Access to primary sources is one of the cornerstones of historical research. Until the arrival of the Internet and digitization, many primary sources were available only in large research libraries and archives, and students and scholars had to travel to the institutions holding these sources in order to do research. This situation has changed…

Historians of American foreign relations are continuing to expand the ways in which they approach the Cold War. The range of perspectives has evolved thanks to the influence of emerging fields and new emphases in history. The end of the Cold War revealed the many ways in which the conflict was a protracted global war. But it also brought a renewed…

On May 1, 2011, a group of U.S. soldiers boarded helicopters at a base in Afghanistan, hoping to find a man named Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network, was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including those of September 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.…

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…

This article presents an interview with Beatrice Beach Szekely, a comparative education scholar that specialized in the Soviet Union. She was editor of the journal "Soviet Education" from 1970 to 1989. During the interview, Szekely talked about how she became personally involved in Russian/Soviet studies of education. She related that…

The United States and China each play a vital role in the other's security strategy and share a desire to deter the Soviet Union from the use of force against other nations. Washington and Beijing Peking must stabilize their bilateral relations and hold regular consultations to understand each other's security strategy. (SR)

The primary source document reproduced here consists of the first two pages of a briefing notebook prepared for President Eisenhower outlining the issues to be raised with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during his visit to the United States in 1959. Teaching activities are suggested. (RM)

Presents an interview of the authors regarding their forthcoming book, including biographical sketches of Dean Acheson, Averell Harriman, Robert Lovett, George Kennan, John McCloy, and Charles Bohlen, all charter members of the post-World War II foreign policy establishment. (JDH)

From the Soviet perspective arms control agreements merely hold the United States in check while the Soviets, who don't feel bound by such agreements, obtain military advantages. The United States must move quickly to redress the strategic military balance that now favors the Soviets. We must emphasize areas like space. (RM)

If the United States can lower its expectations just enough, it can put together a series of agreements which will constitute an arms control breakthrough that will serve our interests for decades to come. (Author/RM)

Nuclear war is unthinkable, psychologically unfeasible, and untenable technically; conventional war against the Russians is impossible. Therefore, time and money should not be spent preparing for confrontation. Proposals are made for redirecting funds. (RM)

Efforts of the United States since the end of World War II to advance the arms control process are discussed. There are five major sections. The first section recounts past arms control efforts--those that have worked and those that have not--and discusses the principles underlying U.S. arms control initiatives. The second section describes the…

Explains the "Truman Doctrine" speech within the context of Truman's presidential speaking during his first two years in office. Explores the philosophical and psychological factors underlying Truman's reticence to comment on deteriorating U.S.--U.S.S.R. relations. Concludes that Truman failed at the central task of the rhetorical…

Presents passages from the memoirs of Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev which reveal their recollections regarding the famous "Kitchen Debate." Provides activity suggestions which help students analyze the contrasting points of view presented. (JDH)

States that autobiographies such as Patricia Hampl's may be the best source of information for revealing the effects of the Cold War on the American psyche. Maintains that such works may help counteract the narrow and naive view of superpower relations youth gain from such movies as "Rocky" and "Rambo." (JDH)