HIS-100-Q6917 FINAL PROJECT COMPLETE

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University of Maryland, University College *

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100

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History

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Dec 6, 2023

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HIS 100 Project Template(1)HIS 100 Project Template Use this template to address the steps in your Project Guidelines and Rubric. Replace the bracketed text with your responses. Ensure that you have considered your instructor’s feedback when revising your work. Proofread the entire document before submitting. Part 1: Creating a Research Question 1. Describe how your assumptions, beliefs, and values influenced your choice of topic. While my assumptions, beliefs, and values had a part to play in choosing my topic, the reason I chose the Founding of NATO as my topic was because I found it intriguing, even though I knew extraordinarily little about the topic. My assumption about NATO was that the organization allowed any associated countries to assist other fellow countries in war if needed using the allied military forces. By influencing this assumption along with my belief that NATO was founded to help prevent war/conflicts within the 12 allied countries, I was able to find the value of the topic. What I consider a value of the Founding of NATO is that the organization encourages consultation and cooperation with different countries to build trust resulting in peaceful resolutions to issues. Altogether, this influenced my choice of topic because my assumptions, beliefs, and values were steered towards the right direction in terms of NATO’s purpose, which made me more interested in researching why it was needed and how it is still being utilized today. 2. Discuss the significance of your historical research question in relation to your current event. My historical research question relates to my current event (the war in Ukraine) because according to NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, NATO will continue to provide solidarity and support for Ukraine against Russia (NATO, n.d). Had NATO not been founded, then they would not be able to assist Ukraine during the war with Russia. 3. Explain how you used sources to finalize your research question. 1

Since my research question is based on how the Founding of NATO positively affected the US and European countries relations, I had to take a more biased approach by finding sources that reflected NATO in useful way. For example, in my source Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order, author Timothy Sayle explains how British foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin believed that the treaty would provide a “psychological boost” to the citizens in Western Europe, allowing them to not fear Soviet Blackmail (Sayle, 2019) which reflects NATO in a positive light. Part 2: Building Context to Address Questions 1. Describe the context of your historical event that influenced your current event. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty) was eventually signed because in 1946 and 1947, the allied leaders were afraid of the “threat of Soviet Blackmail” (Sayle, 2019). According to author Timothy Andrews Sayle, allied leaders believed that Moscow would make demands upon a European government and the leaders would be expected or urged to accept said demands as the citizens would fear war. This was not a fear of Soviet expansion, but a psychological threat. According to expert Geroge F. Kennan, the Russians had found a way to influence and exploit the vulnerability of liberal democratic society (Sayle, 2019). Ernest Bevin’s belief was that European countries signing a defense treaty would give a psychological boost for the citizens in Western Europe and eventually began to push forward to the making of NATO. This Influenced my current event because both events are connected to war with Russia. I figured that the best way to connect the events was by utilizing similar circumstances. 4. Describe a historical figure or group’s participation in your historical event. 2

Ernest Bevin was a British foreign Secretary whose idea was to establish a union of transatlantic nations which would grant efficient economic and military security throughout the future (Archives, 2019). According to author Erica Peacock, Bevin became the driving force behind the development of the creation of NATO. 5. Explain the historical figure or group’s motivation to participate in your historical event . I think that Bevin’s beliefs were all based on his being from Britain and wanting to protect his home from the threats of the Soviet Union. It was stated by George F. Kennan that the Soviet Union was posing a more psychological threat than a military one (Sayle, 2019). This would allow Bevin to assume that by creating a defense alliance between the US and European countries, it would provide a psychological boost to Western Europe and protect them from the threats of the Soviet Union. Bevin’s values from what I had gathered seem to be that by creating a transatlantic union with the European countries and the US, it would protect all the said allied countries from the threat of Soviet Union. Part 3: Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative 1. Describe a narrative you identified while researching the history of your historical event. A narrative that helped tell me the most about the Founding of NATO was from my source titled Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order written by author Timothy Sayles. This source stated the reason for the leaders to sign the North Atlantic treaty had been a fear of Soviet blackmail rather than Soviet invasion of Europe. This source helped me understand that the different countries were all afraid of going back to war since WWII had just ended and so the threats of going to war with the 3

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Soviet Union feared many individuals. This allowed the Soviet Union to take over some of the European states without going to war and made them a psychological threat. The idea was that with the North Atlantic Treaty, the European countries would be given a psychological boost against the Soviet Union. If the Soviet Union threatened war, then Europe would have multiple armies from multiple countries backing them up during the war. 6. Articulate how biased perspectives presented in primary and secondary sources influence what is known or unknown about history. Biased perspectives influence what is known about history because each source explains the same event from different points of view. For example, one source could see the lowercase letter “b” face-forward and know for certain that it is the letter “b.” However, another source could see it upside down and know for certain that it is the letter “q.” Each biased source in history has their own perspective of what occurred which helps some individuals like myself in finding the positive effects of the Founding of NATO for this project. Bias could be seen in the North Atlantic Treaty as it can be assumed that if desired, an allied country could in a sense back out of the treaty like the Soviet Union had with the United Nations Charter (NATO, n.d). This would be seen as a disadvantage of the North Atlantic Treaty. Another Bias that can be seen as a disadvantage is that everything stated in a transcript broadcast in 1949, was prior to the North Atlantic Treaty being signed, which makes everything stated by the speakers just 4

hopes and desires for the new treaty rather than it being absolute facts (State Department Press Release, Transcript of Broadcast/harry S. Truman, n.d). 7. Identify the perspectives that you think are missing from your historical event’s narrative. The economic perspective is missing from my historical event’s narrative. After the second World War, the United States’ economy was growing and by 1947 the US was supplying financial aid to Greece and Turkey in effort to protect them from communist threats. In 1948, the US launched the European Recovery Program to assist in boosting European economies (NATO, n.d). I believe that when learning about the Founding of NATO, sources should put more effort in disclosing information about the economy at the time and how the US and European relations were positively affected. Part 4: Connecting the Past With the Present 1. Explain how researching its historical roots helped improve your understanding of your current event. In researching the historical roots of my current event, I found that NATO had not just been providing support to Ukraine against Russia, but had suspended “...all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia...” (NATO, 2022). NATO allies have also been increasing pressure on Russia, so it is harder for them to manufacture military weaponry. Also, according to a press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO among other allies are still providing humanitarian aid, financial support and now cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine (NATO, n.d). This helps my understanding because I now know that NATO has done a lot to positively affect the relations between the US and European countries, even today with Ukraine war. 5

8. Articulate how questioning your assumptions, beliefs, and values may benefit you as an individual. By questioning my assumptions, beliefs, and values, I would be able to gain different perspectives of an event. For example, I could ask myself how the Founding of NATO negatively impacted the relations between the US and European countries. This would also allow me to find bias through various sources. This would benefit me as an individual because I would be thinking about all possibilities and outcomes regarding situations, I may find myself in, making me a more well-rounded and critical thinker. 9. Discuss how being a more historically informed citizen may help you understand contemporary issues. By being a more historically informed citizen, I would be able to utilize past events and experiences to guide me in future decisions. For example, when talking about the climate crisis, an uninformed individual would most likely believe that global warming is a hoax and will continue to pollute the earth. A more informed individual would understand that the air quality of the earth is continuing to worsen due to factories, automobiles and littering of the earth. These informed individuals are more likely to become green efficient, these are the individuals that live out in the woods or own farms with little to no fossil-fuels polluting the earth. What the more informed citizen would do is take the knowledge of the past and use it to make a difference in future circumstances. 6

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References Archives, T. N. (2019, April 4). The National Archives - One man’s vision: Ernest Bevin and the creation of NATO . The National Archives Blog. https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/one-mans-vision-ernest-bevin-creation-nato/ NATO. (n.d.). NATO’s Deputy Secretary General: NATO support for Ukraine is for the long- term . NATO. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_197073.htm NATO. (n.d.). North Atlantic Treaty . NATO. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_89597.htm NATO. (n.d.). Press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following the meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs . NATO. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_194330.htm NATO. (2022, March 11). Relations with Ukraine . NATO. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_37750.htm ? NATO. (n.d.). United States and NATO - 1949 . NATO. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_162350.htm State Department Press Release, Transcript of Broadcast | Harry S. Truman . (n.d.). Www.trumanlibrary.gov . https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research- files/state- department-press-release-transcript-broadcast Timothy Andrews Sayle. (2019). Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order . Cornell University Press. 7

HIS-100-Q6917 FINAL PROJECT COMPLETE

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