Modern World Civilization

Handout Thirteen

Topic: The Cold War Part I: The Division of Europe

 OUTLINE:

 XIII. The Cold War Part I: The Division of Europe.

  1. Introduction.
  2. Pre-Yalta.
  3. Yalta: Sell-Out or Facing Reality?
  4. Death of Roosevelt.
  5. The Stalin-Truman Relationship.
  6. Potsdam.
  7. Atomic Bomb Issue.
  8. Containment and the Soviet Response.
  9. The Intellectuals.
  10. The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plans.

 QUESTIONS:

    1. What agreement did Stalin and Churchill reach concerning the establishment of spheres of influence in the Balkans during the waning days of World War II? Would any agreement with Stalin really work? How did the Americans feel?
    2. Yalta has become a hot topic in American politics among liberals and conservatives alike. Conservatives claim FDR sold Eastern Europe out to the Soviets, but was it really a sell-out? What did the agreement include? What were the sticking points between the West and the Soviets?
    3. Initially the United States had an atomic monopoly immediately after the war. What did the Americans propose to internationalize atomic weapons? Were those proposals legitimate? How did the Soviets respond? Explain.
    4. What was the basis for containment? Was the threat real or did Truman and his administration overreact? How did intellectuals, like Walter Lippmann, respond?
    5. With Britain in decline, how did Truman respond to the economic and political crisis in Europe? How effective were the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan to the growing crises in Europe? What dangers existed for the United States by agreeing to defend other nations facing external threats?

 TERMS:

 Percentages Agreement                Baruch Plan                       Walter Lippmann

Yalta                                             Carnegie Plan                     Marshall Plan

Denazification                              AEC                                    Truman Doctrine

Acheson-Lilienthal Report           IAEC                                   Berlin Blockade

Andrei Gromyko                          George Kennan                   Bizonia