Chapter 27 Links to the Past

The Links to the Past on this CD are meant to provide additional information about the period covered in this chapter. These links are not intended to match the Links to the Past feature in your text.

A Blueprint for National Security in the Cold War: NSC-68

Drafted in the spring of 1950 by Paul Nitze, head of the State Department’s policy planning staff, the lengthy document called National Security Council 68 established both a cold-war rhetorical style and a blueprint for policies designed to enlarge U.S. power in the world.

1. The early sections of NSC-68 (“Fundamental Purpose of the United States” and “Fundamental Design of the Kremlin”) describe the conflict between U.S. and Soviet aims. Describe the highly emotive language used and discuss why you think a top-secret, classified document might rely upon such language to make its case.

2. How might this language have both reflected and affected the cold-war events outlined in this chapter?

3. Consider each of the recommendations in section “IX. Possible Courses of Action.” Describe the various policies that comprise the last recommendation (“D. The Remaining Course of Action – A Rapid Build-up of Political, Economic, and Military Strength in the Free World”) and discuss their potential effects abroad.

4. How might each of these policies have affected America’s domestic politics and society?

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