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Cold War
(1947-1991)

Containment

Containment
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.22

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    backpack-style, further, economic, recovery, supplied, assistance, rebuild, interfere, provided, machinery, economy, advantage, participate, accept, supplies, plot
     content words:    Containment Units, Containment Unit, United States, World War II, Soviet Union, Western Europe, President Harry Truman, Eastern Europe, Both Greece, George C.

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Containment
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     The Ghostbusters had Containment Units that strapped onto their backs like school backpacks. When they found a bad ghost, they zapped him into a Containment Unit. There the ghost was "contained," and he couldn't bother anyone on the outside. This was their method of keeping the bad guys under control.
 
2     In the late 1940's, the United States used the idea of containment to keep Communism from spreading. It was right after World War II, and Communism was spreading among the countries near the Soviet Union. The United States and Western Europe were afraid of it spreading even further. This was no job for the fictional Ghostbusters and their backpack-style Containment Units. President Harry Truman of the United States came up with a real plan.
 
3     President Truman's idea was to support the countries of Europe with economic aid. The United States would provide money and supplies to the countries that had been so badly damaged by the war. This would help them recover their strength more quickly. Then they would not have to worry about being taken over by Communists. Truman said that this would help to contain Communism within the countries of Eastern Europe where it was already established.

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