Ebook: The Cold War (1945-1991)

Offers in-depth analysis of a broad range of historical documents and historic events related to the Cold War era, starting with Potsdam Accords in 1945 at the end of World War II and Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech in 1946. The 1950s and 60s saw the United States struggling to deal with fears related to Communism, starting with the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The McCarthy era “witch hunts” and testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee define the Red Scare in the United States. An era of negotiation that led to detente and a de-escalation of the Cold War began with the brinksmanship of the Able Archer exercises and ended with the opening of the Berlin Wall. This set covers all this and more, with the close study of eighty-six primary source documents to delivers a thorough examination of the Cold War and its effect on the U.S. from 1945 to 1991. The material is organized under four broad categories:
• Post-War Cold War–an examination of the events following World War II that led to the Cold War
• Red Scare–from loyalty screenings to the Senate’s censure of Joseph McCarthy
• Escalation and Detente–the downing of a U2 spy plane to SALT II
• End Game–starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and ending with Gorbachev’s farewell address