Embedded Files
Unit Overview: The End of an Era
This unit spans the years 1980 to 1992. Important events/themes covered in this unit:
The Election of of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the rise of modern Conservatism
The Thatcher/Reagan Economic Revolution
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and last phase of the Cold War
Glasnost and Perestroika
The collapse of the Soviet economy, 1980-1990
The breakaway of Eastern Europe and collapse of the Iron Curtain
The fall of the Soviet Union
The Persian Gulf War and Presidency of George H.W. Bush
Unit Essay: The Iron Curtain
In order to get credit for this project you must write a well-developed essay on the following topic:
The Iron Curtain
From 1945 to 1991, the world was divided into two camps: the democratic and capitalistic West led by the US and the autocratic and communist nations that orbited the Soviet Union. The two camps were culturally, economically, and politically opposed to each other and each waged a 45 year long "Cold War" against the other that occasionally got hot. Using the knowledge gained from your lessons in this unit, write a 5 paragraph essay of 600 or more words comparing and contrasting the two worlds divided by the Iron Curtain.
Helpful links:
Cold War Influences on American Culture, Politics, and Economics
US Victory in the Cold War: Economic Strength, Foreign Policy Triumph, or Both?
Eastern Bloc (in particular, political, economic, and social information)
Post-World War II Economic Boom (especially comparing the boom in Western nations vs economic decline in Soviet and Eastern Bloc nations)
European Union (particular attention to the economic and financial institutions)
Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 1989
Unit Lectures:
Unit Primary Sources:
US History Recon B Unit 4 Key Terms
For this project you must define the terms listed below and explain each term's significance to the unit/era being studied. Your definition should be 2-3 sentences long and may be copied and pasted from a source like Wikipedia, but the significance of the term must be in your own words and based on your own understanding. To fill out a term's significance, ask yourself, "Why is this item included in my study of this unit? Why is this term in a history book?" The answer to this question is your term's significance.
Unit 4 Key Terms:
Election of 1980
Solidarity movement
Commodore 64
Exxon Valdez
Strategic Defense Initiative
glasnost
Chernobyl disaster
Revolutions of 1989
Reaganomics
perestroika
Space Shuttle Challenger
Persian Gulf War
War on Drugs
Iran Contra Affair
HIV/AIDS
NAFTA
1986 Immigration Reform
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Control Act
Pan Am Flight 103
Generation X/MTV Generation
Below is an example of a key term done with the proper format:
William the Conqueror: William I (c. 1028[2] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II. Before his conquest of England, he was known as William the Bastard because of the illegitimacy of his birth.To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen (from Paris andÎle-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[3] (I copied and pasted this definition from Wikipedia)
Significance: William the Conqueror is significant because his conquest of England created the first nation state in Europe. His rearrangement of English feudal territories to give himself dramatically more power than the the barons and nobles around him caused him to be the most powerful monarch in Europe and eventually led to the rise of other nation states over the next few centuries. (These are my words based on my knowledge of English and European history.)
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