A Guide to Primary Resources for U.S. History : Kennedy and the Cold War Marquette University: The Kennedy Assassination Project Attempting to contextualize President John Kennedy within the realm of the Cold War, this resource presents Kennedy as an aggressive "Cold Warrior." It contains helpful background material, but most importantly, provides students with a chance to examine the "Cold Warrior" argument with the use of their textbooks and other resources, and discuss the issue of "historiographical slant" which is just as present on the World Wide Web as in textbooks and historical monographs. During a lesson on JFK's foreign policy and/or the Vietnam War, the teacher could provide the following excerpt from this reading (a quote from JFK's biographer Thomas Reeves): "Given his belief in the global struggle between east and west, his acceptance of the domino theory, his conviction that Vietnam was the testing ground for combating 'wars of national liberation,' his often zealous commitment to counterinsurgency, and his determination to never appear soft on communism, Jack might well have been compelled, as conditions worsened, to commit more American troops to Vietnam. It is clear that his harsh public rhetoric made disengagement more difficult. And his clumsy and unprincipled acquiescence in the coup tied the United States closely to the eight military governments that briefly succeeded Diem. (A Question of Character, p. 411)" The teacher could then ask students to describe the following terms from the quote in their own words (either on paper or with a partner): a) Domino theory; b) Wars of national liberation; c) Soft on communism. Finally, the teacher can ask students to interpret the general mood of the president and the country while JFK was in office and leading up to the Vietnam War. This is a relatively long text with a number of references to Cold War historical events, with which the students may or may not be familiar. In order to help students organize the international and domestic events mentioned in the text, the teacher can ask students to create an annotated timeline entitled "Kennedy and the Cold War." It might be easiest if the students could create the timeline in the form of a PowerPoint presentation or in a Word Document, so that they could import images from the Internet.

Kennedy and the Cold War
Marquette University: The Kennedy Assassination Project

Description: Attempting to contextualize President John Kennedy within the realm of the Cold War, this resource presents Kennedy as an aggressive "Cold Warrior." It contains helpful background material, but most importantly, provides students with a chance to examine the "Cold Warrior" argument with the use of their textbooks and other resources, and discuss the issue of "historiographical slant" which is just as present on the World Wide Web as in textbooks and historical monographs.

Teaching Tips:

"Do Now" Suggestion

During a lesson on JFK's foreign policy and/or the Vietnam War, the teacher could provide the following excerpt from this reading (a quote from JFK's biographer Thomas Reeves): "Given his belief in the global struggle between east and west, his acceptance of the domino theory, his conviction that Vietnam was the testing ground for combating 'wars of national liberation,' his often zealous commitment to counterinsurgency, and his determination to never appear soft on communism, Jack might well have been compelled, as conditions worsened, to commit more American troops to Vietnam. It is clear that his harsh public rhetoric made disengagement more difficult. And his clumsy and unprincipled acquiescence in the coup tied the United States closely to the eight military governments that briefly succeeded Diem. (A Question of Character, p. 411)" The teacher could then ask students to describe the following terms from the quote in their own words (either on paper or with a partner): a) Domino theory; b) Wars of national liberation; c) Soft on communism. Finally, the teacher can ask students to interpret the general mood of the president and the country while JFK was in office and leading up to the Vietnam War.

Suggestion for Using this Resource as Part of a Lesson

This is a relatively long text with a number of references to Cold War historical events, with which the students may or may not be familiar. In order to help students organize the international and domestic events mentioned in the text, the teacher can ask students to create an annotated timeline entitled "Kennedy and the Cold War." It might be easiest if the students could create the timeline in the form of a PowerPoint presentation or in a Word Document, so that they could import images from the Internet.