Curriculum: American Studies 4 (1945-Present)

Social Studies Department – Chicopee Public Schools

 

Overview: In American Studies 3 and 4, students study the goals and accomplishments of the Progressive movement and the New Deal. Students also learn about the various factors that led to America's entry into World War I and World War II as well as the consequences of World War II for American life. Finally, students study the causes and course of the Cold War, important economic and political changes during the Cold War, such as the Civil Rights movement, and recent events and trends that have shaped modern-day America

 

Curriculum goals: Grade 9-12 key skills and concepts

 

The students should be able to:

History and geography

1.            Apply the skills of pre-kindergarten through grade seven.

2.            Identify multiple ways to express time relationships and dates (for example, 1066 AD is the same as 1066 CE, and both refer to a date in the eleventh or 11th  century, which is the same as the 1000s). Identify countries that use a different calendar from the one used in the U.S. and explain the basis for the difference. (H)

3.            Interpret and construct timelines that show how events and eras in various parts of the world are related to one another. (H)

4.            Interpret and construct charts and graphs that show quantitative information. (H, C, G, E)

5.            Explain how a cause and effect relationship is different from a sequence or correlation of events. (H, C, E)

6.            Distinguish between long-term and short-term cause and effect relationships. (H, G, C, E)

7.            Show connections, causal and otherwise, between particular historical events and ideas and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments. (H, G, C, E)

8.            Interpret the past within its own historical context rather than in terms of present-day norms and values. (H, E, C)

9.     Distinguish intended from unintended consequences. (H, E, C)
10. Distinguish historical fact from opinion. (H, E, C)

  1. Using historical maps, locate the boundaries of the major empires of world history at the height of their powers. (H, G)

 

Civics and government

  1. Define and use correctly the following words and terms: Magna Carta, parliament, habeas corpus, monarchy, and absolutism. (C)

 

 

General economics skills

  1. Define and use correctly mercantilism, feudalism, economic growth, and entrepreneur. (E)
  2. Explain how people or communities examine and weigh the benefits of each alternative when making a choice and that opportunity costs are those benefits that are given up once an alternative is chosen. (E)
  3. Explain how financial markets, such as the stock market, channel funds from savers to investors. (E)
  4. Define and use correctly gross domestic product, economic growth, recession, depression, unemployment, inflation, and deflation. (E)
  5. Explain how opportunity costs and tradeoffs can be evaluated through an analysis of marginal costs and benefits. (E)
  6. Explain how competition among sellers lowers costs and prices, and encourages producers to produce more. (E)
  7. Describe the role of buyers and sellers in determining the equilibrium price, and use supply and demand to explain and predict changes in quantity and price. (E)
  8. Describe how the earnings of workers are affected by the market value of the product produced and worker skills. (E)

20.    Identify the causes of inflation and explain who benefits from inflation and who suffers from inflation. (E)

21.    Define and distinguish between absolute and comparative advantage, and explain how most trade occurs because of comparative advantage in the production of a particular good or service. (E)

22.    Explain how changes in exchange rates affect balance of trade and the purchasing power of people in the United States and other countries. (E)

23. Differentiate between fiscal and monetary policy. (E)

  1. Explain the basic economic functions of the government in the economy of the United States. (E)
  2. Examine the development of the banking system in the United States, and describe the organization and functions of the Federal Reserve System. (E)
  3. Identify and describe laws and regulations adopted in the United States to promote economic competition. (E, H)
  4. Analyze how federal tax and spending policies affect the national budget and the national debt. (E)

 

WEEK ONE

Strands: USII.18

1.     Revelation and evaluation of the Yalta Conference

2.     World Organizations: the UN, IMP, World Bank

3.     Analysis of the factors that lead to the Cold War

4.     Describe the policy of containment as America’s response to Soviet expansionist policies.

5.     Analyze the differences between the American and Soviet political and economic systems.

6.     Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe and redrawing of the map of Europe.

7.     Soviet Testing of the Atomic Bomb

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

1.     Compare and contrast the Soviet political and economic system with the United States political and economic systems.

2.     Evaluate the trade-offs at the Yalta Conference in 1945.  Was it a “sell-out” to the Soviet Union?  Why or why not?

3.     Trace the origins of the Cold War, considering the historical background of US-USSR relations, the wartime relationship, and early post-war developments.

 

Suggested Primary Source Documents:

  1. “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” by George Kennan (1947). 
  2. “Telegram from Moscow” by George Kennan (Feb. 22, 1946)

 

WEEK TWO

Strands: USII.18

  1. Election of 1948
  2. The founding of Israel
  3. The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the National Security Act, and NATO
  4. Red China, Mao-tse-Tung, and Taiwan
  5. Alger Hiss, Joseph McCarthy and the fear of Communism in America
  6. The duties and privileges of Congress

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Explain the rationale for the postwar policy of containment.  Show how it was applied in the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO.
  2. Identify the factors that produced the anti-communist “witch hunt” after WWII.  List some of its most important short and long term consequences.
  3. Why was there such strong popular support for McCarty’s anticommunist crusade in the early 1950’s?  Would you have supported his goals or tactics?  Why or why not?

 

Suggested Primary Source Documents:

  1. “The Truman Doctrine” (1947). 
  2. Congressional Record – Senator Joseph McCarthy (Feb. 20, 1950)

 

WEEK THREE

Strands: US II.19

  1. Discuss containment and United States entry into the Korean War.
  2. The executive power over the military and their power to remove military personnel
  3. The war record and ideas of Douglas MacArthur
  4. The American Communist Party
  5. The Rosenbergs and their place in history.

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Evaluate President Truman’s strategy and conduct as commander in chief during the Korean War.  Assess the realism of his goals and the propriety of his means.
  2. Why did President Truman relieve General MacArthur of his command in Korea?  Do you think that this was a wise decision?  Why or why not?

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

1.  “Douglas MacArthur’s Farewell Address to Congress”

 

WEEK FOUR

Strands: USII.23

1.     Discuss the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower.

2.     The Sunbelt, Suburbia and the Baby Boom

3.     Truman’s Fair Deal

4.     The Taft-Hartley Act

5.     22nd Amendment to the US Constitution

6.     Landrum Griffin Act, Teamsters, and Jimmy Hoffa

7.     Eisenhower’s response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik

8.     The American reaction in schools to Sputnik

 

Suggested Thematic Essay:

  1. How important has the post-WWII baby boom been to recent American history?  Indicate its impact on each decade since 1945.  What importance is it likely to have in the next twenty-five years?

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

1.  “Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address” (January 17, 1961)

 

WEEK FIVE

Strands: USII.23

 

  1. “Massive Retaliation”, Dienbienphu (the beginning of the Vietnam Conflict), and Communism in Cuba.
  2. The Eisenhower Doctrine, OPEC
  3. Eisenhower’s civil rights record
  4. Brown v. Board of Education and the 14th amendment due process clause
  5. Montgomery Bus Boycott
  6. Little Rock School Crisis

 

WEEK SIX

Strands: USII.28

 

1.     The space exploration program in the United States

2.     The election of 1960

3.     The presidency and political ideologies of John F. Kennedy

4.     The 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution

5.     The Peace Corps

6.     The European Common Market

7.     The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Do you think that President Kennedy promised more as a candidate than he delivered as president?  Focus on his domestic reform proposals and be specific.  What did he promise, and what did he accomplish?
  2. Do you think that President Kennedy handled the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as he could have?  Why or why not?  Evaluate the consequences of the crisis.  Was it worth the enormous risk of nuclear war?

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

1.  “JFK’s Inaugural Address” (1961)

 

WEEK SEVEN

Strands: USII.28

 

  1. The assassination of John F. Kennedy
  2. Discussion of the different Kennedy conspiracy theories and the Warren Commission
  3. Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” Programs
  4. Project Head Start
  5. Medicare and Medicaid
  6. The “Six Day War” in the Middle East
  7. Changing economic roles for men and women

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

1.  “State of the Union Address”, Lyndon B. Johnson (January 12, 1966)

 

 

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Compare and contrast John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson as presidential leaders.  In what ways were they similar, and in what ways were they different?  Which do you consider the better president?  Why?  Should either of them be ranked amongst America’s top ten presidents?  Why or why not?
  2. Evaluate President Johnson’s Great Society Program.  Do you think that its goals were realistic?  Admirable?  Why did it receive such heavy support in Congress?

 

WEEK EIGHT

Strands: USII.24, USII.25, USII.26, USII.27, USII.28

 

1.     Discuss Martin Luther King Jr. and his assassination.

2.     The March on Washington and the Medgar Evers assassination

3.     Civil Rights Protests and the Sit-In Movement

4.     The Civil Rights Act of 1964

5.     Voting Rights Act of 1965

6.     Discussion on poll taxes- Amendment 24

7.     Black Power and the Black Panther Movement

8.     Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Explain why the civil rights movement became more radical and violent as the 1960’s progressed.  What changes occurred in motives, assumptions, and leadership of the movement.
  2. Write a three paragraph paper comparing and contrasting Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Required Primary Source Documents:

  1. Reverend Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” (1968)

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

1. “Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech to Congress on voting rights” (March 15, 1965)

  1. Reverend Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” (1963)

 

WEEK NINE

Strands: USII.28

 

1.     Democratic Primaries of 1968 and the Election of 1968

2.     President Nixon’s appeal to the “Silent Majority”

3.     Inflation and the Energy Crisis

4.     The Watergate Scandal and Nixon’s Resignation

5.     The impeachment process and executive privilege.

6.     The 25th Amendment to the Constitution.

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. What do you think lay at the root of the Watergate Scandal?  Who was responsible?  Explain why it ballooned into a national crisis.
  2. The US Constitution says that the president “shall be removed for office for, and on conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”.  Do you think that the accusations against President Nixon were impeachable crimes?  Why or why not?

 

WEEK TEN

Strands: USII.28

 

  1. The “Domino Theory” and the Vietnam War
  2. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
  3. The anti-war movement, hawks and doves.
  4. Discussion of counter-cultural movement, beatniks, and the gay rights movement.
  5. Vietnamization and the Nixon Doctrine
  6. The 26th Amendment to the US Constitution
  7. The War Powers Act of 1973

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

  1. “Unsafe at Any Speed” by Ralph Nader

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Were the cultural protests of the 1960’s connected to the political protests of the time?  Why or why not?
  2. Read the War Powers Act of 1973 and write one paragraph in which they determine whether or not the War Powers Act is Constitutional.
  3. Assess President Nixon’s strategy of Vietnamization.  Do you think it was the best way to end the war?  Why or why not?
  4. Do you think the War Powers Act of 1973 was a good idea?  Why or why not?
  5. How did the Vietnam War end?  Why did it wend this way?  In what way had the US not “lost the war” but “lost more than a war”?

 

WEEK ELEVEN

Strands: USII.29

 

1.     Détente with the Soviet Union

2.     The ending of the United States commitment to the Panama Canal.

3.     Economic and Social Activities of the 1970s

4.     Immigration and Social Change in the 1970s

5.     Minorities continue to struggle as the melting pot boils over: the Philadelphia Plan and Affirmative Action

6.     The Camp David Accords and the Iranian Hostage Crisis

7.     The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. Explain why Jimmy Carter began his presidency with such great popularity and why, by the end of his term, he was widely unpopular?  To what degree was the loss of popularity his fault, and to what degree was it the result of forces beyond his control?
  2. Do you think that President Carter overreacted to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?  Why or why not?  In what way did that event mark a critical turning point in American foreign policy?

 

WEEK TWELVE

Strands:  USII.29

 

1.     The failure of the Equal Rights Amendment

2.     The amendment process.

3.     Alan Bakke, Affirmative Action, Jesse Jackson and the “Rainbow Coalition”

4.     The presidency of Ronald Reagan

5.     First woman nominated to the US Supreme Court: Sandra Day O’Connor, abortion rights restrictions. 

6.     Discussion of the “New Right” and Reagan Revolution, Reaganomics (supply side), and the increasing national debt.

7.     The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, and the subsequent use of the 25th amendment, the Presidential Disability Act.

8.     The Strategic Defense Initiative, Reagan’s diplomatic relations with Mikahail Gorbachev (glasnost and perestroika) and the end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

 

Suggested Thematic Essays:

  1. What were Ronald Reagan’s goals as he entered the presidency in 1981?  How successful was he at implementing them?  In what ways did he fail to achieve his goals?  Why?
  2. Describe President Reagan’s approach to foreign affairs.  Was it effective?  Why or why not?
  3. Analyze the causes of the resurgence of conservative politics in the US in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

  1. “Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Address” (January 20, 1981)
  2. “Ronald Reagan’s Speech at Moscow State University” (1988)

 

WEEK THIRTEEN

Strands: USII.30

 

1.     Technological revolution of the 1980s and the 1990s.

2.     The impact of technology on society in regard to the computer.

3.     Scientific and medical discoveries

4.     Major immigration and demographic changes in the late 20th century, especially, Asian and Hispanic entry in the United States, both legal and illegal.

5.     The weakening of the nuclear family

6.     The rise in divorce rates.

7.     HIV/AIDS

 

WEEK FOURTEEN

Strands: USII.31

 

1.     The Presidency of George Bush.

2.     Tiananmen Square in China, Boris Yeltsin, Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States

3.     Middle East Relations, the continuing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

4.     The Iraq invasion of Kuwait, the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm and Gulf War Syndrome

 

Suggested Primary Source Document:

1.  “George Bush’s Address to the Nation” (January 16, 1990)

 

WEEK FIFTEEN

Strands: USII.31

 

  1. The 27th Amendment to the US Constitution.
  2. First African-American woman elected to the US Senate: Carol Mosely-Braun.
  3. William Clinton’s presidency and appeal to the youth of the nation.
  4. Disaster in Somalia
  5. President Clinton’s Welfare Reform and expansion of the earned income tax credit.

 

Suggested Thematic Essay:

  1. Analyze the political decisions and economic changes in the 1990’s that helped to create the prosperity experienced during the Clinton Presidency.

 

 

WEEK SIXTEEN

Strands: USII.31

 

  1. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy
  2. The Brady Bill: Gun Rights in America
  3. NAFTA and the WTO.
  4. Newt Gingrich and the Republican sponsored “Contract with America”
  5. World Trade Center and Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombings
  6. Nelson Mandela and the end of South African Apartheid
  7. The first balanced budget in more than 25 years.

 

WEEK SEVENTEEN

Strands: USII.32, USII.33

 

1.     The causes and consequences of President Clinton in 1998 (the Clinton impeachment trial).

2.     Al-Qaeda and the USS Cole: Terrorism strikes at the US again

3.     The Presidency of George Walker Bush

4.     The Election of 2000: the Supreme Court Case Bush versus Gore

5.     The strengths and weaknesses of the Electoral College System.

 

WEEK EIGHTEEN

Strands: USII.33

 

  1. The Axis of Evil (Iran, Iraq, and North Korea)
  2. America’s response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC.
  3. The Department of Homeland Security and The Patriot Act
  4. War in Afghanistan and Iraq

 

Suggested Thematic Essay:

  1. How and why did terrorism become a focus of American foreign policy after the end of the Cold War?

 

WEEK NINETEEN

 

  1. “No Child Left Behind” and Education Reform
  2. The War on Terror
  3. Prison abuse, stability and rebuilding in Iraq
  4. Election of 2004
  5. The return of the “Imperial Presidency”

 

 

 

WEEK TWENTY

Strands: USII.18-33

 

  1. Review
  2. Final Exam

 

 

Return to Chicopee Home Page Return to Social Studies