Two Systems

Compare communism and democracy, and the problem of spread.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 60

Why didn't the two sides trust each other? They believed in very different systems.
The United States had a democracy, where voters choose leaders, and capitalism, where people and companies own businesses.
The Soviet Union had communism. The government controlled most property and business, and the Communist Party held all power. It promised equality, but people lost many freedoms.
Here's the problem American leaders saw: communism might spread to more countries. Historians call a problem like this an issue, and leaders look at many possible solutions.
Their answer was containment: keep communism from spreading. The Truman Doctrine promised help to threatened countries. The Marshall Plan paid to rebuild Western Europe.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS5H5.b — Explain how the United States sought to stop the spread of communism through the Berlin airlift, the Korean War, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
IPS.3 — Information Processing Skill 3: identify issues and/or problems and alternative solutions (mastered in Grade 5)