This unit for U.S. history classes provides students with the chance to learn about the historical roots of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union in a lively, informative manner and from a variety of different perspectives. The unit enables students to use their own judgement in selecting, evaluating, and reflecting on the significance of U.S. policies toward the Soviet Union from the 1940s through 1990. The question is posed: under what circumstances should the United States become directly involved in European affairs? The unit begins by asking this question when the preponderance of power in post World War I Europe swung from the victorious Western democracies to dangerous dictatorships that arose in the 1920s and 30s to threaten the world's peace and security. The same question is broached in the context of the Munich Agreement and British requests for arms. Students learn about the major strategic campaigns of the United States and its allies during World War II in Europe, and are given the opportunity to simulate the negotiation of the Yalta Agreement. They use their understanding of those decisions to support traditionalist, revisionist, or conservative schools of thought on Yalta and the break up of the Grand Alliance. The unit next examines how the United States responded politically, socially, and militarily to Japanese actions in World War II. The unit includes information on post World War II Europe and how the balance of power was stabilized by 1950. The unit concludes by attempting to foresee the balance of power in the future. (DK)