The Cold War
Day 1 (2/17): Introduction to the Cold War era.
The end of WWII brought about substantial change in American Society. As soldiers return to a postwar America, they were met with some degree of uncertainty. However, the GI Bill of Rights enabled returning vets to obtain college degrees and low cost loans for housing. The result was an economic boom that thrust millions into the middle class and transformed the country.
- In class - watch the first ten minutes of The Century: America's Time -- Best Years
Day 2-3 (2/18-2/19)
The vacuum created by the fall of the Axis powers and the move away from the colonial era by declining powers such as Britain and France led to a clash of ideologies between two former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union. In class today, we discussed the contrasting ideals of both the US and USSR, and some of the early challenges facing the US and President Truman in the immediate postwar era (1946-49).
Day 3: Cold War Quiz #1
Assignment: Complete Cold War era maps and Ch.25.1 Questions
Day 5-6 (2/20 -2/25): The events of 1949 (Mao's revolution in China, Soviets acquiring the a-bomb, etc) led the United States to respond militarily when the communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. The next 3 years would lead to what some now refer to as "the forgotten war." Despite this moniker, this conflict still very much shapes the Korean peninsula and challenges with North Korea to this day.
Day 7 (2/26): The Second Red Scare from 1950-1954 was one of the most tumultuous periods of US History. Fear of spies, communist infiltrators and sympathizers turned Americans against Americans, and unscrupulous politicians like Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin used the political divisions in American society for personal political gain.
Day 8 (2/27) -- Security and Anxiety in the 1950's. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said the "test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time." To that end, you should be able to recognize two competing views regarding life in America in the 1950's as highlighted by the following writing prompt:
- Using a wealth of examples from a variety of sources, explain how the decade of the 1950's can be characterized as both an era of unprecedented security and significant anxiety
Examples will come from a variety of sources examined in class, including the following photographs from Green Bay and Manitowoc in the 1950's.
Day 9 (2/28): Cold War fear and hysteria permeated many aspects of American life, from the red scare to "duck and cover" drills in America's schools. To continue our examination of this concept, we are watching a pop culture example --an episode of the Twilight Zone called "The Shelter."
Day The Cold War Expands -- key developments during the Eisenhower years (1953-61)
- "Happy Daze" Videoclip -- The Century: America's Time.
- The Cold War Expands text questions
Day Continue the discussion of the 1950's -- Discussion and primary sources
Day
- Finish key cold war developments of the Eisenhower years
- John Foster Dulles and "Massive retaliation, Sputnik and the Space Race, Crises around the globe, etc.)
- Election of 1960
- discussion of the reasons for JFK's close win over Richard Nixon
Assignment: Kennedy Years Questions
Day
- 1950's Quiz
- Kennedy Years Discussion
- Film: 13 Days -- The Cuban Missile Crisis
Days
- Complete Discussion of the Kennedy Years (Election of 1960 - Assassination)
- Review for Exam
- Cold War Era Exam