HIS 4935 Senior Seminar / Dr. Shannon

During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies against the Axis Powers. While they were allies during the war they were politically at odds with one another. "By the time World War II ended, most American officials agreed that the best defense against the Soviet threat was a strategy called “containment.” In his famous “Long Telegram,” the diplomat George Kennan (1904-2005) explained the policy: The Soviet Union, he wrote, was “a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus vivendi [agreement between parties that disagree].” As a result, America’s only choice was the “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.” “It must be the policy of the United States,” he declared before Congress in 1947, “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation…by outside pressures.” This way of thinking would shape American foreign policy for the next four decades" Cold War History.

The purpose of this guide is to provide you, the researcher, with the ability to do research on the subject of the Cold War. You will have the ability to search the library catalog and access our databases and journals all from within this course guide.  This guide will also provide you with a list of Cold War Primary Source Websites, along with important information regarding library services and departments that may prove useful to you while you are doing your research.

Sincerely, 

Lawrence Mello, M.A., M.L.S.
Librarian Liaison for the FAU History Department