©Reading Through History
Excerpt from The Cold War by Jake Henderson & Robert Marshall ©2012
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Communism:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. For many years, communism was the dominant economic system used in many countries across ______and Asia.
2. The modern idea of communism was first proposed by German philosophers ______and Friedrich Engels.
3. Together, they wrote a short book known as The Communist ______.
4. One of the key principles of communism is the concept of a ______society.
5. More importantly, the salaries of employees, regardless of the job performed, were all ______.
6. The eventual goal of this 'classless society' would be a state in which there was no ______at all.
7. In a true communist nation, there is to be no private ownership of ______.
8. This would also mean that the state controlled all means of producing ______.
9. Finally, in 1917, a group of Communists in Russia, known as ______, started a revolution.
10. At one point during what came to be known as the Cold War era, a full ______of the world’s population lived under some type of communist rule.
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The Soviet Union: Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences. 1. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were the world's only two “______”.
2. The Soviet Union spanned more than ______miles from east to west and included 11 time zones.
3. In 1917, a revolution was orchestrated in Russia by a man named ______and his followers known as the Bolsheviks.
4. In 1922, the Bolshevik Army, known as the ______, gained control.
5. In 1924, ______became the leader and maintained that position until his death.
6. Stalin led the Soviet Union through a period of rapid ______in an attempt to modernize the nation.
7. In 1941, ______invaded the Soviet Union, bringing the USSR into World War II.
8. After WWII, the USA and the ______emerged as the world’s two super powers.
9. The testing of an atomic bomb by the Soviets marked the beginning of the ______struggle known as the Cold War.
10. The Cold War ended in ______when the Soviet Union finally collapsed.
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The Berlin Airlift:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences. 1. One of the first major incidents during the Cold War became known as the ______.
2. At the conclusion of World War II, ______was divided into four portions.
3. The city of ______, which was located in the Soviet sector, was also split into four similar segments.
4. In 1948, the American, British, and French regions of Germany announced that they would be creating, and using, a new currency called the ______.
5. The Soviet Union halted all ______between East Berlin and West Berlin.
6. Since Berlin was located ______inside the Soviet sector, it left the non-Soviet region of Berlin completely isolated.
7. The Allies began ______into West Berlin.
8. If the Soviets had opened fire on the planes, it would have been considered an ______.
9. On May 12, 1949, the Soviet ______came to an end.
10. The cost of the airlift was ______.
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The Iron Curtain:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. The phrase ______is frequently used in relation to the Cold War era.
2. British Prime Minister ______used the phrase “Iron Curtain” to describe the divide between Western and Eastern Europe.
3. The nations of ______were communist dictatorships with little personal freedom.
4. The concept of the Iron Curtain was best defined by the rivalry between what came to be known as ______and the Warsaw Pact.
5. In 1949, the United States, along with the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and eight other nations, signed a treaty creating the ______.
6. The member nations agreed that an armed attack against any one of them would be viewed and treated as an armed attack against ______.
7. Several years later, in 1955, the Eastern European nations created the ______.
8. Led by the Soviet Union, ______communist nations established a mutual defense treaty.
9. The feud between the rival factions persisted for ______years.
10. The ______officially disbanded in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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The Truman Doctrine:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In March of 1947, President Harry Truman delivered a speech regarding the potential fate of two nations, ______.
2. Truman feared that if Greece and Turkey were left to their own accord, they would become ______nations.
3. Truman believed communism must be ______and not allowed to spread to other nations.
4. The president’s speech established the ______as America's policy towards communism.
5. The Truman Doctrine was a policy of ______.
6. The reason for the containment policy was known as the ______.
7. The ______was a monetary assistance program.
8. The nations of Western Europe were given more than ______in aid.
9. The Marshall Plan was implemented in hopes of preventing Western democracies from falling under the influence of the ______.
10. The policy of containment was also responsible for the US entry into multiple ______throughout the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.
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The Chinese Civil War:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences. 1. China has been a communist nation since ______.
2. Starting in 1927, China began fighting a ______.
3. Mao Tse Tung gained prominence in the Red Army because of an event known as the ______.
4. As the Red Army retreated, they evaded ______forces for 370 days and traveled more than 8,000 miles.
5. In 1937, the Chinese Civil War was put on hold when ______invaded China.
6. In ______,at the conclusion of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed.
7. The fighting continued for another four years, with the Red Army of ______eventually defeating Chiang Kai-Shek’s Chinese Nationalists.
8. The Nationalists fled and established the island nation of ______.
9. China was renamed ______and officially became a communist nation.
10. To this day, Taiwan claims to be the legitimate government of ______.
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The Korean Conflict:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In 1945, Korea, which had been controlled by Japan during the war, was divided into two pieces along the ______.
2. The Soviet Union assisted ______in establishing a Communist government.
3. On ______North Korea, with the assistance of the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea.
4. Approximately ______of the Allied fighting force was supplied by the United States.
5. The American soldiers were commanded by one of the heroes of World War II, ______.
6. After early difficulties, the combined forces of the US and South Korea were able to recapture ______.
7. In April of 1951, President ______made the controversial decision to remove MacArthur from command.
8. There were significant battles such as Heartbreak Ridge and Pork Chop Hill, but the end result was a prolonged ______.
9. The DMZ is a 2.5 mile wide zone between the two nations where no ______or equipment is allowed.
10. At the conclusion of the Korean Conflict, the United States had suffered more than ______deaths.
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Cold War Spies:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences. 1. In 1948, a man named ______was accused of being a Communist by Whittaker Chambers.
2. Whitaker Chambers presented 65 pages of documents and several rolls of 35 mm film, all of which proved Hiss's ties to ______.
3. The evidence against Hiss became known as “______.”
4. Alger Hiss was found guilty of ______and sentenced to 44 months in prison.
5. To his dying day, Hiss insisted that he was ______.
6. In 1949, the Soviet Union tested their first ______.
7. After a significant amount of investigation, it was discovered that a network of spies had passed ______to the Soviets.
8. Amongst the many people involved in that conspiracy were a couple named Julius and Ethel ______.
9. Ethel had typed out several documents related to ______and passed them on to the Soviets.
10. In March of 1951, the couple was convicted of espionage charges and both were sentenced to ______.
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The Red Scare (Part One):
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. Throughout the Cold War, many Americans harbored an intense ______of communism.
2. In February of 1950, Senator ______produced a list of 205 suspected communists.
3. Senator McCarthy began a series of Congressional ______in which countless accusations were made towards many individuals.
4. The phrase “______” was used to describe the act of accusing someone, with little or no evidence.
5. In the early 50s, there were also several pieces of legislation passed that increased the ______against communism.
6. The ______of 1950 required Communist organizations to register with the Attorney General's office.
7. The “Federal Employees Loyalty Program” was a review board that determined the “______” of federal employees.
8. The board recommended that any employee suspected of being “______” should have their employment terminated.
9. Across the nation, many states, communities, and even private businesses also established “______.”
10. Some industries even developed “______” to prevent “disloyal citizens” from being hired.
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The Red Scare (Part Two):
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. Nearly all of the popular forms of media featured anti-communist ______.
2. Most of this content was geared towards ______in an effort to raise a generation that would both despise communism and be terrified by it.
3. Many early television programs of the ______had an anti- communist theme as a regular part of their programming.
4. Shows such as The Man Called X and I Led Three Lives featured characters who were spying communists attempting to ______the government.
5. Throughout the 1950s, there were many films made with ______messages.
6. The most well-known films were I Married a Communist and ______.
7. Many science fiction films featured plots involving aliens attempting to infiltrate ______.
8. Comic books were also filled with stories about spies and Communist ______.
9. Publications such as ______also commonly presented Communists in the role of villain.
10. The Cincinnati Reds temporarily changed their mascot to the “______.”
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Civil Defense at School:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences. 1. President Harry Truman created the Federal ______in 1950 in an effort to help the nation prepare for the possibility of a nuclear attack.
2. The FCDA did many things throughout the 1950s and ‘60s to help people maintain a level of ______.
3. There were many efforts undertaken, largely focusing on ______and educating children about proper procedures.
4. Home Economics classes taught girls what items should be included in a ______.
5. ______were even created and distributed to school children to promote nuclear safety.
6. Bert was an animated turtle who appeared in film strips promoting the “______” safety strategy.
7. Bert’s films were accompanied by a catchy ______that many could still sing as adults decades later.
8. Many schools began practicing weekly ______that utilized a similar “duck and cover” method.
9. When the students heard the warning siren, they were instructed to hide under their desks to protect their heads from ______.
10. Some districts went as far as purchasing ______for all of their students.
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Civil Defense at Home:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. Outside of school, the FCDA was trying to help the ______understand what steps they could take to be safer.
2. Brochures, films and ______all focused on “what to do” in the event of a nuclear attack.
3. The FCDA also distributed millions of instruction manuals and ______, such as “How to Survive an Atomic Bomb.”
4. Most of these manuals were ______in nature and stressed that the most important thing was “to stay calm and not panic.”
5. The FCDA encouraged ______to take the lead in civil defense in many different ways.
6. Women were taught that good housekeeping was one of the first steps in preventing ______.
7. Women also received tips on how to stock a first aid kit and medical tags, how to prepare a shelter in a ______, and how to recognize the different types of sirens.
8. The FCDA even began a program known as “Grandma's Pantry” in which it was recommended that all homes keep a supply of at least two weeks of ______in their pantry.
9. The FCDA often referred to ______as “the backbone of civil defense.”
10. ______were civilians who were trained to watch the skies and keep an eye out for enemy aircraft.
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Fallout Shelters:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In the 1950s and ‘60s, many communities began building ______to protect residents from the threat of nuclear weapons.
2. ______is created when a nuclear explosion vaporizes objects close to the detonation, turning the objects into a very fine ash.
3. The ash absorbs the radiation generated by the explosion and becomes ______.
4. Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, many communities constructed and maintained fallout shelters large enough to accommodate ______of residents.
5. In most cases, existing buildings with large basements made of ______would be designated as public fallout shelters.
6. Public shelters were identified by the well-known ______trefoil symbol.
7. Shelters would usually be supplied with food and large amounts of water, sanitation supplies, and radiation detection equipment such as ______.
8. Water was stored in ______metal containers, and food came in various forms, usually non-perishable in nature.
9. The Federal Civil Defense Administration recommended that, in the event of an attack, those inside the shelter should remain there for at least ______.
10. Today, all public shelters have long since been ______and are no longer maintained with fresh supplies.
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Family Fallout Shelters:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, many families constructed personal fallout shelters in their ______.
2. Companies marketed several different “______” for homeowners hoping to protect their families.
3. Personal shelters ranged from a $13.50 “foxhole kit” all the way up to the ______“deluxe model” which featured beds, a phone, toilet, and a Geiger counter for detecting radiation levels.
4. Many families constructed their shelters in the middle of the night in an effort to ______the facility from their neighbors.
5. Many feared that neighbors, who did not have shelters, would swarm their property in an ______if they knew a shelter was there.
6. Some families could not afford the commercially-produced shelters, so there were a number of ______methods for shelter construction.
7. Many ______stores sold air filters, flashlights, fallout protections suits, first aid kits, and water which people used to supply their personal shelters.
8. ______films encouraged the public to maintain a two week supply of water and non-perishable food in their basements.
9. They also recommended having a battery-powered radio tuned to one of the two Civil Defense ______stations: 640 or 1240 on the AM dial.
10. Today, most personal fallout shelters have been removed or ______, but some might still be found in homes around the nation.
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The Effects of Nuclear Weapons:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. Throughout the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war was always ______.
2. When a nuclear device detonates, there are ______major threats that one must worry about.
3. Those close to the detonation would stand no chance of ______.
4. At the center of a nuclear explosion, the temperature can reach millions of degrees and incinerate or ______anything within several miles.
5. The heat produced by the blast is so intense that fatal third degree burns can be caused up to ______away.
6. Accompanied with this intense heat is the second threat of a nuclear explosion, a tremendous blast of ______.
7. This blast can produce winds in excess of a ______miles per hour.
8. The third danger from a nuclear explosion comes from ______, a form of energy which is harmful to living cells.
9. Long term effects of radiation include hair and teeth falling out and various forms of ______.
10. The effects of radiation can be even more far reaching, causing ______and deformities in future generations.
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The Kitchen Debate
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In July of 1959, the Vice President of the United States, ______, visited the Soviet Union.
2. This visit represented the first time that high ranking officials from the US and the USSR had met since ______.
3. While in the Soviet Union, Nixon toured the ______which had just opened.
4. As Vice President Nixon toured the home with Soviet Premier ______, the leaders debated the industrial accomplishments of the two nations.
5. Khrushchev argued that his own nation focused on necessities, while the United States was obsessed with ______.
6. This Kitchen Debate earned Nixon a large amount of respect with the ______.
7. During his visit to ______, Vice President Nixon invited Premier Khrushchev to the United States.
8. In September of 1959, Khrushchev became the first Premier of the ______to visit the US.
9. The Premier concluded his trip to the US by meeting President ______at the President's private vacation resort of Camp David.
10. At the conclusion of his thirteen day visit, Premier Khrushchev felt he could achieve peaceful ______with the United States.
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The U-2 Incident:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In the late 1950s, the US and the USSR seemed to be ______.
2. In 1960, an American U-2 plane was shot down over ______.
3. In the mid-1950s, the US Government developed a spy plane for the purposes of monitoring Soviet ______.
4. ______, one of the United States’ top manufacturers of aircraft, was contracted to build the planes.
5. The “Utility Plane 2” was capable of flying at altitudes up to ______miles high and could stay in the air up to eleven hours.
6. The pilots who flew the U-2 were required to wear a ______during flights.
7. The U-2 made its first flight in ______and worked precisely as it was built to.
8. In April of 1960, a U-2 piloted by ______was struck by a Soviet missile.
9. The incident provided proof that the United States had been ______on the USSR.
10. Because of the U-2 incident, the Cold War divide deepened even further, and it would be another ______before the tension softened again.
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The Berlin Wall:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. At the conclusion of World War II, ______was divided into two separate nations.
2. ______, the capital city, was also divided in a similar fashion.
3. As time progressed and conditions ______in communist East Germany, many began escaping to the Western side.
4. In 1961, the East Germans erected a permanent wall made of ______, which came to be known as the Berlin Wall.
5. The wall was an ______fortified structure featuring 116 watch towers, dogs, additional chain link fences, barbwire, and trenches to prevent vehicles from driving across.
6. East German guards were instructed to ______anyone attempting to escape.
7. The most well-known crossing point was “______,” and it was the only crossing where Americans and many other foreigners were allowed to pass.
8. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan made a bold appeal to the Premier of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to “______!”
9. On ______, crowds approached the wall with hammers, chisels, and other tools and began destroying the wall by hand.
10. The Berlin Wall stood for ______.
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Fidel Castro:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. After college, Castro became involved with revolutions and rebellions in the ______and Colombia.
2. In the early 1950s, Castro became convinced that the Cuban president, Fulgencio Batista, needed to be ______.
3. After a brief imprisonment, Castro traveled to Mexico with his brother Raul and fellow revolutionary ______.
4. Upon returning to Cuba, Castro led a war against Batista, eventually overthrowing him in ______.
5. The US Government distrusted Castro and attempted to remove him from power with the ______Invasion.
6. Following the failed invasion, Castro declared that Cuba would become a ______nation.
7. He allowed the Soviets to place nuclear missile bases in Cuba, causing the events that became known as the ______.
8. Castro continued to consolidate his power in Cuba, becoming a ______.
9. Some estimates claim that as many as ______Cubans were executed because of their opposition to Castro.
10. It’s estimated that approximately ______Cubans have left the island for the US since Castro gained power.
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The Cuban Missile Crisis:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In 1959, ______took control of the island nation of Cuba and established it as a communist nation.
2. In April of 1961, the US-backed “______” failed, and Castro continued to tighten his grip over Cuba.
3. In August of 1962, the Cubans and Soviets began secretly establishing sites to launch ______from Cuba.
4. On October 15th, the United States discovered the ______of these missiles.
5. President Kennedy eventually chose to ______Cuba.
6. On October 22nd, Kennedy announced the threat to the nation, causing ______across the country.
7. As the days continued, the Soviet Union remained diligent, and the Kennedy administration began preparing the early stages of an ______.
8. The US Ambassador to the United Nations, ______, revealed photographic evidence that forced the Soviet Union to admit the bases existed.
9. The crisis finally ended on October 28, 1962 when President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev reached a ______.
10. To this day, the Cuban Missile Crisis is regarded as the closest that the US has ever come to a ______.
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Public Reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis:
Guided Reading: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. Kennedy informed the public of the Soviet missiles in Cuba, and the initial reaction most experienced was a sudden state of ______.
2. They listened in fascination and horror as the president announced his intentions to set up a ______around the tiny island nation of Cuba.
3. However, as the days progressed, public reaction turned from shock to ______.
4. Many citizens believed that a nuclear exchange was ______.
5. ______and supply stores were overwhelmed with customers racing for items the public felt it needed.
6. Families began ______nonperishable food and supplies such as water, toilet paper, flashlights, and batteries.
7. Unfortunately, most couldn't afford shelters, so they stockpiled their necessities inside ______or in other locations in or near their home.
8. Many saw religious implications in the global events and were certain that the approach of nuclear war signaled the beginning of “______.”
9. Many sought to confess their ______before any bombs began falling.
10. Aside from the panic, there was also a wave of ______that swept across the nation.
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The Vietnam Conflict:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. In the Indochina War, the French fought against rebelling Vietnamese forces known as the ______.
2. North Vietnam was led by its founder ______, who desired to institute communism across the entire country.
3. In ______, North Vietnam, aided by the Soviet Union, attacked South Vietnam.
4. Throughout the early 1960s, the US sent soldiers to ______to assist in the training of South Vietnamese forces.
5. The ______gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to conduct military operations in Vietnam.
6. Throughout South Vietnam, North Vietnamese supporters, known as the ______, fought a guerrilla war against US and South Vietnamese troops.
7. The conflict was widely covered by the American media, and the ______greatly damaged public support for US involvement in the conflict.
8. ______meant gradually turning the war over to the South Vietnamese as US soldiers were slowly withdrawn.
9. Once US forces were completely withdrawn, the ______resumed their attacks, and Vietnam was reunited as a communist nation.
10. ______American soldiers lost their lives in Vietnam.
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The Space Race:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. On October 4th, 1957, the Soviets became the first nation to launch an ______into orbit.
2. This satellite, a large metal sphere about the size of a beach ball, was known as ______.
3. Within four months, the first US satellite, ______, achieved orbit around the Earth.
4. Many citizens panicked, viewing this as proof that the American ______system was far behind that of the Soviets.
5. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (______) was created to help the United States more effectively achieve its goals in space.
6. In April of 1961, Soviet cosmonaut ______became the first man to orbit the planet.
7. One month later, ______became the first American in space.
8. On May 25, 1961, President ______made a bold announcement that the United States would make it a goal to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
9. In January of 1967, three American astronauts were killed in a fire while onboard the ______spacecraft.
10. On July 20th, 1969, ______became the first human to set foot on the surface of the moon.
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Nixon Goes to China:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. President Nixon assisted Senator ______during the Red Scare era.
2. Many Americans remembered Nixon for standing up to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the famous ______.
3. In February of 1972, Nixon traveled to ______and became the first American President to visit mainland China while in office.
4. Nixon met with the aging Chairman ______who had made China a communist nation in 1949.
5. At the conclusion of the week, the US and China agreed to open ______and other relations between the two nations.
6. The US would eventually establish full ______with China in 1979.
7. With Nixon's successful visit to China, he managed to make the world’s most populated nation a potential ______.
8. Since the 1990s, China has held the most favored nation ______with the United States.
9. In 2011, the US bought more than ______dollars’ worth of goods from Communist China.
10. The expression, “Only Nixon can go to China” is typically used when a politician is acting in an ______fashion.
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SALT:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. The first negotiations between the two nations to limit nuclear arms occurred in ______in 1969.
2. Over the course of the next three years, the series of meetings came to be known as the Strategic ______Talks.
3. The first real progress came in 1971when the two nations reached an agreement to limit the number of ______missile systems.
4. In 1972, the two countries agreed to dismantle many of the older bases designed for launching longer-range ______ballistic missiles (or ICBMs).
5. SALT II discussions took place between US President ______and Soviet Premier Brezhnev.
6. The results of SALT II were a series of promises by both sides to limit the production of new ______.
7. The SALT negotiations were not entirely successful because neither nation ______the agreement.
8. Six months after SALT II was signed, Soviet troops invaded ______, straining the delicate relationship between the US and the USSR.
9. The final SALT treaty was never ratified by the ______due to the heightened irritation with the USSR.
10. In 1986 President ______formally withdrew the United States from SALT II after accusing the Soviet Union of violating the pact.
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The Collapse of the Soviet Union:
Guided Viewing: Fill in the blanks below to create complete sentences.
1. The beginning of the end of the Soviet Union came in 1985 when a man named ______became premier.
2. Gorbachev implemented several new governmental policies, which collectively became known as ______.
3. One of the most important things he did was ease the restrictions on ______.
4. Glasnost is a Russian term which means “______.”
5. ______was the first region where organized anti-Soviet protest movements began.
6. Unlike similar incidents from the past, Premier Gorbachev did not attempt to end the protests with the ______.
7. In 1991, an attempted “coup d'état” (coo- day-tah) was met with massive protests in ______and other major cities.
8. Soviet troops refused to ______against the people, and many joined the protests.
9. Within months after the failed coup, the Soviet Union ______entirely.
10. The collapse of the Soviet Union was seen as a triumph of ______over totalitarianism.
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