First Midterm

Directions: Select two of the following questions and write an essay. The paper should be no less than five double-spaced pages in length. If you use outside sources, provide notes and a bibliography.

1. There are many possible reasons for the outbreak of the Cold War. After watching the CNN production of the Cold War, Comrades, why did the Cold War happen? Who was responsible?
2. The use of atomic weapons has been a hot topic recently among historians. Where do you stand? Was the use of two atomic bombs at the end of World War II in the Pacific justified? If you were Harry Truman, what would you have done?
3. One of the most intriguing aspects of the early Cold War was the question, who lost China? The fall of China in 1949 consumed American politics for years to come. Who was responsible for the fall of China to the Chinese Communists? Why did Chiang Kai-shek lose?
4. The Korean War has been called the unknown war. Why is that? Why did the war happen? Who was responsible for the conflict? What were the war's ultimate lessons for the rest of the Cold War? Explain.