Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to understand content and feature usage to drive site improvements over time. To learn more, review our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Origins of the Cold War

Driving Question: What led to the competition between Soviet-style communism and American capitalism?

After the Second World War, the world’s two strongest nations championed opposing visions for the world. Learn how competing ideologies, broken economies, and new weapons set the stage for a high-stakes global conflict.

Learning Objectives

  1. Use evidence to understand how economic and political systems fueled early Cold War tensions.
  2. Create arguments using historical evidence to support claims and communicate conclusions through informal writing.
  3. Use the historical thinking practices of contextualization and causation to understand a specific Cold War crisis.

Vocab Terms:

  • containment
  • decolonization
  • ideological
  • intervention
  • nuclear
  • protest
  • superpower
  • union
STEP 1

Opener: Origins of the Cold War

Coming soon!

STEP 2

What Caused the Cold War?

Dive into the early tensions that sparked the Cold War. Discover how the race for influence, clashing ideologies, and new global challenges reshaped the world after 1945.

STEP 3

Mutually Assured Destruction

The Cold War wasn’t just about politics—it was about survival. Learn how the arms and space races fueled global tensions and how leaders navigated the threat of nuclear war.

STEP 4

Closer: Origins of the Cold War

Coming soon!

Extension Materials
Checkmark Alert Banner
Take a closer look at the Cold War’s global story with a video that pulls together the key ideas and conflicts you’ve been exploring.
...

A Cold War World

The Cold War shaped the second half of the twentieth century through a fierce rivalry between two superpowers. Explore how the competition unfolded across the world.

USA vs. USSR Fight! The Cold War Crash Course World History #39 External link

We call it the Cold War, but it got pretty hot in many places. After they won the Second World War, the two superpowers decided to spend the next 45 years continuing to fight.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.