Unit 3: American Domestic and Foreign Policy from 1945-1990

Unit Overview: Domestic and Foreign Policy from 1945-1990

The period of 1945-1990 represent a time that America had firmly established itself as a world superpower and embraced a leadership position in global politics and finance. On the foreign front, at the end of WWII America sponsored the creation of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, two institutions that would revolutionize and dominate world finance throughout the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st as well. Faced with the problem of Soviet Empire and the Iron Curtain, the US stabilized Western Europe and the free market world with programs such as the Marshall Plan, the Containment Policy, and the formation of NATO. The US would engage in a Cold War and an arms race with the Soviet Union and her satellites that would ultimately result in the collapse of the USSR in 1990. 

On the domestic front, like other post-war nations, Americans saw high taxes and high regulation of the economy by government for decades following WWII. The fifties and early sixties was a period of great prosperity for the US as the GI Bill put millions through college and the middle class moved out to the suburbs. The sixties also witnessed great social revolution with the Civil Rights Movement, Feminism, the rise of a counter-culture, and the growing Vietnam War Protest movement. By the late 1970's, Keynesian economics was beginning to come to an end in America as "stagflation" mired down the economy, and the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 began a conservative political and economic revolution that deregulated the American economy and brought the nation closer in alignment with free market principals.  

Unit Essay: The Great Society

In order to get credit for this project you must write an essay on the following topic:

The Great Society

The period from 1945-1990 marked a time of great change in American society and represents an era of much landmark domestic policy legislation. As WWII came to a close, the economic and social policies of the decades that followed demonstrated that the New Deal was here to stay: from the administrations of Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan, each successive president launched ambitious plans to guide the American economy, minimize social inequity, or decrease discrimination throughout American society. Different presidents focused on different programs and none ever achieved all their goals, but the common theme throughout this era was that the government played an increasing role in championing economic and social equality. Using the knowledge that you have gained from your lessons and the major legislation passed in this era, write an essay of 600 words or more that describes American domestic policy from 1944-1960, 1961-1975, and 1976-1990. 

In order to write this essay, consider the different presidencies during this era and the major legislation of each of the three time periods listed above. Also remember to consider how the different presidents and legislators addressed issues of economic and social equality. Use your key terms and familiarize yourself with each administration from the time:

Truman's "Fair Deal"

Presidency of Dwight Eisenhower

Kennedy's "New Frontier"

Johnson's "Great Society"

Presidency of Richard Nixon

Presidency of Gerald Ford

Presidency of Jimmy Carter

Presidency of Ronald Reagan

The three groupings you see above reflect the three eras your essay needs to address.

Unit Videos:                                                            

The Century Part 8, The Best Years (45:00)

American Experience, Freedom Riders (1:52:00)

Commanding Heights Part 1 (1:55:00)

Unit Lectures:

US Government B Containment Policy Essay Class

US Government B Great Society Essay Class

Primary Sources: