1.

How did the conferences at Dumbarton Oak and Yalta attempt to shape the postwar
world?
At Dumbarton Oak, delegates met to discuss the creation of the United Nations (UN).
They hoped the organization would take an active role in preserving peace, and would force
the countries to work together. At Yalta, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin discussed Poland,
the division of Germany and how Germany would pay reparations. All of these choices
shaped the postwar world significantly, and would help to increase tensions between the
United States and the Soviet Union.

2. Why did the Potsdam Conference further increase tensions between the United States
and the Soviet Union?
Because of what was discussed, and how it was discussed. Truman took a firm stand
against heavy reparations, and instead suggested the Soviets take reparation from their
zones, which Stalin opposed. After his attempt to offer the Soviets a small amount of
industrial equipment and Stalin’s disagreement, Truman hinted at the atomic bombs the U.S.
had successfully developed, and forced Stalin to agree.

3. What was the policy of containment?

The policy of containment was proposed by George Kennan in what became known
as the Long Telegram, an idea based in a long-term and vigilant containment of Russia’s
expansive tendencies. In his opinion, the Soviet system had economic and political
weaknesses, and trying to keep their power from expanding would cause that system to fall
apart, beating communism without going to war. The Long Telegram circulated widely in
Truman’s administration and became the basis for the administration’s policy of containment
—keeping communism within its present territory through diplomatic, economic, and military
actions.

4. Why was the Korean War a major turning point in the war?
The Korean War helped change the United States approach to contain communism.
Until the end of the war, the U.S. used political and economic aid to do so, but after the war
the United States focused on military buildup. It also helped expand the Cold War to Asia.

5. How did the post-World War II Red Scare compare and contrast with that following World
War I?
The post-World War II Red Scare was based on a fear of espionage that resulted in a
nation-wide witch-hunt. The Red Scare following World War I was based much more on fear
of the attacks that were going on at the time. It also had heavy anti-immigration ideals due to
the Russian Revolution.

6. How did fears of nuclear war affect American society?

It helped shape popular culture with the rise of nuclear-themed movies, plays, and
books. Schools also created shelters and held bomb drills in case of a nuclear attack ever
happening. The fears that came from the possibility of a nuclear war had a part in the
elections of 1952, as Americans wanted a president that would make them feel more secure.

7. How are developing nations primarily different from industrial nations?

 Developing nations rely primarily on agriculture. Besides that, they commonly blamed
European imperialism and American capitalism on their problems. Those countries also
required financial aid to stop them from moving to Communism.

8. Why did Eisenhower want to use covert operations to stop the spread of communism?
He knew brinkmanship could prevent war, but it could not prevent Communists from
staging revolutions within countries. As a result, he used covert operations to prevent
Communist uprisings in other countries. He also believed that helping developing nations
with American support would drive them away from Communism and the Soviet Union.