Concepts:
| "the free world", civil rights, "the Communist world", martyr, non-aligned nations, national security, the "Third World", the Cold War, Iron Curtain, Warsaw Pact, NATO domino theory, McCarthyism, Red Scare, subversion, guerrillas, bloc, geopolitical, nonviolent protest, integration, dissent, impeachment, undeclared war, executive privilege |
As stated in CROSSROADS Essay XI, "this is the period that, for our students, marks the beginning of `history.'" Nearly all the patterns of individual Americans' lives today -- including those of our students -- were formulated during the three decades following the Second World War. Where we go to school, what we study while there, and the diversity of faces we see in the classroom reflect this period's changes in social and cultural life, politics, law, and technology.
Futhermore, as this is the principal period that shaped the lives of our students' parents, helping our students to develop historical perspective on these three decades has added benefits. It also will enable our students to learn from their parents and give the parents a chance to contribute to their children's education.
There is also no better period than this to demonstrate to students the necessity for individual civic responsibility. In most high schools, this will be the final year in which study of American history and government is included in the curriculum. For most students, their formal study of American history will terminate with this curriculum. Within two years the students will be eligible to vote in all elections -- national, state, and local. Unit XI provides ample experience and substantive material with which the students can engage, thus seeing the benefits of active citizenship and the hazards of passive citizenship.
NOTE TO TEACHERS:
While oral history is not highlighted within the activities of Unit XI, it should be understood that students ought to draw freely on this method of historical inquiry in their independent research.
Lesson 1
A Crossroads Resource:
Analysis of Superpower National Interests 1946-1950
A Crossroads Resource:
Superpower Interests as Factor in Key Cold War Events
A Crossroads Resource:
Persuasive Essay: U.S. COLD WAR POLICY RATIONALE
A Crossroads Resource:
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION: ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR
Lesson 2
A Crossroads Resource:
ANALYTIC EXERCISE - Cold War Events and Public Attitudes toward Soviet Union and Communism
A Crossroads Resource:
TOPIC EVALUATION - Dramatic narrative/dialogue on the impact of the Cold War
Lesson 3
A Crossroads Resource:
ROLE-PLAYING ANALYSIS - CAUSES AND IMPACTS OF THE POSTWAR ECONOMIC BOOM
A Crossroads Resource:
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON AMERICAN CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL LIFE IN THE 1950s
Lesson 4
A Crossroads Resource:
ROLE-PLAYING EXERCISE
A Crossroads Resource:
ROLE-PLAYING EXERCISE-Civil Rights Strategy Session
Lesson 5
A Crossroads Resource:
Lesson 5 - Part One
A Crossroads Resource:
Group One Worksheet: Vietnam Conflict
A Crossroads Resource:
Group Two Worksheet: Vietnam Conflict
A Crossroads Resource:
Group Three Worksheet: Vietnam Conflict
A Crossroads Resource:
Group Four Worksheet: Vietnam Conflict
A Crossroads Resource:
Group Five Worksheet: Vietnam Conflict
A Crossroads Resource:
Documents-Based Activity on the Vietnam Conflict
Lesson 6
A Crossroads Resource:
Lesson 6 - Resource 1
A Crossroads Resource:
WATERGATE'S LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON THE PRESIDENCY AND