Roots of the Cold War

Tensions between the East and West started long before the Berlin Blockade in 1947. The conflict can be traced to the earliest days of the Soviet Empire and Woodrow Wilson’s administration in the US. Although they were wartime Allies, the American and Soviet experiences in WWII were significantly different. These differences greatly impacted their visions for a post-war world. With no common enemy, competing goals, and radically different systems of government, conflict erupted – conflict that was to define international relations for the next 40 years.This lesson gives students multiple opportunities to evaluate complex written arguments for their use of evidence and overall persuasiveness. In addition, students are encouraged to make their own interpretations using evidence from landmark documents to support their claims.