Regarding the beginning of the Cold War, aside from your observations of the material covered, think about the beginning of the Cold War and the policy of Containment. What choices, if any, did the United States have in responding to the Soviet Union?
How did the early Cold War present at home? What were the intended and unintended consequences? What cultural changes and challenges beyond "the Red Scare" were seen in the late 1940s and1950s?