Early Cold War Topics

1. To what extent were the domestic policies of Eisenhower and Truman affected by a backlash against the New Deal and FDR?

2. The 1950’s have been coined the “Age of Consensus.” To what extent did the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower encourage this development?

3. Assess the successes and failures of the domestic policies of either the Eisenhower or Truman Administrations.

4. Assess the part played by differing ideologies in the origin of the Cold War?

5. In what way and with what results was Germany the key focus of the early stages of the Cold War?

6. Define and analyze the importance of the following: Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift, NATO,

7. For what reasons, and with what results, were there disagreements between participants at the conferences of Yalta and Potsdam?

8. “An unnatural alliance that was bound to fall apart after the defeat of a common enemy.” To what extent does this statement explain the origin of the Cold War?

9. To what extent did the United States antagonize the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Cold War?

10. Compare and contrast the policies of the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. towards Korea between 1945 and 1955.

11. To what extent was the Korean War a limited war?

12. Who was responsible for starting the Korean War?

Here are a couple of articles that are really helpful in handling the historiography of the Cold War. I would review them, if I were you.

http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/korea/roberts.html

http://www.anzasa.arts.usyd.edu.au/ahas/cworigins_historiography.html

Yalta Potsdam overview

http://www.johndclare.net/cold_war4.htm