Question

Look at the descriptions of each leader in the table. Add the name of the correct leader next to each description. You’ve already read about most of these leaders in the lessons in this unit. However, it’s okay if you need to research them further to clarify their achievements. Here is the list of leaders you will use to complete this activity:
Ronald Reagan
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Margaret Thatcher
Nikita Khrushchev
Harry S. Truman
Josef Stalin
Mikhail Gorbachev

Leader Description
I challenged the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall. I also maintained a hard line against Communism.

I made the decision to drop the atomic bomb, but I also became known for the Marshall Plan and Doctrine of Containment.
I began the Cold War in Europe by creating the Communist Bloc. I also stole atomic secrets for the United States and built my own bomb, thus escalating tension in the early Cold War.
My administration created the idea of brinkmanship—going to the brink of nuclear war to achieve our aims.
My policies were designed to give more personal and economic freedom to people in the Soviet Union. I had good relations with many leaders in the Western Bloc.
I was good friends with the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States and helped end the Cold War by bringing them together.
I pulled missiles out of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I prevented the Cold War from escalating into a nuclear war.

Answer 1

Here are your matches:

Ronald Reagan

• I challenged the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall.  I also maintained a hard line against communism.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• My administration created the idea of brinkmanship--going to the brink of nuclear war to achieve our aims.

Margaret Thatcher

• I was good friends with leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States and helped end the Cold War by bringing them together.

Nikita Khrushchev

• I pulled missiles out of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and prevented the Cold War from escalating into a nuclear war.

Harry S. Truman

• I made the decision to drop the atomic bomb, but I also became known for Marshall Plan and the doctrine of containment.

Josef Stalin

• I began the Cold War in Europe by creating the Communist Bloc.  I also stole atomic secrets from the United States and built my own bomb, thus escalating tension in the early Cold War.

Mikhail Gorbachev

• My policies were designed to give more personal and economic freedom to people in the Soviet Union.  I had good relations with many leaders in the Western Bloc.

A bit of added detail:

I'd like to explain more about one item in the list above -- the policy of "brinkmanship" during the Eisenhower administration.

John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State under US President Dwight Eisenhower. Dulles held the office from 1953 to 1959.  He wanted a change from what had been the "containment policy" which the US had followed during the Truman Administration, as recommended then by American diplomat George F. Kennan.   Dulles felt the containment approach put the United States in a weak position, because it only was reactive, trying to contain  communist aggression when it occurred.

Dulles sought to push America's policy in a more active direction; some have labeled his approach "brinkmanship."  In an article in LIFE magazine in 1956, Dulles said, "The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art."  He wasn't afraid to threaten massive retaliation against communist enemy countries as a way of intimidating them.