Cold War and the Superpowers

Use the carefully selected primary source documents in this portfolio to give students a comprehensive understanding of the Cold War era, a time when conflicting ideologies and open hostilities propelled the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. Key speeches by Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy; anti-Communist propaganda; U.S. government photographs, documents, and maps; bomb shelter plans; and the Communist Party membership card of an FBI informant help paint a vivid portrait of this chilling chapter in history. This portfolio includes Reproducible Student Activities, including vocabulary, writing, research, and creative thinking exercises, and a teacher's response key. A timeline is included that covers the years from 1917 to 1991, as well as maps that show postwar Asia and Europe. 4 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * Communism vs. Democracy * The Cold War Heats Up * Communism Spreads to Asia and Cuba * Foreign Policy Changes and the End of the Cold War 13 Primary Source Documents: * Winston Churchill's "The Sinews of Peace" speech, March 5, 1946 * Photo: House On-American Activities Committee vs. Hollywood, 1947 * Communist Party membership card, 1947 * Excerpt from HUAC booklet, "100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A," ca. 1948 * Washington, D.C. defense map, 375-mile radius, 1952 * The Philadelphia Inquirer front page: "Rosenbergs Die...," June 20, 1953 * Joseph McCarthy's telegram to President Truman and Truman's response, 1950 * Front page of Atomic Weapons Employment Handbook," 1959 * Poster: JFK and the Cuban missile crisis, 1962 * Photo-poster: Missiles of the Cold War * Fallout/bomb shelter plans * Civil Defense preparations, 1950-67 * U.S. and Soviet postwar summits chart, 1955-1988