Origins and escalation of the Cold War, 1945–1963

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Explain the historical context for the emergence of the Cold War after 1945, including wartime tensions, ideological conflict, and disputes over the postwar settlement in Europe and Asia.
Explain the causes and consequences of the United States policy of containment, including the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin airlift, and the creation of collective-security and national-security institutions such as NATO and the National Security Act.

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Evaluate the extent to which anti-communism shaped U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics, including loyalty investigations, McCarthyism, and public debate over security and civil liberties.

Explain the continuities and changes in Cold War strategy from Truman through Kennedy, including brinkmanship, massive retaliation, covert intervention, the nuclear arms race, Sputnik, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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