Instructions for Primary Source Assignment 3:

For Primary Source Assignment 3, read the three documents linked below and examine the image located below. Using the primary documents, the image, the textbook, and the videos (optional), write an essay answering all of the prompts listed below. Grades will be based on the content of the answers and must be more than 400 words in length (400 for the whole assignment, not 400 for each question). Direct quotes do not count toward the required word count.

Documents:

Document1-FourFreedoms.docx

Document2-LongTelegram.docx

Document3-NSC68.docx

Document4-Eisenhower-Farewell.docx

Video Link:

Here is the actual footage of Dwight D. Eisenhower delivering his 1961 “Farewell Address” – https://www.c-span.org/video/?15026-1/president-dwight-eisenhower-farewell-address (Document 4 is a transcript of this speech)

Assignment Prompts:

Remember to address all 4 prompts in your paper.

1. In Document 1, how does Franklin D. Roosevelt characterize World War II and the threat posed by fascism and Nazi Germany? Had he survived, do you think Roosevelt would have characterized the Cold War and the Soviet Union in the same way? Why, or why not?

2. Describe the primary arguments explained in Documents 2 and 3. How does Kennan explain the threat of the Soviet Union and communism? How does he characterize the weaknesses of the Soviet system? How do Kennan and the NSC (Document 3) suggest the United States respond to the perceived threat of the Soviet Union and communism?

3. Using the textbook, provide some specific examples of how the ideas in documents 2 and 3 shaped U.S. foreign policy from 1945-1960.

4. In his farewell speech (video and Document 4), what does Eisenhower say about the Cold War? How does his message reflect the ideas from Documents 2 and 3? What warnings does he give for the future? How does Eisenhower’s speech relate to Roosevelt’s (Document 1)?