Iron Curtain Separates Europe

1. What is your overall impression of Source 26 (p. 70) and use extracts from the source to support your view. (No fence sitting; you must choose one but not both)      


I believe it is exactly what Stalin was planning to do. The evidence of his actions in Eastern Europe show that he's willing to be aggressive in order to spread Communism. His unwillingness to accept non-communist governments bordering the Soviet Union was evident and he made it clear that he wanted to spread Communism around the world. 


  
2. Source 26 is a British source. Does it seem likely that similar documents were being produced by the American government?      
Most likely similar documents were being produced. We were close allies with Britain and probably had similar views. Not to mention Truman was very anti-communist and anti-communism was a popular ideal at this time in America.



3. Study Source 27 (p. 71) and make a list of three different actions that Communists took to achieve power in eastern Europe. Explain how each factor helped.     
1.) Imprisoning opposition leaders and Church leaders in Hungary. - This ensured that the Communist party was the only one in the "free" elections so they would definitely come to power.

2.) Banning all other parties in Czechoslovakia. - This way Czechoslovakia became a one party state run totally and completely by the Communist.

3.) Executing the other members of a left wing coalition in Bulgaria. - By executing the other leaders, the Communists were able to ride them to power then keep power after their death since the coalition had been elected as a whole. 

Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference

1. Choose two points of agreement from the list and explain why they were significant for the future peace of Europe.      

First Point: As countries were liberated from occupation by the German army, they would be allowed to hold free elections to choose the government they wanted. This agreement allowed for democracy to spread in Europe. It also helped to prevent the Soviets from implementing Communist puppet governments. If this agreement had not been reached, the Communists would have tried to keep more of Eastern Europe than they did.      



Second Point: The Big Three agreed to join the United Nations. These three leaders were the most powerful leaders in the world, therefore all three joining an organization made for keeping the peace was influential. Without these three nations the United Nations would not have enough power to actually maintain peace.



2. Read Sources 2 - 11 on pages 320 and 321. What is your overall impression of the Yalta Conference based on these sources?
Based on these sources, I think the Yalta Conference was based on deception on all fronts. Stalin knew that Churchill and Roosevelt were anti-communist and distrusted their intentions. Roosevelt and Churchill distrusted Stalin because he was such a powerful and influential force in Eastern Europe. However, all three knew that for the sake of the world, it was necessary to put up a front of there being absolutely no disagreement between them to show everyone that the world powers were strong and united.        

America Enters World War II

1. What impact did the outbreak of war in Europe have on U.S. foreign and defense policy?   
Based on the Germany and the axis powers' aggressive acts in Europe, the U.S.A. wanted to support the Allies in any way possible while still keeping their neutral position. With this idea in mind, Roosevelt was able to pass the "cash and carry" provision in the Neutrality Act so that the United States was still able to give weapons to the Allies without being part of the war officially. America also boosted its defense spending as Germany and the Axis powers became more and more aggressive in case they made an attack on the United States.


2. Why did Roosevelt take one “unneutral” step after another to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941?    
Roosevelt chose to support Britain and the Soviet Union  because he wanted to help end the war quickly before America had to get involved. He wanted to take steps that would please the isolationist but also help win the war, which is why these steps were "unneutral" as opposed to acts of war. Roosevelt also considered Hitler an enemy of democracy, so he chose to support anyone who stood against him, including Stalin.


3. Why was the Atlantic Charter important?   
The Atlantic Charter was essentially the beginning of the U.S. entering the war. The charter was an agreement between Churchill and Roosevelt essentially saying that the two countries would support each other during wartime. This Charter also led to the Declaration of the United Nations, led 26 countries to officially claim their opposition to the Axis powers.

4. Why did the United States enter into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall 1941?   
The U.S. entered into a shooting war against Germany in 1941 because the U-Boats were attacking American Navy and merchant ships. With each attack they were killing more and more people until Roosevelt had no choice but to instruct the Navy to shoot U-Boats on sight. Eventually the senate came around and allowed Merchant ships to be armed as well. 


5. How was oil a source of conflict between Japan and the United States?   
With Britain busy fighting against Germany, Japan decided to expand its lands into southeast Asia where there were unprotected British colonial lands. The U.S. had to find a non-war method of fighting against this newfound aggression, so they used an embargo on supplies. The most important supply being cut off was oil, and this angered the Japanese. They needed oil for their war machines, so they would either forcefully make the U.S. stop the embargo or seize more land which was oil-bearing. 


6. What problem would the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solve for Roosevelt? What new problems would it create?  

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solved the problem of the increasingly popular idea of isolationism in America. With this very obvious attack from an Axis power, Roosevelt finally had good reason to declare war, and reason that the senate would support. However, since Japan made the first attack, it was clear that Roosevelt had to fight in both Europe and the Pacific. In order to do so he needed a larger Navy and Air Force and more infantry for the land battles in Europe.