| USII.1 |
The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis, and responsible citizenship, including the ability to |
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a) |
analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of events and life in United States history from 1877 to the present; |
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make connections between past and present; |
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sequence events in United States history from 1877 to the present; |
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interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives; |
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analyze and interpret maps that include major physical features. |
| USII.7 |
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the economic, social, and political transformation of the United States and the world between the end of World War II and the present by |
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c) |
identifying the role of America’s military and veterans in defending freedom during the Cold War, including the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the Cuban missile crisis, the collapse of communism in Europe, and the rise of new challenges. |
NOTE: The Virginia Board of Education adopted the revised 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning at the January 10, 2008, meeting. Full implementation of these documents is scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year, as outlined in Superintendent’s Memorandum Informational Number 49. In the revised SOL, United States History I will be taught through 1865 and U.S. History II will encompass 1865 to the present.
Explain that the United States and the Soviet Union emerged from World War II as world powers, triggering a rivalry over ideology and national security.
Define the Cold War as a state of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union without actual fighting that divided the world into two camps.
Explain the origins of the Cold War. Include the following:
• Differences in goals and ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union (the two superpowers) — The United States was democratic and capitalist; the Soviet Union was dictatorial and communist.
• The Soviet Union’s domination over Eastern European countries
• American policy of containment (to stop the spread of communism)
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) versus Warsaw Pact.
Explain the following major conflicts the United States has been directly involved in since World War II that reflect the division created by Cold War tensions and hostilities:
• South Korea and the United States resisted Chinese and North Korean aggression. The conflict ended in a stalemate.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba. The Soviets removed the missiles in response to a United States blockade.
• The United States intervened to stop the spread of communism into South Vietnam (Domino Theory). Americans were divided over whether the United States should be involved militarily in Vietnam. The conflict ended in a cease-fire agreement in which United States troops withdrew.
Describe how the Cold War tensions between the free world and the communist world caused divisiveness at home and abroad.
Explain that the Cold War was the central organizing principle in foreign affairs for 40 years.
Describe the following events that demonstrated the collapse of communism in Europe:
• Breakup of the Soviet Union into independent countries
• Destruction of the Berlin Wall.
Explain how the end of the Cold War presented challenges different from earlier challenges. Include the following:
• Role of United States military intervention
• Environmental challenges
• Global issues, including trade, jobs, diseases.
Below is an annotated list of Internet resources for this organizing topic. Copyright restrictions may exist for the material on some Web sites. Please note and abide by any such restrictions.
“Cartoon Analysis Worksheet.” U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Digital Classroom. <http://www.archives.gov/education/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf>. This worksheet is a useful tool to use in analyzing political cartoons.
“Cuban Missile Crisis.” Cybersleuth-kids.com. <http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/russian/Cold_War__Cuban_Missile_Crisis.html>. This site contains a brief history of the event, as well as translations of letter by Kennedy and Khrushchev.
Dear Home: Letters from WWII. HistoryChannel.com. <http://www.historychannel.com/dearhome/>. This site gives access to a letter describing an American’s first-hand account of the horrors of the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.
Herblock’s History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/intro-jhb.html>. This site provides access to numerous important political cartoons, together with commentary about each.
“Life Under Communism in Eastern Europe.” The Bill of Rights in Action. Constitutional Rights Foundation. <http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-19-1-a.html>.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning. United States History: 1877 to the Present. Test Blueprint. Virginia Department of Education, 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/HistoryBlueprints03/2002Blueprint4USII.pdf>. This site provides assessment information for the course in United States History: 1877 to the Present.
The Virtual Wall. Vietnam Veterans Memorial. <http://virtualwall.org>. The Virtual Wall ® Vietnam Veterans Memorial contains personal remembrances of letters, photographs, poetry, and citations honoring those women and men named on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
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