Cold War Paper Topics for History Courses
Turning a Question Into a Narrowly Focused Thesis Statement
The assignment is to research and write a history paper on the Cold War and this term paper weighs heavily in the overall grade percentage. The scenario is enough to intimidate novice paper writers into dropping the class. But it doesn’t have to be that way if students follow basic procedures that begin with the selection of a focused, narrow topic.
Students ask if they can eke seven, ten, or fifteen pages out of “Causes of the Korean War.” The answer is a resounding “yes.” Entire books have been written on this subject. Coming up with a paper topic involves a basic question: what, why, how, when, who, and where. Some helpful tips are given below.
Begin with a Focused Question
- Did the Cold War begin at the Yalta Conference?
- What events caused President Truman to proclaim the Truman Doctrine?
- Why did Republicans oppose the Marshall Plan?
- What were the goals of the Marshall Plan?
- Was the Marshall Plan effective?
- What warnings and recommendations were given in Churchill’s “Iron Curtain Speech?
- How did the acquisition of an atomic bomb by Russia change US Cold War strategy?
- How did the Cold War “arms race” lead to civil defense and bomb shelters?
- Did Sputnik promote the “Space Race” and NASA?
- How could “brinkmanship” lead to World War III?
- Was the Korean War preventable?
- Did John F. Kennedy escalate nuclear proliferation?
- Did the Vietnam experience illustrate the Domino Theory?
Each of these topics focus on an aspect of the Cold War between 1945 and 1964. All of the topics are general enough to enable students to locate many sources, both books and through the internet. Yet each topic is highly focused and enables students to narrow the search in order to concentrate solely on the question.
Turning the Question into a Thesis
Starting with a question allows students to isolate research material. Once the question has been researched, it can be turned into a thesis statement that will dominate the first paragraph of the paper:
“How did President Jimmy Carter’s emphasis on human rights alter U.S. foreign policy?”
Possible thesis statements, based on research and opinion, might be:
- By emphasizing human rights, the Carter administration abandoned traditional alliances with Nicaragua and Iran
- Injecting state morality into foreign affairs helped Jimmy Carter to negotiate the Camp David Accords
- President Carter’s radical departure from traditional Cold War assumptions was a victory for the Soviet Union
- Many Americans opposed Carter administration decisions such as the boycott of the Moscow Olympics
Once the question becomes a narrow, focused thesis statement, it is up to the student to prove the thesis in the body of the paper, providing ample “evidence” from unbiased sources as well as original source documents.
Final Cold War Years Topics
- Did Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush “win” the Cold War?
- Was Mikhail Gorbachev responsible for losing the Cold War for Russia?
- What was the impact of defense spending for the US and the USSR in the final years of the Cold War?
- Can the Cold War be revived as post-modern Russia grows economically?
- How will future historical studies evaluate the impact of the Cold War on Globalism?
- Was the world safer during the Cold War?
Each of these topics requires more research because they connect the final years of the Cold War with contemporary events. Additionally, critical analysis may be needed to convince the reader.
Writing a history research paper is never an easy assignment. But by starting with a focused question, researching the material, and turning the question into a viable thesis, students can create solidly argued papers guaranteed to earn top scores.
Research Leads to the Formation of a Thesis
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