Part One:

Cold War Era America

1945-1990

 

Respond to 5 of the following questions on a separate sheet(s) using your notes, text, and knowledge. Be sure to put your name and the question numbers on your paper. (25 points)

 

 

  1. What events/conditions/situations/leadership led to the Cold War?  Explain your answer.

 

  1. What was the Truman Doctrine?  What effect did/does the Truman Doctrine have on American Foreign policy?  Explain your answer.

 

  1. After studying the Korean War, what should have the US done when North Korea invaded South Korea?  Was war a good option?  Was it the only option?  Could the war have been handled better?  Explain your answer.

 

  1. How did the Cold War and the “Red Scare” feed off one another?  Were there really communist groups in America?  Explain your answer.  How did the McCarthy investigations become more political than security related?

 

  1. Why did the US help Cuban revolutionaries in the 1950’s?  What problems did Communist Cuba create for the US?  How did events in Cuba almost draw the world into a nuclear war?

 

  1. After studying the Vietnam War, what should have the US done when North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam?  What were the goals of US leadership in Vietnam?  Why did these plans fail? What was the initial response to US involvement in Vietnam?  How/why did this change as the war went on?What were the impacts of Vietnam on America, both politically and socially?

 

  1. How did the US end the Cold War?  What were some of the consequences of the military build-up and spending during the Cold War?  What happened to the USSR and its communist allies at the end of the Cold War?  Use examples to explain your answers.

 

 

 

 

 

Part Two:

The Baby Boom Era

1946-1964

Respond to 5 of the following questions on a separate sheet(s) using your notes, text, and knowledge. Be sure to put your name and the question numbers on your paper. (25 points)

 

 

  1. What factors made Post WWII America prosperous?  How did the government assist veterans adjust and find success?  Explain your answers.

 

  1. What was the “Baby Boom”?  How has it changed America?  In what ways will it affect the future?  Explain your answers thoroughly.

 

  1. How did Eisenhower stabilize and strengthen America?  Explain your answer.

 

  1. Who were the main candidates in the Election of 1960?  What made this such an important Presidential Election?  What was the outcome?

 

  1. How did his inaugural address and programs like the Peace Corps reflect Kennedy’s attitude for America?  Explain your answer.

 

  1. How did events in Cuba almost draw the world into a nuclear war?  Explain your answer.

 

  1. After studying the assassination of JFK, what is the most plausible explanation for the murder?  Explain your answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 3:

The Civil Rights Movement

1947-1975

Name: _____________________________

In the space provided, write the vocabulary term that best matches each description.

1.       ______________________ People who traveled in buses through the South to draw attention to segregation of bus station facilities.

2.       ______________________ A woman famously arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white rider.

3.       ______________________ A movement among African Americans that many critics believed was a call to violent action and that created a split in the civil rights movement.

4.       ______________________ Group founded in 1909 to further the cause of civil rights.

5.       ______________________ A law that banned discrimination in voter registration and elections.

Read each sentence below and fill in the blank with the best choice from the pair provided.

1.       To speed up the _______________________ process, federal courts began to order that children be bussed from their neighborhood to schools in other parts of the city. (integration/segregation)

2.       The _______________________ banned discrimination in employment and in public accommodations. (Civil Rights Act of 1964/Fifteenth Amendment)

3.       The _______________________ decision called for the desegregation of public schools. (Plessy v. Ferguson/Brown v. Board of Education)

4.       From _______________________, students urged African Americans in Mississippi to register to vote. (1954-1959/1961-1965)

5.       After visiting Islam’s holy sites in Saudi Arabia, _______________________ changed his views on racial equality and began calling for racial harmony. (Martin Luther King Jr./Malcolm X)

ANALYZING POLITICAL CARTOONS

Study the political cartoon, and then answer the questions that follow.

1. What do you think the thorn bush represents?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Notice the word “equality” on the rose. Why would the artist depict equality as a rose?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Who is likely saying, ‘Not so fast’?” in the quote at the bottom of the cartoon?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part 4:

Social Change and Beginning a New Era

1968-2000

 

Respond to 5 of the following questions on a separate sheet(s) using your notes, text, and knowledge. Be sure to put your name and the question numbers on your paper. (25 points)

 

1.      What events led to the election of Richard Nixon in 1968?  What were some of the major domestic policy questions facing Nixon?  What were some of the major foreign-policy challenges facing Nixon?

 

2.      What were the facts surrounding the Watergate Scandal?  How did it change American society?

 

3.      What was the bicentennial?  Why did President Ford say it was necessary for the nation to celebrate its history in order to “heal the wounds of the present”?

 

4.      What were the events surrounding the Iran Hostage Crisis?  Why did it hurt President Carter’s reputation as a leader?

 

5.      What factors led to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980?  What was the “Reagan Revoultion”?  List the positive and negative aspects of his Presidency.

 

6.      Describe and discuss the Presidency of George H.W. Bush (1989-1993).  What was the Gulf War of 1990-92?  What factors led to Bush’s defeat in the 1992 election?

 

7.      What were the key events in the political rise of Bill Clinton?  What were some of the major domestic policy questions facing Clinton?  What were some of the major foreign-policy challenges facing Clinton? What events led to scandal and impeachment proceedings during the Clinton presidency?