Advanced Placement-Style United States History
Practice Question of the Day
Answer and Explanation



Time magazine portrait of George Kennan (never published)
Image Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain)


Question 912:

During the Cold War, which of the following was one of the main tenets of the American foreign policy approach towards the spread of communism recommended by George Kennan and first implemented by President Truman in 1947?

    (A) contain the spread of communism as one would a contagion to prevent a domino effect of falling nations
    (B) discover and eliminate internal communist spies in the State Department
    (C) match any Soviet buildup in its nuclear arsenal with equal or superior American systems
    (D) develop the Strategic Defense Initiative, a "Star Wars" type of missile defense system
    (E) use the Voice of America and other propaganda weapons to counter communism's claims


Answer:

     (A) contain the spread of communism as one would a contagion to prevent a domino effect of falling nations
Explanation:

George Kennan's containment policy steered a middle ground in American foreign policy between active military engagement of the Soviet Union and appeasement. It sought to limit the spread of communism to neighboring nations and guided American foreign policy through the 1950s and 1960s. The American defeat in Vietnam was seen by many as a failure of containment.

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