• Background
  • Roosevelt and Stalin seemed to have a friendly relationship.
  • Question: Could their relationship have prevented the Cold War if continued post-WWII?
• Truman’s Image
  • Often seen as a 'hardliner' and staunchly anti-communist.
  • Some argue he changed the diplomatic dynamics leading to the Cold War.

🌎 Real-World Example: Imagine two teachers in a school. One is known to be super friendly and always negotiates with students (Roosevelt). The other, while also fair, is stricter and doesn’t entertain any nonsense (Truman). If there was a disagreement in the school, the second teacher's stricter approach might escalate things!

• Margaret Truman's Account
  • Yalta Conference = where the Cold War began showing its face.
  • Roosevelt made concessions to Stalin at Yalta, but not happily. He did so as he needed the Soviet Union's help against Japan.
  • When told that the Kremlin was hard to deal with, Roosevelt supposedly expressed strong frustration about Stalin not keeping his Yalta promises.

🌎 Real-World Example: Let's think of a group project. You might agree to let one member do a bit less work because you need their resources (maybe they have the best computer software). But if they don’t even do that small part, you’d be upset, right? This was Roosevelt with Stalin post-Yalta.