Ideology, the Communist Bloc, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan and the Berlin Blockade to 1949

What this note covers

1. Ideological foundations of the US–Soviet rivalry
2. The emergence of the Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe
3. Containment and the Truman Doctrine, 1947
4. The Marshall Plan and the economic front of the Cold War
5. The Berlin Blockade and Airlift, 1948–49: a worked case study
6. Consequences: divided Germany and the birth of NATO
7. Weighing historians' interpretations of Cold War origins
8. How this content is examined and what separates a top response

8 sections · 12 key terms & formulas · 6 common mistakes