For over 40 years, the United States and the Soviet Union tensely faced off with each other, but never actually went to war. The space race, the arms race with its Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), proxy wars, and cultural competition were all products of the Cold War. The Public Policy Papers at Mudd Manuscript Library holds what one scholar (a Yalie no less!) called “the greatest assembly of Cold War collections outside of the federal government,” and in this session, students will see and hold historically significant original documents documenting the conflict. Curator of Public Policy Papers Dan Linke and Public Policy Papers Archivist Will Clements will contextualize these Cold War documents and provide ample time for individual review and questions. Among others, see the document that started it all, George Kennan’s “Long Telegram;” read a Secretary of State’s “Massive Retaliation” speech that was the inception of MAD; hold a CIA Director’s ID card; see the classified memo that could have stopped the Vietnam War in 1964; and review correspondence between Secretary of State James Baker and President George H. W. Bush that reveals the humor that connected the two men who oversaw the end of the Cold War. This session will be useful for the casual student of history as well as budding historians who wish to better understand the holdings of the Princeton University Library Special Collections held in the Mudd Library.
What to expect:
Single workshop (one-off workshop –" 2 hours total)
Meet the facilitator:
University Archivist and Deputy Head of Special Collections Dan Linke has overseen the public policy collection since 2002, and Public Policy Papers Archivist Will Clements has over 15 years experience working directly with 20th C. documents.
To request accommodations for this event, please contact the workshop or event facilitator at least 3 working days prior to the event.
