On Sunday, October 14, 1962, an American U-2 aircraft, flying a photographic reconnaissance mission over Cuba, took 928 images (one is included with this article). The next day, analysts at the National Photographic Interpretation Center concluded that the photographs showed evidence of Soviet missile site construction in Cuba and conveyed their…

The parage of foreign policy usually skipped rural Iowa, but on September 23, 1959, the eyes of the nation focused on Coon Rapids. Invited guests, curious onlookers, anxious reporters and photographers surrounded Roswell and Elizabeth Garst's white, wooden farmhouse. More than 700 National Guardsmen lined the highway between Des Moines and Garst's…

Reports on the Soviet Union's role in the Korean War using the resources of the Soviet-era archives in Russia. Provides historical background about the pre-Korean War era, the start of the war, the Soviet-Chinese relationship, the air and ground battles, and the reasons for ending the Korean War. (CMK)

Considers issues involved in the Korean War. Examines who was responsible for the war's onset, Soviet and Chinese involvement in North Korea's plan for war, the reasons why the United States and China entered the war, the effects on the rapprochement between the United States and China, and longer-term implications. (CMK)

Presents a summary and sample teaching document from Todd Bennett's "Culture, Power, and 'Mission to Moscow': Film and Soviet-American Relations during World War II" from the Journal of American History. Focuses on the ties between World War II diplomacy and popular culture by focusing on the movie "Mission to Moscow." (CMK)

Appraises the long and prosperous sea trade between tsarist Russia and post-revolutionary United States. Freed from their obligatory contracts with Great Britain, the United States began actively importing Russian rope and iron. Trade between the two countries was so prevalent that Anglican churches were built in St. Petersburg for U.S. sailors.…

This student booklet and teacher's guide examine the causes and the aftermath of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The first two sections of the student booklet briefly summarize the Cold War and describe the unfulfilled promises of Mikhail Gorachev's "perestroika," the rising discontent among the people, and the birth of…