accessed 4 August 2022.

Llewellyn J. & Thomson, S (2020) The Berlin Blockade Alphahistory, accessed 4 August 2022.

Llewellyn J. & Thomson, S (2020) The Cuban Missile Crisis Alphahistory, accessed 4 August 2022.

Llewellyn J. & Thomson, S (2020) The Korean War Alphahistory, accessed 4 August 2022.

Llewellyn J. & Thomson, S (2020) Stagnation in the Soviet Union  Alphahistory, accessed 4 August 2022.

Llewellyn J. & Thomson, S (2020) The Vietnam War Alphahistory, accessed 4 August 2022.

Historical thinking for senior secondary students: A collection of teaching and learning activities 2022 Copyright © 2022 by Rebecca Cairns (Deakin University) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Cold War Document Based Question

Utilizing primary source documents from the archives of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, and Reagan, this piece of curriculum is modeled after the Advanced Placement Document Based Questions. This question invites students to explore U.S. Cold War foreign policy through the lens the office of the presidency, and to develop crucial critical thinking and writing skills.

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Chapter 15: The Civil War, 1860–1865

Critical Thinking Questions

U.S. History Copyright © 2014 by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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US History Questions: Cold War

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World History Project - Origins to the Present

Course: world history project - origins to the present   >   unit 7.

• READ: Devastation of Old Markets
• READ: Connecting Decolonization and the Cold War
• BEFORE YOU WATCH: USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War
• WATCH: USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War

READ: Cold War — An Overview

• READ: The Cold War Around the World
• READ: And Then Gandhi Came — Nationalism, Revolution, and Sovereignty
• BEFORE YOU WATCH: Decolonization and Nationalism Triumphant
• WATCH: Decolonization and Nationalism Triumphant
• BEFORE YOU WATCH: Chinese Communist Revolution
• WATCH: Chinese Communist Revolution
• BEFORE YOU WATCH: Conflict in Israel and Palestine
• WATCH: Conflict in Israel and Palestine
• READ: Decolonizing Women
• End of Empires and Cold War

First read: preview and skimming for gist

Second read: key ideas and understanding content.

• According to the author, what was the basic difference at the heart of the Cold War conflict?
• What does this author identify as the three main features of the Cold War?
• Why did Stalin want to expand Soviet influence in Eastern Europe?
• What was the policy of containment and what conflicts does the author use as an example of this policy?

Third read: evaluating and corroborating

• The Cold War was a conflict that was all about methods of production and distribution that divided communities across the world along communist and capitalist lines. How would you describe the Cold War through each course frame?

Cold War: An Overview

What was the cold war, a divided europe, the cold war heats up around the world, the end of the cold war, want to join the conversation.

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Critical Thinking Questions

17. Explain how the 1920s was a decade of contradictions. What does the relationship between mass immigration and the rise of the Second Ku Klux Klan tell us about American attitudes? How might we reconcile the decade as the period of both the flapper and prohibition?

18. What new opportunities did the 1920s provide for women and African Americans? What new limitations did this era impose?

19. Discuss what the concept of “modernity” meant in the 1920s. How did art and innovation in the decade reflect the new mood of the postwar era?

20. Explain how technology took American culture in new and different directions. What role did motion pictures and radio play in shaping cultural attitudes in the United States?

21. Discuss how politics of the 1920s reflected the new postwar mood of the country. What did the Harding administration’s policies attempt to achieve, and how?

American History from Reconstruction to the Present Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Module 14: From Cold War to Culture Wars (1980-2000)

Putting it together: from cold war to culture wars.

From Ronald Reagan’s election to the end of the millennium, a dramatic realignment and increasing polarization transformed American society, politics, and culture. The resurgence of the conservative right, coupled with the increasing progressive views of the liberal left, meant that Americans differed widely on issues like abortion, gun control, separation of church and state, recreational drug use, homosexuality, and censorship. These were divisive issues that were marked more by ideological world-views and political-party identification rather than class, gender, or race.

Additional fears at the end of the millennium centered on the “Y2K scare” of potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after the year 2000. [1] Some companies predicted the global damage caused by the bug would require anything between $400 million and $600 billion to rectify, since many computer programs represented four-digit years with only the final two digits, making the year 2000 indistinguishable from 1900. Fears revolved around computer systems’ inability to distinguish dates correctly, and the potential computer crash that could collapse world markets. A lack of clarity regarding the potential dangers of the bug led some Americans to stock up on food, water, and arms, purchase backup generators, and withdraw large sums of money in anticipation of a computer-induced apocalypse. [2]

On New Year’s Day 2000, fears of Y2K proved unfounded but the culture wars of deep-seated divisions remained. The first shock of the new millennium would come with the 9/11/2001 attack, during the aftermath of which many Americans momentarily came together.

Critical Thinking Questions

• What were some of the long-term effects of the Reagan Revolution and the rise of conservatives?
• What events led to the end of the Cold War? What impact did the end of the Cold War have on American politics and foreign policy concerns?
• Which issues divided Americans most significantly during the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s?
• In what ways was Bill Clinton a traditional Democrat in the style of Kennedy and Johnson? In what ways was he a conservative, like Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush?
• Describe American involvement in global affairs during this period. How did American foreign policy change and evolve between 1980 and 2000, in both its focus and its approach?
• Committee on Government Reform and Oversight (1998-10-26). The Year 2000 Problem: Fourth Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Together with Additional Views (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-06-07. ↵
• Uenuma, Francine (2019-12-30). "20 Years Later, the Y2K Bug Seems Like a Joke—Because Those Behind the Scenes Took It Seriously". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-07. ↵
• Modification, adaptation, and original content. Authored by : Benjamin Lawson for Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• US History. Provided by : OpenStax. Located at : http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/us-history . License : CC BY: Attribution . License Terms : Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction
• Culture War. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_war#1991%E2%80%932001:_Rise_in_prominence . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Y2K, Year 2000 Problem. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

Reasons for the Cold War: 4 Essay Questions

For ‘O’ and ‘N’ Level History, the reasons for the Cold War are tested quite frequently. As a reason, I am giving out some suggested answers for the reasons for the Cold War. This is only a sample of the essay question database but I believe that it gives students a good variety of questions to refer to.

Download Here!

The reasons for the Cold War Essay questions are presented below:

1. Explain the reasons for the Cold War.

(P) The Soviets perceived that the Allies had purposely delayed the opening of the Second Front .

(E) The Soviet Red Army bore the brunt of the German attacks in World War Two. In 1941, Stalin urged the Allies to open a Second Front in France to relieve the Soviet forces of the immense pressure from the German army. But it was never opened until 1942.

( E ) Stalin perceived this delay as a deliberate attempt by the Allies to minimize their losses and to let Germany and the USSR weaken and destroy each other in the process.

(L) Hence, Stalin did not trust the Allies and this distrust was one of the reasons for the Cold War after World War Two.

(P) The disagreements during the Yalta Conference of February 1945 created a rift between the Allies and the Soviets.

(E) In Feb 1945, Stalin, US President Roosevelt and British PM Churchill met at Yalta to decide on how they should defeat Germany and arrangements for post-war Europe. They agreed to divide Germany and Berlin, set up the United Nations and Soviet assistant against Japan.

(E) Beneath the seemingly friendly relations and agreements among the three leaders were very different ideas about how post-war Europe should be. USSR wanted a Communist Europe while the USA and Britain disagreed.

(L) Thus, it was apparent from the difficult negotiations at the Yalta conference that the wartime alliance would soon give way to differences.

( P ) Another one of the reasons for the Cold War was the USA’s nuclear monopoly and the use of the atomic bomb on Japan was the final nail in the coffin.

(E) The Americans had been developing a new weapon, the atomic bomb, under the Manhattan Project since 1942. The USA used the atomic bombs on Japan in August to bring back a quick end to the war and hoped that it would give the USA political leverage over the USSR in post-war negotiations.

(E) However, the US kept the Project a secret and informed Stalin only after its successful testing. It only served to make Stalin suspicious of the US intentions. Stalin also saw the nuclear monopoly as a threat and this led to his desire for his country to catch up with the Americans, contributing to the arms race after World War Two.

(L)Thus the American nuclear monopoly further strained relations between the USA and the USSR resulted in the arms race, which led to the start of the Cold War.

2. “The Cold War came about because Stalin was afraid of the Western powers.” How far do you agree with the statement? Explain your answer.

(P) I agree in part that the Cold War came about because Stalin was afraid of the Western powers.

( E ) Stalin worried tremendously about the Western powers and his reaction to the Western powers accelerated the Cold War. The Western democracies and Communism have a long history of distrust so it is not surprising that Stalin feared that the Western powers would challenge the interests of the Soviet Union.

It did not help that the Western powers did not immediately create a second front during World War II. Stalin was convinced that the Western powers did that in the hope that Nazi Germany and Communist Soviet Union would exhaust each other.

He was also very concerned with America’s invention of the nuclear bomb. This concern was made worse when he learnt of it through spies instead of being informed as an ally should be.

( E ) As a result, he created a buffer zone around the Soviet Union by forcing Communism on the East European countries. He hoped that if an invasion came, these countries would shield the Soviet Union. Ironically, these moves made the Western powers even more suspicious of Stalin.

(L) Hence, one of the reasons for the Cold War was Stalin’s worry about the Western powers.

( P ) However, I also do not agree with this statement as the most important reason for the Cold War was the ideological differences.

( E ) The Western powers believed in democracy, where there is freedom of speech and political parties campaign to be the next leader via an election. The Soviets did not have any elections – the Communist party was the only political party. Even if there was a choice of leader, it would still be between two members of the Communist party.

In terms of economic structure, the Soviets had a command economy. Every company belonged to the nation and the nation controlled what was produced and at what quantity. Workers were paid equally.

On the other hand, the Western powers believed in capitalism. Private companies were allowed, and they could decide what to produce and at what quantity. As a result, some people became successful and earned a lot of money.

( E ) The history of conflict between the Western powers and the Communist Soviet Union go all the way back even before World War I. When the Soviet Union was first set up, the British and France sent troops to Russia to fight against them. Throughout the 1930s, they had an uneasy relationship with each other and frequently tried to persuade Hitler to act against the other side.

(L) Hence one of the reasons for the Cold War was due to ideological differences.

( Thesis ) I do not agree with the statement that the Cold War started because of Stalin’s fear.

( Weighing ) The Cold War started due to deep-seated differences from the first day Russia became Communist. Because their ideologies conflict with each other, it caused a long history of fear and distrust of each other. Stalin’s fear of the Western powers must be viewed within this context. Hence, I disagree with the statement.

3. Explain why the USA introduced the Marshall Plan in June 1947.

( P ) The USA introduced the Marshall Plan in June 1947 because they believed that it hindered the spread of Communism in Europe.

( E ) After WWII, the USA believed that every country in Europe was so poor that it was in danger of turning Communist. This was because Communism advocated equality and the equal distribution of resources. As a result, it was very appealing to the poorest as it would mean their lives would improve immediately when the wealth of the richest are redistributed.

( E ) Countries that received financial aid from the Marshall Plan were opening themselves to the USA’s influence. Communism soon fell in disfavour in Western Europe as Marshall Plan helped to kick-start the economic recovery in these countries. USA was perceived to be sincere and active in helping Europe while USSR was viewed as being more concerned with its own survival.

(L) Consequently, the Marshall Plan succeeded in containing the spread of communism by undermining Soviet influence in Europe.

(P) At the same time, the Marshall Plan had a humanitarian element to it as it was designed to help the countries that suffered the most during World War II.

( E ) Many leading industrial and cultural centres in Europe, including many cities in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium had been destroyed. The economic reports sent back to the United States suggested that some parts of Europe were on the brink of famine because the food production centres had been destroyed during the war. Furthermore, the transportation infrastructure like railways, bridges, parts and roads were destroyed.

( E ) The Marshall Plan sought to rebuild Europe with 15 billion. It began to reconstruct cities, industries and infrastructure heavily damaged during the war. It also removed trade barriers between European neighbours—as well as foster commerce between those countries and the United States.

(L) As a result, Europe rapidly recovered from the economic disaster created after the war.  

4. Explain why the American containment policy in Europe was a success in the late 1940s.

( P ) The American containment policy in Europe was a success in the late 1940s due to the USA’s willingness and ability to help the Western European countries economically.

( E ) the USA came up with the Marshall Plan in 1947 to contain Communism. USA believed that prosperity was an antidote to Communism so the USA aimed to offer financial help to Europe to help countries recover their economies after World War Two and build a prosperous and democratic Europe. Being the richer superpower as compared to USSR, the USA was able to provide US$13 billion in aid, funds and goods to 16 countries in Western Europe such as Britain and France.

( E ) As a result, it was a success as these countries were able to recover their economies more quickly than the countries in Eastern Europe under Communist rule. Due to the improvement in living standards in Western Europe, these countries were grateful to the USA for helping them and continued to stay democratic and support the USA.

(L) Therefore, the USA was successful in containing Communism as countries in Western Europe were not attracted to Communism at all and the spread of Communism was no longer a threat in Western Europe.

( P ) The American containment policy in Europe was a success in the late 1940s due to USA’s determination to protect their democratic allies in Western Europe.

( E ) the USA saw an urgent need to step up to protect Western European countries and deter Stalin from potentially spreading Communism to Western Europe with the use of force. Thus, the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949 was a military alliance formed to defend Europe from Soviet attack.

( E ) With many Western European countries such as Britain, France, Italy, Belgium in NATO as well as USA’s firm commitment to help all member states if they were attacked by Soviet Union, this helped to further strengthen the security of Western Europe.

(L) As such, USA was successful in containing Communism as Western Europe emerged united and strong as a democratic bloc even when Cold War continued for many years.

This is part of the History Structured Essay Question series. The other topics are as follows:

• Treaty of Versailles
• League of Nations
• Rise of Stalin
• Stalin’s Rule
• Rise of Hitler
• Hitler’s Rule
• Reasons for World War 2 in Europe
• Reasons for the defeat of Germany
• Reasons for World War II in Asia-Pacific
• Reasons for the defeat of Japan
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• End of the Cold War

For more information about the History syllabus, do click here .

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6.1 Britain’s Law-and-Order Strategy and Its Consequences

Until Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774, most colonists still thought of themselves as proud subjects of the strong British Empire. However, the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts, which Parliament enacted to punish Massachusetts for failing to pay for the destruction of the tea, convinced many colonists that Great Britain was indeed threatening to stifle their liberty. In Massachusetts and other New England colonies, militias like the minutemen prepared for war by stockpiling weapons and ammunition. After the first loss of life at the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, skirmishes continued throughout the colonies. When Congress met in Philadelphia in July 1776, its members signed the Declaration of Independence, officially breaking ties with Great Britain and declaring their intention to be self-governing.

6.2 The Early Years of the Revolution

The British successfully implemented the first part of their strategy to isolate New England when they took New York City in the fall of 1776. For the next seven years, they used New York as a base of operations, expanding their control to Philadelphia in the winter of 1777. After suffering through a terrible winter in 1777–1778 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, American forces were revived with help from Baron von Steuben, a Prussian military officer who helped transform the Continental Army into a professional fighting force. The effort to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies failed with the General Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga in October 1777. After Saratoga, the struggle for independence gained a powerful ally when France agreed to recognize the United States as a new nation and began to send much-needed military support. The entrance of France—Britain’s archrival in the contest of global empire—into the American fight helped to turn the tide of the war in favor of the revolutionaries.

6.3 War in the South

The British gained momentum in the war when they turned their military efforts against the southern colonies. They scored repeated victories in the coastal towns, where they found legions of supporters, including people escaping bondage. As in other colonies, however, control of major seaports did not mean the British could control the interior. Fighting in the southern colonies devolved into a merciless civil war as the Revolution opened the floodgates of pent-up anger and resentment between frontier residents and those along the coastal regions. The southern campaign came to an end at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered to American forces.

6.4 Identity during the American Revolution

The American Revolution divided the colonists as much as it united them, with Loyalists (or Tories) joining the British forces against the Patriots (or revolutionaries). Both sides included a broad cross-section of the population. However, Great Britain was able to convince many to join its forces by promising them freedom, something the southern revolutionaries would not agree to do. The war provided new opportunities, as well as new challenges, for enslaved and free Black people, women, and Native peoples. After the war, many Loyalists fled the American colonies, heading across the Atlantic to England, north to Canada, or south to the West Indies.

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Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: P. Scott Corbett, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, Sylvie Waskiewicz, Paul Vickery
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: U.S. History
• Publication date: Dec 30, 2014
• Location: Houston, Texas
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• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/6-summary

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