Cold War Containment Point of View Analysis

Students will read and analyze two points of view on what America's approach towards the Soviet Union should be at the start of the Cold War by answering 41 questions and completing an extension task. The excerpts are from Henry Wallace in 1946 and George Kennan in 1947. The answers are included where appropriate.  

Sample questions include:
--Is America more secure now that it has an atom bomb, why or why not?
--How will peace be measured and why? 
--Why might Wallace have explicitly stated that his suggestion was not a policy of appeasement?
--Identify the main point of the 7th paragraph.
--What is Russia building up and why is it relevant to Americans?
--When the Soviet Union is weak enough, what steps can America take and why?
--Rewrite the second to last paragraph in your own words to demonstrate understanding.
--Which of Wallace’s points/arguments is the strongest and why?
--Which of Kennan’s point/arguments is the weakest and why? How could it be strengthened?
--Which of Wallace’s points does Kennan most and least effectively counter and why?

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