Cold War Dbq

As the Great Depression came to an end, the United States started to recover with the help from President Roosevelt. However, during this recovery, the U.S. witnessed many hardships and conflicts both at home and overseas. Overseas, events like World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War were happening. At home problems began, such as, whether or not the U.S. should get involved in abroad issues, and the civil rights movement. Whether it was overseas, or at home, these issues affected the United States in many ways. As Franklin Roosevelt took the office, the U.S. was deepening into the depression. In the document, The First Inaugural Address, Roosevelt says, “Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are

His plan was to end WWII by giving Japan “prompt and utter destruction” (The Second World War, Page 218). This tactic was put into action, and the U.S. bombed Hiroshima, forcing Japan to surrender. After this, the U.S. faced issues with the Soviet Union because we believed that the Soviet Union’s polices were not perusing real problems anymore. This led to the Cold War. George Kennan proclaimed we should, “Continue to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner, in the terms of political arena (The Sources of Soviet Conduct, Page 246).” Truman wanted to go at the Soviet Union with a new tactic of “outward toughness,” and send aid to Greece and Turkey (The Sources of Soviet Conduct, Page 245). Truman outlined what is called the Truman Doctrine, which stated that, “We are the only country able to provide that help (Truman Doctrine, Page 248).” He also said we needed to help because if we did not, “We may endanger the peace of the world—and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation (Truman Doctrine, Page 250).” Truman ordered $400 million dollars and military assistance to these countries to help, “Assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own ways (Truman Doctrine, Page

The Civil Rights Movement was also affecting us. Even after blacks were granted the same rights as whites, they were still mistreated, and started to fight back. One major event was the situation at Little Rock in 1957 which took place at Central High School. Whites were preventing black students to enter the school. President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated, “The mob again gathered… obviously for the purpose of again preventing the carrying out of the court’s order relating to the admission of Negro children to that school (The Situation at Little Rock, Page 287).” In response to the mobs, Eisenhower sent troops to avoid them from intervening in the black’s educational rights. Many protests and boycotts were led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; a black minister who believed in non-violence. During one rally, police showed up and arrested MLK. In jail MLK wrote a letter saying how things needed to change. He stated, “Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality (Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Page 299).” MLK believed that the U.S. needed to start treating blacks fairly, and give them the respect they deserve. Another important player was Stokely Carmichael, who said, “For racism to die, a totally different America must be born (Black Power, Page 313).” He believed that whites and blacks needed to work together in order for this to happen. However, he also said, “The responsibility of rebuilding