Study
Questions & Essay Topics
Always use specific historical examples to support
your arguments.
Study Questions
1. In your opinion,
was the Cold War inevitable? If not, was the United States or the
USSR more to blame?
2. Why has the
Korean War often been called America's “forgotten war”? What purpose
did the war serve, and what impact did it have?
3. Was the
United States, the USSR, or Cuba more to blame for the Cuban missile
crisis? What impact did the crisis have on U.S.-Soviet relations?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. How did George Kennan's containment
doctrine change during the Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations?
Which president was the most successful in containing Communism?
2. What were the causes of the
American economic boom in the 1950s?
How did prosperity affect the nation socially, politically, and
economically?
3. Why were Americans so terrified
of Communist infiltration after World War II? What impact did the
Red hunts of the late 1940s
and early 1950s
have on American politics and society?
4. What impact did the Korean
War have on American foreign policy?
5. Why was the launch of Sputnik
I in 1957 so significant? What did its launch
mean for Americans?
