Interpretations

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Created by
Poppy

Cards (9)

  • Cold War:
    US orthodox view (1940-60)
    Main features:
    • Blames USSR, communism is bad
    • Stalin deliberately took actions to provoke the USA
    Thomas Bailey:
    • Said USSR wanted world revolution and caused war through expansion into eastern Europe
    Why:
    • Lack of sources
    • Personal experience
  • Cold War:
    US revisionist view (1960-70)
    Main features:
    • Orthodox historians overstated Soviet threat
    • USA provoked war by achieving economic dominance in ’Open-door policy:
    • Truman’s tough attitude made Soviets feel threatened
    Why:
    • Vietnam war - people didn’t trust government
    • Cuban crisis - William Appleman said US seemed more like an aggressive-empire building power
  • Cold war:
    Post-revisionist view (1970-1989)
    Main features:
    • Gladdis took elements of both interpretations and put them together
    • Rejected view that Cold war was caused solely by US aggression and expansionism
    • USA overreacted to Soviet actions
    • Responsibility for cold war was the beliefs and actions of USSR
    Why:
    • Thawing of the cold war - Détente
  • Cold war:
    The new Cold War historians (1989-)
    Main features:
    • Can’t be sure
    • Just confirms what people already thought
    Why:
    • Access to Soviet archives
  • Appeasement:
    Popular majority view (1937-38)
    Main features:
    • Chamberlain was a hero from signing Munich agreement
    Why:
    • People did not want another war
    • Thought Munich agreement brought only chance of peace
  • Appeasement:
    Popular and Political view (1939-48)
    Main features:
    • Appeasement was foolish and cowardly
    Why:
    • Chamberlain was used as a scape-goat
    • People were ashamed of what had happened in Munich
  • Appeasement:
    The orthodox view (1948-60)
    Main features:
    • Churchill’s view
    • Did not say Chamberlain was weak
    • Argued Chamberlain was motivated by good intentions but had miscalculated and misjudged Hitler
    Why:
    • Cold war emerging
    • ‘Churchill factor’
  • Appeasement:
    Academic revisionist view (1960-90)
    Main features:
    • Appeasement was right because it gave Britain time to build armed forces
    • Cameron said Chamberlain was very limited in his options
    • Chamberlain can’t be blamed for not knowing Hitler’s plans
    Why:
    • USA’s dislike of appeasement drew them into Vietnam War
    • New British sources
    • Radical thinking
  • Appeasement:
    Counter-revisionist view (1990-2000)
    Main features:
    • Chamberlain overrated his abilities to convince Hitler into being reasonable
    • Chamberlain ignored advice
    Why:
    • New Soviet sources