1. “Learning to Lead our Lives”
Title Truman on Trial
Skill: Citizenship
NGfL: USA
All images/ cartoons are believed to be in the public domain. Many of the images were
sourced from the internet encyclopedia wikipedia at

2. The classroom will be set up as below. You all have a part to play!
Prosecution lawyers must create speeches that show that Truman is guilty
Defence lawyers must create speeches to prove that he is innocent!
Witnesses must work with witness lawyers to create witness statements / question and answer scripts to show that Truman is guilty / innocent.
Jury
Prosecution lawyers
Defendant:
Truman
Defence lawyers
Court
Clerk
Witness stand
Judge

3. The Marshall Plan
In March 1947, Truman made a speech outlining his beliefs about communism (the Truman Doctrine). His speech made jt clear that the USA would be actively involved in the internal affairs of other countries in order to stop the spread of Communism.
Inspired by this speech, and a visit to Europe during which he saw the terrible suffering of many in post-war Europe, George Marshall, the Secretary of State (pictured), designed a scheme to send Aid to European countries. The Aid was designed to relieve suffering in Europe so that Europeans would be less likely to turn to communism to solve their problems, and more likely to work closely with America.
Under the European Recover Program (ERP), or Marshall Plan, $12.5 billion of Marshall Aid was sent to 16 European countries.
U.S. postage stamp issued 1997 honoring the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. USPS holds the copyright, but it is believed that these stamps may be exhibited under the fair use provision of United States copyright law.
Average income in these countries improved 33%
Aid was offered to Eastern Europe and Russia, but Stalin suspected (rightly) that America was merely trying to undermine Soviet control over Europe with the Aid, and Stalin wouldn’t allow any Eastern European country to accept it. Tensions grew.
How does this evidence show that Truman was or wasn’t responsible for the Cold War?

4. The Truman Doctrine
A Greek communist, who is intending to overthrow the corrupt Greek government. The US supported the Greek government. Wikipedia permission granted to use under the GNU Free Documentation License .
In March 1947, Truman was worried
about the USSR’s attempts to gain
control over Greece and Turkey. He
didn’t want communism to gain control over any more areas of the world, and so he made a speech to Congress saying that the US would act to stop Communism spreading. Here are some excerpts:
“The very existence of the Greek state is today threatened by the terrorist activities of several thousand armed men, led by communists … Greece must have assistance … The US must supply this assistance … The peoples of a number of countries have recently had totalitarian regimes [communist dictatorships] forced upon them against their will … I believe that it must b the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation [communist takeovers].”
There was complete silence in Congress during the speech.
Truman’s supporters claimed that the US needed to “get tough” on communism to stop it spreading. However, the Truman Doctrine sometimes meant that the US ended up supporting corrupt governments just because they were against the communists (as in Greece in 1947). This wasn’t promoting democracy, which the US also stood for.
How does this evidence show that Truman was or wasn’t responsible for the Cold War?

5. NATO and the Warsaw Pact
In March 1947, Truman was worried about the USSR’s attempts to gain control over Greece and Turkey. He didn’t want communism to gain control over any more areas of the world, and so he made a speech to Congress saying that America would act to stop Communism spreading.
Truman’s attitude towards communism encouraged the US to consider setting up a military alliance to deter the USSR from attacking any Western European nation.
In 1949, America recruited many West European countries into NATO, an military organisation intended to oppose any Soviet attack into Western Europe, across the Iron Curtain. UK, France, Canada and, in 1954, West Germany all joined.
NATO stood for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, because all member countries were situated around the North Atlantic area.
The NATO Summit in NATO’s symbol can be seen in the centre. Wikipedia, public domain.
Under NATO, plans were made to use tactical nuclear weapons to destroy the Soviet tanks if they ever poured through the main communication routes into West Germany.
Stalin viewed NATO as a clear threat to him. In 1955, he set up the Communist equivalent of NATO, the Warsaw Pact. All Eastern European countries and Russia joined this.
How does this evidence show that Truman was or wasn’t responsible for the Cold War?

6. The Partition of Germany and the Berlin Blockade
The way Germany was dealt with after WW2 caused much friction between the USSR and US. At the Yalta conference in February 1945, when Roosevelt was President, it was agreed that conquered Germany should be split into 4 sections, to be controlled by the US, France, Britain and the USSR.
How Germany and Berlin were divided after WW2. MCS copyright!
The Partition of Germany and
the Berlin Blockade
British sector
French sector
Russian sector
US sector
Berlin
This encouraged the USSR to take over other areas of Eastern Europe, as well as West Berlin, which was Allied land inside Soviet-controlled territory! In April 1948, Stalin cut all land routes to West Berlin, trying to force the Allies to leave (the Berlin blockade). Truman ordered that millions of tons of supplies should be flown in to help the West Berliners (the Berlin airlift). In September 1949, Stalin finally gave in and allowed the land routes to open.
The Allies joined their sectors to form the Federal Republic of German (West Germany) and the USSR made East Germany the German Democratic Republic. Germany was divided: Stalin had failed to take over Germany.
.How does this evidence show that Truman was and wasn’t responsible for the Cold War?

7. A war of words!
Stettin was on the North German coast, Trieste was in West Germany. Churchill meant that Soviet control had fallen right across Eastern Europe, and that it was “iron”.
Stalin was offended by the speech, and in an interview said that Chuchill’s speech was warmongering, a call to arms against the Soviet Union. The war of words had begun!
How does this evidence show that Truman was or wasn’t responsible for the Cold War?
In February 1946, Stalin made a speech which claimed that capitalism made war inevitable. US state officials were alarmed and asked a Soviet expert called George Kennan to report on Stalin’s foreign policy. Kennan telegrammed back an 8,000 word response (the “Long Telegram”), which predicted a lengthy, life and death struggle between democracy and communism. Copies of the Long Telegram were distributed all over the government.
By March 1946, the USSR had taken over much of Eastern Europe. Winston Churchill, the ex-PM of the UK, was worried about this. In a famous speech in Missouri, US, with Truman sitting next to him, he said:
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”
Wikipedia Public domain

8. The atomic age!
Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, fairly close to Russia, was an aggressive move on the part of Truman. Stalin was immediately very worried by the potential of this American super weapon, and ordered that research into the Russian atomic bomb should go full steam ahead. This incident placed relations between the US and USSR on a poor footing. The Russians developed their atomic bomb in The atomic age had started.
During the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, Truman learned that American scientists had developed the first atomic bomb, a project begun many years before. He smugly informed Stalin that America had a secret new weapon, and left the conference quickly, in order to go to inspect the weapon. Truman left so quickly that he failed to ensure that Stalin was clear about arrangements concerning Eastern Europe. Stalin left the Potsdam conference without a very high impression of Truman, believing that Truman had agreed that Eastern Europe was in the USSR’s sphere of influence. This encouraged Stalin to take over Eastern Europe from 1945 – 1948.
On 6th and 9th August 1945, Truman authorised 2 atomic bombs to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagaskai, both towns in Japan. This saved the lives of many American soldiers who would have died tried to storm Japan by force, and it also prevented Stalin from taking over Japan.
How
does
this
evidence
show
that
Truman
was or
wasn’t
responsible
for
the
Cold War?