Learning Goal: Students will be able to describe effects of a specific event/conflict/theme on the developing political tensions between the U.S. and USSR.
How Did the Cold War Begin?
To learn how the Cold War began, we will watch the first few minutes of this video as it will give you a good visual to what was happening after WWII.
Progression of Events
Beginning:
U.S. and Soviets work together as allies in WWII.
Americans are concerned with the concept of communism and Joseph Stalin (they see him as a tyrant).
Communism threatens personal liberty
Soviets begin to expand union into more of Eastern Europe
U.S. fights this spread through containment. (Keep the Soviets from expanding any farther out than they already are.)
Rise of Tensions:
U.S. says it will us military might to contain the spread of communism.
This strategy manifests itself in the form of proxy wars and the arms race.
How Does Pop Culture Add to This Progression?
Pop culture connects the people to the political issues and creates personal tension between the citizens of the U.S. and the citizens of the Soviet Union (taking it away from just a political tension but a tension felt by all). Here are some of the ways they connect:
George Orwell - He is an English author who writes essays and books that make comments about the Cold War. He was actually the first person to give the Cold War its name.