Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Cold War Erupts
World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War began immediately. Read about the mistrust Western Europe and the United States felt towards the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin. Learn how the Soviets expanded their realm of influence and...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The End of the Cold War
Read about the surprising and swift collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries beginning with Poland in 1989. Watch a map which shows the change from a single country, USSR, into many independent countries, and find out...
National Archives (UK)
National Archives Learning Curve: Cold War
Discusses different aspects of the Cold War such as "Did the Cold War really start in 1919-1939?" and "Was the Vietnam War a turning point in the Cold War?"
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Writing in u.s. History: Shaping the Postwar World
Consider how U.S. foreign policy changed in the aftermath of WWII, and analyze the philosophical, geopolitical, and economic factors that influenced these changes. In this interactive lesson from WGBH, students develop a written argument...
Other
Nearpod: The Vietnam War: Introduction to the Causes
In this lesson about the Vietnam War, students will understand the motivations behind the United States joining the conflict in Vietnam. This lesson will also discuss the role of the Cold War and communism on US policy.
A&E Television
History.com: The Mariel Boatlift: How Cold War Politics Drove Thousands of Cubans to Florida in 1980
After Fidel Castro loosened emigration policies, some 125,000 Cubans landed on U.S. shores over a span of five months. The Mariel Boatlift of 1980 was a mass emigration of Cubans to the United States. The exodus was driven by a stagnant...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Korean War
A quick overview of the Korean War, its causes, outcome, and its role in the Cold War.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: The Korean War
Learn about the first hot war in the Cold War: Korea.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: Period 9: 1980 Present: Ronald Reagan: Foreign Policy
Learn that during Reagan's years in office the Cold War began to thaw and the Middle East started to heat up.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1980 Present: Continuity and Change in the Postwar Era
How much did the events of the tumultuous postwar era reshape American national identity? Kim discusses the extent to which developments like the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, and student protests of the 1960s changed...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Huac and Hollywood
This video and support materials detail the Hollywood blacklist and House Un-American Activities Committee, chronicling the fear of Communism and resulting blacklist based on political ideology. The video is from the American Masters...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Huac: Backlash and Implications
These videos and support materials explore the intense division experienced by those who testified before and blacklisted by HUAC during the Cold War, focusing on the testimony of Elia Kazan. The videos are from American Masters None...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Read about the tense 1962 standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union that nearly resulted in nuclear war.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum: The Long Telegram
This primary source document reveals Russia's growing distrust of the United States and its desire to strengthen its position in the global community through greater military security.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Truman Library: Telegram, George Kennan to George Marshall [Pdf]
See the "long telegram" sent by George Kennan to Secretary of State George Marshall in which he expressed his unflattering view of the USSR.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: The Red Scare
A quick comprehension check over the Red Scare.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Nato: The Us
Resource gives information about the United States and its role in the Stabilization Force following the ethnic war in former Yugoslavia.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Postwar Challenges
A brief survey of the beginning of the Cold War and the challenges that faced the United States in confronting communist totalitarianism.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Kennedy's Global Challenge
The Cold War was still being waged during John Kennedy's administration. Read about the challenges he faced in Europe, Latin America, and, most ominously, in Cuba.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: The War in the East, 1861 1865
A map showing the area of the American Civil War in the east, including the major battle sites of Bulls Run Creek, Manassas Junction, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill,...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: Period 9: 1980 Present: The Gulf War
Learn about how the United States led a UN coalition to liberate Kuwait from Iraq in 1991.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: Period 9: 1980 Present: The Iran Contra Affair
Learn how Reagan's administration was embroiled in scandal when it came to light that the United States had sold weapons to Iran and funneled the money to Nicaraguan rebels.
Digital History
Digital History: Years of Decision [Pdf]
This site is from a unit that covers the period from the Second World War up to the Cold War. It looks at relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the thinking of their leaders. Students are asked to consider five...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Anticommunism in the 1950s
Learn about the Rosenberg trial, HUAC, and Joseph McCarthy.