The Cold War

Standards

Michigan High School Content Expectations

8.1 Cold War and the United States-Identify, analyze, and explain the causes, conditions, and impact of the Cold War Era on the United States.

• 8.1.1 Origins and Beginnings of Cold War-Analyze the factors that contributed to the Cold War including:• differences in the civic, ideological and political values, and the economic and governmental institutions of the U.S. and U.S.S.R.• diplomatic decisions made at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences (1945), Actions by both countries in the last years of and years following World War II (e.g., the use of the atomic bomb, the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO], and Warsaw Pact)
• 8.1.2 Foreign Policy during the Cold War– Evaluate the origins, setbacks, and successes of the American policy of “containing” the Soviet Union, including• the development of a U.S. national security establishment, composed of the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the intelligence community • the armed struggle with Communism, including the Korean conflict • direct conflicts within specific world regions including Germany and Cuba• U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and the foreign and domestic consequences of the war (e.g., relationship/conflicts with U.S.S.R. and China, U.S. military policy and practices, responses of citizens and mass media) indirect (or proxy) confrontations within specific world regions(e.g., Chile, Angola, Iran, Guatemala) • the arms race
• 8.1.3 End of the Cold War– Evaluate the factors that led to the end of the cold war including détente, policies of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. and their leaders (President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev), the political breakup of the Soviet Union, and the Warsaw Pact.

Common Core State Standards

• SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• SL 9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
• RH 9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
• RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
• RH 9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
• RH 9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
• RH 9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.
• RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
• WHST 9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• WHST 9-10.2
• Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.

b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.

C3 Framework

• D2.His.9.9-12. Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondary interpretations made from them.
• D2.His.13.9-12. Critique the appropriateness of the historical sources used in a secondary interpretation.
• D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
• D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.
• D4.2.9-12. Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or non-linear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose (e.g., cause and effect, chronological, procedural, technical).
• D4.3.9-12. Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet, social media, and digital documentary).

Unit Compelling Question: Was the Cold War Avoidable?

Supporting Questions

What were the causes and effects of the Cold War?

What political and economic ideologies did the U.S and Soviet Union support following WWII?

How did President Truman think the United States could contain the spread of communism in Europe?

How did the Cold War impact American foreign and domestic policy?

What did it mean for the United States of America to be a global leader after WW2?

Instructional Materials/Texts

1. The Origins of the Cold War

Standards: RH 9-10.6

Learning Targets:

1. I can explain the difference between capitalism and communism.
2. I can determine the viewpoints of Cold War leaders.

Supporting Questions: What was the cold war? How and why did it begin? Who were the major leaders of the Cold War and what were the views on capitalism and communism.

2. Who's to Blame?: The U.S or the Soviet Union

Standards: RH 9-10.6, SL 9-10.3

Learning Targets:

1. I can compare and contrast the viewpoints of Harry Truman and Henry Wallace.
2. I can participate in a debate making a claim for who's to blame for starting the Cold War while refuting opposing viewpoints.

Supporting Questions: Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War – the United States or the Soviet Union? What was the main argument made in the Truman Doctrine? How did President Truman think the United States could contain the spread of communism in Europe? Why did some people oppose the Truman Doctrine? Who was Winston Churchill and what role did he play in the Cold War? Why was the Iron Curtain Speech important?

3. The Berlin Airlift

Standards: RH 9-10.7

Learning Target: I can analyze political cartoons and other texts to make a claim about how the Berlin Airlift demonstrated the policy of containment during the Cold War.

Supporting Questions: How did the Berlin Airlift demonstrate the U.S. policy of containment during the Cold War? What was the Berlin Blockade? How did the Berlin Airlift change relations between the U.S and the Soviet Union?

4. Evaluating Sources: The Marshall Plan

Standard: RH 9-10.8

Learning Targets:

1. I can assess the extent which the reasoning and evidence in the documents support the necessity of the Marshall Plan.
2. I can evaluate primary sources related to the Marshall Plan to determine their reliability and corroborate them with other sources.

Supporting Questions: What was the Marshall Plan? Was the Marshall Plan necessary? What was the impact of the Marshall Plan on Western Europe?

5. The Cold War Heats Up: The Korean War

Standards: RH 9-10.3, 9-10.9

Learning Targets:

1. I can analyze primary source documents in order to make a recommendation to President Eisenhower about actions America should take in Korea.
2. I can evaluate competing claims about the start of the Korean War.

Supporting Questions: Who started the Korean War and why did the U.S get involved? What happened during the Korean War? How did the Korean War continue the US policy of containment? What was public opinion about the Korean War?

Nuclear Cold War

9. America as a Global Leader: Eisenhower's Farewell Address

Standards: RH 9-10.2, 9-10.4

Learning Targets:

1. I can explain the military industrial complex.
2. I can analyze Eisenhower's Farewell Address to determine why he focused on four specific themes.

Supporting Questions: What did it mean for the United States of America to be a global leader after WW2? What is the military industrial complex?

10. The Cuban Missile Crisis

Standards: RH-9-10.3, 9-10.6

Learning Targets:

1. I can analyze primary sources to make a claim about why the United States and Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war in 1962 from the point of view of EITHER President Kennedy OR Chairman Khrushchev.
2. I can explain how the U.S applied the policy of containment in Cuba.

Supporting Questions: Why did the United States and Soviet Union come to the brink of nuclear war in 1962? How did the U.S. apply the policy of containment in Cuba under President Kennedy?

11. The Red Scare

Standards: RH 9-10.2, WHST 9-10.1

Learning Targets:

1. I can analyze primary source documents to explain the Cold War fear of atomic war.
2. I can analyze primary source documents to explain the Cold War fear of McCarthyism.
3. I can analyze primary source documents to explain how the Cold War impacted children and adults.

Supporting Questions: What was the Red Scare? How did the American people and government deal with their fear of atomic war and fear of communism during the Cold War? What actions did the government take in responses to these fears? Why might the government think it important to reassure Americans that there were things that could be done to protect themselves in the event of an atomic attack? How did the Cold War impact American society and daily life for Americans?

12. The Space Race

Standards: RH 9-10.3

Learning Targets:

1. I can analyze President Kennedy’s arguments in favor of investing in the Space Race to make a claim about why he thought it was important for the U.S. to be a leader in technology and science.
2. I can explain how the Cold War feuled the Space Race.

Supporting Questions: What was the Space Race? Why was it important to the U.S. to be a global leader in technology and science?

13. The Cold War Heats Up: Causes of the Vietnam War

Standards: RH 9-10.3, RH 9-10.8

Learning Targets:

1. I can analyze a timeline of Vietnam war events to identify patterns among the events.
2. I can evaluate competing claims about the U.S' entrance into the Vietnam War.

Supporting Questions: What were the major events of the Vietnam War? In what ways was the Vietnam War a continuation of the U.S. Cold War policy of containment?

14. Opposition to the Vietnam War

Standards: RH 9-10.7, 10.6

Learning Targets:

1. I can use a timeline and images of anti-war protesters to make a claim about why many Americans opposed the Vietnam War?
2. I can compare & contrast Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator John Kerry's arguments about the Vietnam War.
3. I can analyze multiple primary sources to explain how African Americans responded to the US involvement and escalation of forces in Vietnam.
4. I can analyze multiple primary sources to explain how the Vietnam War impacted Latinos.

Supporting Questions: What can we learn about reactions and responses towards the Vietnam War by analyzing political cartoons? Why did many Americans oppose the Vietnam War, and how did this opposition lead to changes in American society and government? Why did African Americans protest American involvement and escalation of armed forces in the Vietnam War? What impacts did the Vietnam War have on American society? How did the Vietnam War impact Latinos? How did the struggle for Civil Rights impact or shape the Latino experience during the Vietnam War?

15. Impact of the Cold War

Standards: WHST 9-10.2b

Learning Target: I can make a claim about how the Cold War affected United States domestic policy and American society.

Supporting Questions: How did the Cold War affect United States domestic policy and American society?