PAI 40 Fighting the Cold War at

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How did the anxieties raised by the Cold War affect life in the United

States?

• You will now experience and then read about the anxieties in the United States during the early Cold War.

• First, you will play a game in which you will form groups based on students’ secret identities. The winning group will receive a prize.

Dot Game Directions• To begin the game, you will receive a slip of

paper. Secretly check to see whether the paper is blank or has a red dot. Then hide it in your pocket and do not show it to anyone during the game.

• Nondots win the game by forming the largest group of students who are all nondots.

• Dots win the game by being the only dot in a group.

• There are more Nondots than Dots.

Dot Game Specific Procedures• Once the game starts, you will have approximately seven minutes to

form groups.• You can ask others whether they are dots or nondots, but players may

not reveal their slips of paper during the game.• You do not have to join a group, but you cannot win the game unless

you are in a group of at least two people.• You can be a part of a group only if that group agrees that you are a

member.• If you suspect that someone is a dot, report your suspicion to the

teacher. He or she will deal with the accusation appropriately.• Strategies

– During the game, you will have to ask classmates whether they are dots. Because everyone will deny being a dot, look for classmates who act suspiciously.

– If you are a dot, try to draw suspicion away from yourself and onto others.

Debrief• Nondots:

– How did you feel when you discovered you were not a dot? – What methods did you use to determine who was a dot?

• Dots: – How did you feel when you discovered you were a dot? – How did you convince others that you were not a dot?

• Everyone: – For those accused of being a dot, how did it feel? – Was it harder to be accepted into a group once you had

been tagged? – Given that there was no way to know for sure who was a

dot, why did you try so hard to convince others that certain class members were dots?

– What emotions fueled this activity? – Can you think of any time in history when something like

this occurred?

Reading• Individually, read 40.2 and complete the reading

notes on your handout.

In-Class Dot Game Historical Connection

Some students were dots. Some Americans during the Cold War were Communist Party members or Soviet spies.

Most students were nondots.

Most Americans were not Communist Party members or Soviet spies.

Students accused others of being dots though they never saw other students’ slips of paper.

HUAC, McCarthy, and others made accusations —often based only on suspicion—against Americans thought to be communists or communist sympathizers. Accusing individuals without evidence became known as McCarthyism.

Students were to report suspected dots to the teacher.

Americans were encouraged to report suspected communist activities. Those accused included Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs.

Students had sticky notes placed on them. These students were often excluded from groups.

Americans accused of being communists or communist sympathizers were often placed on blacklists.

Anxiety increased as students lost trust in one another.

Anxieties were raised during the Cold War as Americans were concerned about the spread of communism and the possibility of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.

Discussion• On a scale from 1 to 10, how concerned do you think

Americans should have been about the possibility of communist subversion and the presence of Soviet spies in the United States during the Cold War?

• Do you think the United States had the right to complete background checks and require loyalty oaths of government employees? Why or why not?

• Were the actions of the House Un-Americans Activities Committee appropriate? Why or why not?

• As in earlier wars, the Cold War raised difficult issues about how to keep the nation secure while maintaining individual freedom. Did the United States find the right balance between freedom and security during the Cold War? Why or why not?

• Duck And Cover.flv

Debrief• How might 1950s fifth graders have felt during a

duck-and-cover lesson?

• In what ways could such a lesson make you feel safer against the threat of a nuclear attack? What anxieties might have remained?

• After learning to duck and cover, how might you have tried to change how you lived your life?

• Why do you think the government would want teach such a lesson to children?

Reading• Individually, read 40.3 and complete the reading

notes on your handout.