■ COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS ■

1. Question

   Compare NSC-68 with George Kennan’s telegram (Document 25-1) and John Foster Dulles’s speech (Document 25-5) to form an argument about the point of view of American policymakers at the start of the Cold War. What did they see as the stakes involved in this global war with the Soviet Union? What strategies did they embrace in countering the Soviet threat?

2. Question

   Assess the consequences of the Cold War for the United States and the world. To what extent did the Cold War promote or hinder American interests? What effect did the Cold War have on America’s domestic politics?

3. Question

   Analyze the goals of U.S. policymakers over the course of the Cold War. To what extent were their goals achieved? How did U.S. internationalism affect America’s role in global affairs?

4. Question

   Was ideology or economics the driving force shaping America’s foreign policy in the decades following World War II? Explain.