Curated OER
The July Crisis: Can You Stop the Great War?
Students role-play as diplomats from countries involved in World War I who have received telegrams stating they must prepare presentations on their country's position about the war. They have 45 minutes to reach a peace accord, or they...
Curated OER
Truman and MacArthur
Students discuss and fill out a chart on how President Truman fired General MacArthur. In this Truman and MacArthur lesson plan, students study telegrams, letters, and other documents, and fill in a chart about supporting or not...
Curated OER
President Herbert Hoover
In this President Herbert Hoover worksheet, students read a 4 page article on the history of Hoover's life and presidency and then answer 10 true and false questions.
Curated OER
United States -- Soviet Cooperation
Students examine the competition between the United States and Russia to put the first man in space. In groups, they use the internet to identify areas in which the two countries cooperated with one another to promote space exploration....
George Washington University
National Security Archive: George Kennan's "Long Telegram"
Find the entire contents of George Kennan's "Long Telegram" in which he expressed outlook on post-war Soviet Union. It was not flattering.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Truman Library: Telegram, George Kennan to George Marshall [Pdf]
See the "long telegram" sent by George Kennan to Secretary of State George Marshall in which he expressed his unflattering view of the USSR.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum: The Long Telegram
This primary source document reveals Russia's growing distrust of the United States and its desire to strengthen its position in the global community through greater military security.
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: The Sources of Soviet Conduct
This sums up the ideas of containment. It is a telegram that was widely published.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Post War Prosperity and Cold War Fears 1945 1960: The Cold War
Examines the causes of the Cold War, America's efforts to oppose the spread of Communism, and the hunt for Communist sympathizers within the United States.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: The Presidency and the Cold War: Harry Truman
The National Portrait Gallery explores presidendtial actions in regard to the Cold War. Click on Harry Truman to see what actions and decisions he made during his term of office. Read about his meeting with Joseph Stalin at Potsdam, the...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: George F. Kennan
PBS profiles the life of American diplomat George F. Kennan, whose ideas about the expansionist ambitions of the Soviet Union shaped the U.S. policy toward Communist countries known as containment.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Start of Cold War, Part 1: Yalta Conference and Containment
At the end of World War II, the Yalta Conference saw the splitting of Germany into four zones and the United States began a policy of containment of communism.
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Spanish American War
[Free Registration/Login Required] Learners use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this investigation students study the Spanish-American War by watching a documentary video, reading a telegram...