The Cold War

The Cold War looms large in 20th century history, and especially in our understanding of American history. The Cold War impacted both the U.S. approach to the world and America’s domestic politics and culture. Which of these – U.S. foreign policy or U.S. domestic life – do you find were impacted the most by the Cold War? In other words, which changed more because of the Cold War, American foreign policy or American society? In answering this question you may elect to write about just the early Cold War era, to pick and choose other key moments during the Cold War, or to cover the entire Cold War period. Either way, be sure to consider the Cold War both as an international conflict and as a domestic affair, and to incorporate specific examples from the readings and podcasts in order to support your arguments.