Guiding Questions To Documents

1. Sourcing: Who was Winston Churchill? Why would Americans trust what he has to say about the Soviet Union? -Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. American trust what he says because Great Britain has been our strongest Allie. 2. Close reading: What does Churchill claim that the Soviet Union wanted? -Churchill claims that the Soviet Union wanted the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines; so that communism can spread.

1. Close reading: Why did Truman believe Greece needed American aid in 1947? -Truman believed that Greece needed American aid because he was afraid that Greece would have totalitarian regimes forced upon it against their will; considering that it has already happened in other countries near it. 2. Context: What country is Truman referring to in the first paragraph? -Russia. 3. Close Reading: Does Truman present American policy as offensive or defensive? What words or phrases does Truman use to present policy this way? -Truman is presenting the American policy as defensive. "Great responsibilities have been placed upon us by the swift movement of events," said President Truman to Congress on March 12, 1947.

The Soviet Union.

Sourcing: Who was Nicholas Novikov? When did he write this telegram? -Nicholas was a Soviet Ambassador. He wrote this telegram in September 1946. Close reading: How does Novikov describe the United States? What evidence does he use to support his description? -Novikov describes the U.S. as monopolistic. He uses the evidence of all the forces of American diplomacy being enlisted in the service of the foreign policy. 3. Context: What does Novikov claim the United States planned during the Second World War? -Novikov claims that they planned to enter at the last minute so they could easily affect the outcome of the war.

1. Sourcing: Who was Henry Wallace? When did he write this letter? -Henry was the Secretary of Commerce and former Vice President. He wrote this letter in July 23, 1946. 2. Close reading: What is Wallace's main argument? -Wallace's main argument is that he cannot but feel that these actions (bomb-testing) must make it look to the rest of the world as if the U.S. was only paying lip service to peace at the conference table. 3. Corroboration: How does Wallace's description of American foreign policy compare to Truman's and Novikov's? -Wallace's description of American foreign policy makes it look like the United States was trying to build up a predominance of force to intimidate the rest of mankind; so he compares to what Novikov said about the U.S. doing things for it's own interests. But, what Wallace said does compare to what Truman said, too. Wallace feels like the Soviets are feeling threatened

The United States.