How did the Cold War begin, and what was the American policy of containment?
Analyze the origins of the Cold War, the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the policy of containment, including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO (TEKS US History RC1 History; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on the origins of the Cold War for the Texas US History EOC: the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, the iron curtain, and the policy of containment through the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO, with worked stimulus questions.
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What this topic is asking
World War II ended with two superpowers and a new kind of conflict. The TEKS want you to explain the origins of the Cold War, the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the American policy of containment, including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. This is a Reporting Category 1 (History) topic with strong Government ties.
From allies to rivals
The United States and the Soviet Union had been allies against Nazi Germany, but they were deeply opposed in ideology and after 1945 became rivals.
The iron curtain
Containment
The tools of containment
Three early programs put containment into practice:
- The Truman Doctrine (1947): President Truman pledged US aid to nations resisting communist takeover, beginning with Greece and Turkey. It committed the United States to defend the free world against communism.
- The Marshall Plan: the United States gave billions of dollars to rebuild Western Europe after the war, on the logic that prosperous, stable nations would resist communism, so recovery contained Soviet influence.
- NATO (1949): the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance in which the United States and Western European nations pledged to defend one another against attack (the Soviets later formed the Warsaw Pact in response).
The significance
These policies marked a permanent end to American isolationism. The United States now led a global coalition against communism, an engagement that drove its foreign policy, military, and economy for the rest of the century and led directly to the Cold War conflicts (see Cold War conflicts).
Try this
Q1. Define containment. [1]
- Cue. The US policy of stopping the spread of communism beyond where it already existed, rather than directly attacking the Soviet Union.
Q2. Explain how the Marshall Plan supported containment. [2]
- Cue. It gave billions in aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II, because prosperous, stable countries were less likely to turn to communism, so the recovery contained Soviet influence.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of TEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
STAAR (US History, style)1 marksThe Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO were all part of the American Cold War policy ofShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 1, History; Category 3, Government).
Correct answer: containment, the policy of stopping the spread of communism.
Markers reward identifying these three as tools of containment: the Truman Doctrine pledged aid to nations resisting communism, the Marshall Plan rebuilt Western Europe to resist it, and NATO was a military alliance against Soviet expansion. Distractors such as "appeasement" or "isolationism" describe the opposite of containment.
STAAR (US History, style)2 marksPart A: What was the policy of containment? Part B: Explain how the Marshall Plan supported containment.Show worked answer →
A two-part evidence-based item (Reporting Category 1, History; Category 3, Government).
Part A (1 point): containment was the US policy of preventing the spread of communism beyond where it already existed, rather than directly attacking the Soviet Union.
Part B (1 point): explain that the Marshall Plan gave billions in economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II, because prosperous, stable countries were less likely to turn to communism, so rebuilding them contained Soviet influence.
Markers reward a clear definition of containment and a specific link between economic recovery and resisting communism.
Related dot points
- Analyze the major Cold War conflicts, including the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War, and the arms race and space race (TEKS US History RC1 History; RC4 Science, Technology, and Society).
A STAAR-level answer on Cold War conflicts for the Texas US History EOC: the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the arms race and space race, all understood through the policy of containment, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the second Red Scare and McCarthyism, including loyalty investigations and the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the resulting tension between national security and civil liberties (TEKS US History RC3 Government and Citizenship; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on McCarthyism for the Texas US History EOC: the second Red Scare, fear of communism at home, Senator Joseph McCarthy's accusations, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the clash between national security and civil liberties, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the African American civil rights movement, including Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, nonviolent protest, and leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall (TEKS US History RC3 Government and Citizenship; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on the civil rights movement for the Texas US History EOC: the end of legal segregation through Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, the March on Washington, and leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the Pacific theater, the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the consequences of the war, including the founding of the United Nations (TEKS US History RC1 History; RC4 Science, Technology, and Society).
A STAAR-level answer on the Pacific theater and the atomic bomb for the Texas US History EOC: the island-hopping campaign, the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the arguments for and against it, the end of the war, and its consequences including the United Nations, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the major turning points of the war in Europe, including D-Day, and the Holocaust as a genocide carried out by Nazi Germany (TEKS US History RC1 History; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on the European theater and the Holocaust for the Texas US History EOC: major turning points such as the D-Day invasion, the defeat of Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust as the genocide of six million Jews and millions of others, with worked stimulus questions.
Sources & how we know this
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, United States History Studies Since 1877 (19 TAC 113.41) — Texas Education Agency (2018)
- STAAR US History Blueprint Effective as of Academic Year 2022 to 2023 — Texas Education Agency (2022)