Download Unit 6: The Cold War

Unit 6: The Cold War
Content Area:
Course(s):
Time Period:
Length:
Status:
Social Studies
U.S. History 2 Honors
March
4 weeks
Published
Transfer Skills
The aftermath of World War II leads to a protracted period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Enduring Understandings
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Big Idea: The Cold War, Vietnam, and the American Landscape
o The Cold War set the framework for global politics for 45 years after the end of World War II. It also
influenced American domestic politics, the conduct of foreign affairs, and the role of the government
in the economy after 1945.
o
The Cold War Era redefined the United States’ domestic and international positions.
o
Events during the Cold War Era, both domestically and internationally, affected many American’s
attitudes, commitment, and behavior towards the government.
o
Technology has facilitated the movement of goods, services, and populations; increased economic
interdependence at all levels; and influenced the development of centers of economic activity.
o
By interpreting its powers broadly, the Supreme Court can reshape American society
Essential Questions
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How did U.S. and Soviet postwar policies cause the Cold War?
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Why did Cold War ideology draw the U.S. into conflict in Asia?
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What are the positive and negative implications of spreading democracy abroad?
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What were the United States’ political, social and economic reactions to the Cold War?
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How were U.S. politics changed by the end of the Cold War?
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How did the end of the Cold War alter the United States’ role in the world?
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How has technology and industry influenced political, social and military history in America?

In what ways did the country and specifically NJ respond to eliminating segregation and discrimination.
Content
Significant People/Events: Cold War, Berlin Airlift, Harry S. Truman, General Douglas MacArthur, Bay of Pigs, Cuban
Missile Crisis, Mao Zedong, Chaing Kai-shek, U-2 incident, Alger Hiss, Rosenbergs, Joseph McCarthy, Eisenhower, Rock
and Roll
Skills
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Analyze the operation of the United Nations
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Evaluate the effectiveness of American post-war foreign policy in Europe and the Soviet reaction
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Examine the world’s reaction to nuclear weapons
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Describe America’s reaction to the fall of China to Communism
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Trace American involvement in the Korean War
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Evaluate successes and failures of various administrations in reaction to the Cold War
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Analyze the factors that lead to the Red Scare and compare to the Red Scare of the early 1920s
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Describe the impact of McCarthyism
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Analyze the post-war affluence and the social and cultural changes that occur in the 1950s

Trace the development of space exploration
Resources
Standards
SOC.6.1.12.D.12.a
Analyze the impact of American governmental policies on independence
movements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
SOC.6.1.12.B.12.a
Evaluate the effectiveness of the Marshall Plan and regional alliances in the
rebuilding of European nations in the post World War II period.
SOC.6.1.12.C.1.a
Explain how economic ideas and the practices of mercantilism and capitalism
conflicted during this time period.
SOC.6.1.12.D.12.c
Evaluate how the development of nuclear weapons by industrialized countries and
developing counties affected international relations.
SOC.6.1.12.A.13.a
Analyze the effectiveness of the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, New Jersey
Supreme Court decisions (i.e., Hedgepeth and Williams v. Trenton Board of
Education), and New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (i.e., P.L. 1945, c.169) in
eliminating segregation and discrimination.
SOC.6.1.12.A.12.b
Examine constitutional issues involving war powers, as they relate to United States
military intervention in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts.
SOC.6.1.12.A.12.c
Explain how the Arab-Israeli conflict influenced American foreign policy.
SOC.6.1.12.D.12.b
Analyze efforts to eliminate communism, such as McCarthyism, and their impact
on individual civil liberties.
SOC.6.1.12.A.12.a
Analyze ideological differences and other factors that contributed to the Cold War
and to United States involvement in conflicts intended to contain communism,
including the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War.