Post-World War II
Prosperity and Cold War
Unit 9: Extraordinary Challenges
Cold War and Hot Domestic Turmoil: 1945-1980
Key Concepts: Students should be able to
Text Reading:
Chapter 23 The United States and the Cold War, 1945-1953
Chapter 24 An Affluent Society, 1953-1960
Chapter 25 The Sixties, 1960-1968
Chapter 26 The Triumph of Conservatism, 1969-1988
- Analyze the postwar policies of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. and how these contributed to the start of the Cold War.
- How did the Cold War reshape ideas of American freedom?
- What were the major initiatives of Truman's domestic policies?
- Explain the policy of containment and its implementation throughout the Cold War.
- What effects did the anti-communism of the Cold War have on American politics and culture?
- What were the main characteristics of the affluent society of the 1950s?
- How did economic growth, the “Baby Boom” and the rise of suburbia create the popular image of the 50s?
- Assess the validity of the notion that the 1950s were a period of conservatism and conformity. Describe challenges to the homogenous mass culture and conservative efforts to maintain their ideal.
- List the main domestic and international factors leading to the postwar Red Scare and evaluate the American response to the fear of communism
- How were the 1950s a period of consensus in both domestic policies and foreign affairs?
- What was the significance of the presidential election of 1960?
- What were the major crises and policy initiatives of the Kennedy presidency?
- Discuss strategies used by minorities during the last half of the 20th century to gain greater equality and assess the level of success attained
- Cite major successes and failures of the Civil Rights movement prior to and following 1964
- Compare and contrast major civil rights leaders and organizations and analyze their approaches to equality for women, African Americans, and other groups.
- What were the purposes and strategies of Johnson's Great Society programs?
- How did the Vietnam War transform American politics and culture?
- Critique Liberalism, its proponents and its programs. Explain presidential programs such as JFK’s New Frontier and LBJ’s Great Society and War on Poverty.
- What were the sources and significance of the rights revolution of the late 1960s?
- In what ways was 1968 a climactic year for the sixties?
- What were the major policies of the Nixon administration on social and economic issues?
- How did Vietnam and the Watergate scandal affect popular trust in the government?
- To what degree were the environmental movements of the 60’s and 70’s successful?
- Explain the ways in which traditional family roles and values were challenged and chart the development of the counter-culture, the sexual revolution, and radical feminism.
- In what ways did the opportunities of most Americans diminish in the 1970s?
- What were the roots of the rise of conservatism in the 1970s?
- How did the Reagan presidency affect Americans both at home and abroad?
Text Reading:
Chapter 23 The United States and the Cold War, 1945-1953
Chapter 24 An Affluent Society, 1953-1960
Chapter 25 The Sixties, 1960-1968
Chapter 26 The Triumph of Conservatism, 1969-1988
Unit Notes |
Unit Review Resources |
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Video Resources |