Core Themes

20th Century Conflicts

This theme will address post-World War II military conflicts and United States foreign policy. Using documents such as the Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech, George Kennan's "Long Telegram," and Nickolai Novikov's "Novikov Telegram," civil defense scrapbooks, anti-communist propaganda and the physical and visual remnants of America's space initiatives, teachers will examine the personalities and events that defined American Cold War culture. These will include: Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Robert McNamara and George Kennan; the domestic and foreign policy causes and consequences of the U.S.-Soviet struggle as manifested in both homeland initiatives such as the Space Race; and foreign military conflicts including the Korean Conflict and Vietnam.