HIST212: Introduction to United States History: Reconstruction to the Present « Saylor.org

Introduction to United States History: Reconstruction to the Present

Purpose of Course show close

This course will introduce you to United States history from the end of the Civil War in 1865 through the first decade of the twenty-first century. You will learn about the major political, economic, and social changes that took place in America during this nearly 150-year period. The course will be structured chronologically, with each unit focusing on a significant historical subject. The units will include representative primary-source documents that illustrate important overarching political, economic, and social themes, such as the growth and expansion of political representation and civil rights in America, industrial development and economic change, race and ethnicity in American society, and cultural change over time. These primary documents offer you insights into the thinking of people who directly witnessed and experienced these historical developments. By the end of the course, you will understand how the United States grew from a relatively weak and divided agricultural nation into a cohesive military and industrial superpower by the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Course Information show close

Welcome to HIST212 Introduction to United States History: Reconstruction to the Present. Below, please find some general information on the course and its requirements.

Course Designers: Ben Schwantes and Angela Bowie

Primary Resources: This course is comprised of a range of different free, online materials. However, the course makes primary use of the following materials:

Independence Hall Association: USHistory.org's American History
University of California: UC College Prep’s U.S. History
Sage American History: Henry J. Sage's Academic American History

Requirements for Completion: In order to complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and all its assigned materials. At the end of each unit, you will be responsible for completing a series of multiple-choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank quizzes to assess your understanding of the topics covered in each unit. You may take these assessments as many times as you like.

In order to pass this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Time Commitment: This course should take you a total of 142.5 hours to complete. Each unit includes a time advisory that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit. These should help you plan your time accordingly. It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories and determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself.

This course features a number of Khan Academy™ videos. Khan Academy™ has a library of over 3,000 videos covering a range of topics (math, physics, chemistry, finance, history and more), plus over 300 practice exercises. All Khan Academy™ materials are available for free at www.khanacademy.org.

Learning Outcomes show close

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Identify the objectives of presidential and congressional Reconstruction following the Civil War and assess the impact of Reconstruction on Caucasian and African-American residents of the American South.
Identify the origins of industrialization in the United States and assess its impact on native-born Americans and immigrants in the post-Civil War era.
Compare and contrast American settlement of the trans-Mississippi West in the post-Civil War era with American economic expansion into Latin America and the Pacific Ocean in the late nineteenth century.
Identify the origins of political and social reform movements in the United States in the late nineteenth century and assess how these movements altered political, economic, and social life throughout the United States in the early twentieth century.
Describe how and why America became involved in World War I and assess the impact of American involvement on the postwar peace settlement.
Explain how the Great Depression and World War II reshaped American society and politics.
Explain how the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement altered America’s standing in the global community and reshaped domestic political and social institutions.
Identify the origins of American military involvement in Vietnam and assess how the war led to social, political, and economic turmoil throughout the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
Explain America’s place within the global community and evaluate how political and social trends in the 1980s and 1990s have shaped contemporary life in the United States.
Analyze and interpret primary source documents from the nineteenth through the twenty-first century using historical research methods.

Course Requirements show close

In order to take this course, you must:

√ Have access to a computer.

√ Have continuous broadband Internet access.

√ Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g., Adobe Reader or Flash).

√ Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer.

√ Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).

√ Have competency in the English language.

√ Have read the Saylor Student Handbook.

√ Have completed all courses listed in the Core Program of the History discipline. This requirement only applies to those students who are seeking the equivalency of a full History degree. If you are taking this course as an elective, you must only have completed HIST001.

Unit Outline show close

1 Reconstruction
1.1 The Politics of Reconstruction
1.1.1 Presidential Reconstruction
1.1.2 Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction
1.1.3 The Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
1.2 The African American Experience of Reconstruction
1.2.1 Opportunities and Obstacles
1.2.2 Oppression and Exodus
1.3 The Failure of Reconstruction
1.3.1 The Election of 1876
1.3.2 The End of Reconstruction
1.3.3 The “New South”: Southern Redemption and Racial Injustice
1.4 Unit 1 Assessment

2 American Industrialization
2.1 The Second Industrial Revolution
2.1.1 Industrial Expansion
2.1.2 Scientific Management and Industrial Efficiency
2.1.3 Machine Politics, Robber Barons, and Gilded Age Corruption
2.2 Immigration and Migration
2.2.1 Causes of Immigration and Migration
2.2.2 Impact of Immigration and Migration
2.2.3 Immigrant Life in the United States
2.3 Industrial Labor and Unionization
2.3.1 Worker Unrest
2.3.2 Unionization Efforts
2.4 The Changing Face of the American City
2.4.1 Urbanization
2.4.2 Building Up and Out: Technology and the American City
2.4.3 Life at Work and Play in the Cities
2.5 Unit 2 Assessment

3 Expanding Frontiers
3.1 The American West
3.1.1 Developing the West: Big Government and Big Business
3.1.2 Indian Wars and Cultural Genocide
3.1.3 Ranching, Farming, and Industry
3.1.4 Ethnic and Racial Tensions in the West
3.1.5 End of an Era
3.2 American Imperialism
3.2.1 The Spanish-American War
3.2.2 The Philippine Occupation
3.2.3 Theodore Roosevelt and American Internationalism
3.3 Unit 3 Assessment

4 Political and Social Reform Movements
4.1 The Populist Movement
4.1.1 Origins: Agrarian Discontent
4.1.2 Political, Economic, and Social Objectives
4.1.3 Regional and National Impact
4.2 The Progressive Movement
4.2.1 Origins: Educated, Middle-Class Reformers
4.2.2 Evolution of the Progressive Movement
4.2.3 Progressive Objectives: “Muckrakers” and “Trust-Busters” and “Suffragists”
4.2.4 National Progressivism
4.2.5 The City Beautiful
4.3 Unit 4 Assessment

6 The Great Depression and World War II
6.1 The Great Depression
6.1.1 Economic and Political Origins
6.1.2 Government Indecision
6.1.3 The Downward Spiral
6.2 Roosevelt and the New Deal
6.2.1 “Happy Days Are Here Again”: The Election of 1932
6.2.2 The First New Deal (1933-1935)
6.2.3 The Second New Deal (1935-1937)
6.2.4 The New Deal’s Legacy
6.3 The Rise of Totalitarianism Abroad
6.3.1 Domestic Responses to Foreign Militarism in the 1930s
6.3.2 American Isolationism and the Pending Global Conflict
6.4 A Two-Front War
6.4.1 America Enters the Global Conflict
6.4.2 The Home Front
6.4.3 The War Abroad
6.4.4 Forging a New World Order
6.5 Unit 6 Assessment

7 The Cold War
7.1 Defending the “Free World”
7.1.1 Postwar America
7.1.2 The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine
7.1.3 Containment of Communism
7.1.4 The Cold War Goes Nuclear
7.1.5 The Korean War
7.1.6 World’s Policeman
7.2 Domestic Anti-Communism
7.2.1 Postwar Red Scare
7.2.2 Exposing “Un-American” Activities
7.2.3 McCarthyism
7.3 The 1950s: Cold War Conformity
7.3.1 Birth of the “Baby Boom” Generation
7.3.2 Dwight D. Eisenhower and American Foreign Policy in the 1950s
7.3.3 Eisenhower’s America
7.4 Unit 7 Assessment

8 The Civil Rights Movement
8.1 The Formation of a Mass Movement
8.1.1 Brown v. Board of Education
8.1.2 Montgomery and Grassroots Protests
8.2 Integration Campaigns in the South
8.2.1 Youth Revolt: Freedom Rides
8.2.2 Birmingham and Martin Luther King
8.2.3 The March on Washington
8.2.4 The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act
8.3 Radical Separatism and the Fragmentation of the Civil Rights Movement
8.3.1 The Black Power Movement
8.3.2 White Backlash
8.3.3 Keeping the Dream Alive
8.4 Offshoots of the Civil Rights Movements
8.4.1 Women’s Rights
8.4.2 Gay Rights
8.4.3 Latino and Native-American Rights

10 The Conservative Ascendancy - The "Reagan Revolution"
10.1 The Carter Years
10.1.1 Economic Crisis at Home
10.1.2 Diplomatic Crisis Abroad
10.2 The Reagan Revolution
10.2.1 Rebirth of American Conservatism
10.2.2 Regan: Domestic Policies
10.2.3 Regan: International Agenda
10.2.4 The Reagan Legacy
10.3 Unit 10 Assessment

11 New World Disorder
11.1 The 1990s
11.1.1 George H.W. Bush
11.1.2 Bill Clinton
11.2 Entering the New Millennium
11.2.1 The Election of 2000
11.2.2 George W. Bush
11.2.3 9-11 and the War on Terror
11.3 A New Age of Uncertainty
11.3.1 A Changing Society
11.3.2 A Great Recession
11.3.3 The Election of Barack Obama
11.4 Unit 11 Assessment

12 Final Exam

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Unit 1: Reconstruction

Even before the last shots of the Civil War had been fired, President Lincoln and members of Congress faced serious questions about how to rebuild and reunite the war-torn United States and provide for nearly four million former slaves. The way in which the government responded to these questions shaped and defined the period now known as Reconstruction, the 12-year period following the Civil War from 1865 to 1877.

Reconstruction was a time of significant political and social change in the United States. In this unit, we will take a look at the controversial origins of Reconstruction and evaluate its successes and failures. We will also examine how former slaves struggled against prejudice and political repression in the American South as they attempted to build new lives for themselves and their families. Finally, we will ask why Reconstruction came to an abrupt end in 1877 and evaluate its political and social legacy in the United States.

Unit 1 Time Advisory show close

Unit 1 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 7: The Civil War and Reconstruction”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 7: The Civil War and Reconstruction” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above, scroll down to the section entitled “With Malice toward None,” and read through the remainder of the article.

This chapter from America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History compares the post-war political goals of President Andrew Johnson with the goals of the Radical Republicans that controlled Congress during and after the Civil War. It also discusses the major political events that led to the end of Reconstruction in 1877.

Terms of Use: This resource is in the public domain.
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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Reconstruction to the Great Depression”
Link: Khan Academy’s “Reconstruction to the Great Depression” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the video until 4:46, which covers the post-Civil War Reconstruction years. Note that this resource also covers subunits 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1.1, 3.1.1, 3.2.1–3.2.3, 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, and 5.4.2.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here
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1.1 The Politics of Reconstruction

1.1.1 Presidential Reconstruction

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 39 - Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Plans, Presidential Reconstruction”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 39 - Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Plans, Presidential Reconstruction” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and view the first section of the video presentation entitled “Presidential Reconstruction.” Read the accompanying text and click on the links entitled “Amnesty Proclamations” and “Wade-Davis Bill.”

This presentation discusses President Abraham Lincoln’s and President Andrew Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction following the Civil War. Both men offered generous terms of reconciliation to the defeated southern states and hoped to reintegrate these state back into the Union politically, economically, and socially as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 30 minutes.

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Reading: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall's version of President Andrew Johnson’s “Proclamation Declaring the Insurrection at an End”
Link: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall's version of President Andrew Johnson’s “Proclamation Declaring the Insurrection at an End” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the entire document.

In this 1866 proclamation, President Andrew Johnson notes all the official statements made by the U.S. government during the Civil War about the South being in a state of rebellion against the Union. He then concludes that civil order and police authority have been restored to the South, and it is no longer officially in a state of insurrection. Johnson’s proclamation opened the door for these states to rejoin the Union politically, economically, and socially. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: What does this document tell us about President Johnson’s opinion of the Confederate States of America and the concept of secession? What does this document reveal concerning Johnson’s position on the rights of Americans under the U.S. Constitution? How might the views expressed by Johnson here help explain his later opposition to Congressional Reconstruction (see sub-subunit 1.1.2 below).

This reading should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: This resource is in the public domain.
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1.1.2 Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 39 - Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Plans, Congressional Reconstruction”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 39 - Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Plans, Congressional Reconstruction” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the third section of the lesson entitled “Congressional Reconstruction.” Read the accompanying text and click on the links entitled “Reconstruction Districts” and “Constitutional Amendments.”

This presentation discusses the role that Congress played in Reconstruction. Congressional Republications objected to President Andrew Johnson’s weak Reconstruction policies that allowed former Confederates to re-enter political office and did little to protect the civil rights of newly freed African-Americans. They passed important Constitutional amendments guaranteeing blacks voting rights and U.S. citizenship. Congress also ordered the U.S. Army to establish military districts in the South in order to enforce these new laws. Southern states could regain home rule only after they agreed to ratify the new civil rights legislation.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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Reading: University of Groningen: American History: From Revolution to Reconstruction: US Congress’ “Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction”
Link: University of Groningen: American History: From Revolution to Reconstruction: US Congress’ “Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction” (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the entire webpage.

In this June 20, 1866 report, Northern Republicans in Congress challenged President Andrew Johnson’s plans to allow Southern states to once again elect senators and representatives. The congressmen argued that the Southern states voluntarily withdrew from the Union and consequently lost their right to elect members to Congress. They asserted that Southern states should only be allowed to return members to Congress once they have reorganized their state governments and addressed civil rights concerns. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: What reasons were given in this congressional report for suspending the rights of some of the inhabitants of the former Confederacy? According to this report, why was it necessary to guarantee the rights of the African American freedmen? How would the proposals made in this report enable the Republican Party to dominate in the states of the former Confederacy?

This reading should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.

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1.1.3 The Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 40 - The End of Reconstruction, Impeachment of Johnson”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 40 - The End of Reconstruction” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the first section entitled “Impeachment of Johnson.” Read the accompanying text and click on the link entitled “Articles of Impeachment.”

This presentation discusses the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. Radical Republicans in Congress objected to Johnson’s sympathetic attitude toward the South and passed the Military Reconstruction Act and civil rights legislation over his veto. When Johnson challenged Congress’s power to oversee Reconstruction efforts, the House of Representatives drew up impeachment charges against him and put him on trial. Johnson was not impeached, but he did leave office once his term expired.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.

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1.2 The African American Experience of Reconstruction

1.2.1 Opportunities and Obstacles

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 40 - The End of Reconstruction”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 40 - The End of Reconstruction” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the second section entitled “The Reconstructed South” in its entirety. Also, please read the accompanying text and click on the link entitled “Black Suffrage.”

This presentation focuses on the lives of African Americans in the South following the Civil War. It discusses the role that Blacks played in Southern politics during Reconstruction and the violent reaction by Southern Whites against free Blacks.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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Reading: University of Oklahoma College of Law: A Chronology of US Historical Documents: Frederick Douglass' “Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage”
Link: University of Oklahoma College of Law: A Chronology of US Historical Documents: Frederick Douglass' “Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the entire document.

In this 1867 appeal to Congress, prominent African American advocate, Frederick Douglass discusses the importance of voting rights. He warns the members of Congress that Southern White Democrats will unite with Northern Democrats to regain control of the federal government if the Republicans in Congress do not enforce voting rights for African Americans. If the Democrats secure control of Congress, they will stop enforcing civil rights laws and take away African Americans hard-won freedoms. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: In his appeal, what arguments does Frederick Douglass employ to persuade Congress to grant African Americans the right to vote? According to Douglass, what would be the negative consequences of denying African Americans the right to vote? To what extent were Douglass’s warnings prophetic (see sub-subunit 1.3.3)?

This reading should take you approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: The material above is available in the public domain.
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1.2.2 Oppression and Exodus

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 39 - Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Plans”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 39 - Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Plans” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the second section entitled “The Black Codes.” Read the accompanying text and click on the link entitled “Mississippi Black Codes.”

This presentation discusses the political measures that many Southern states enacted after the Civil War to limit the civil rights of free African Americans. Black Codes restricted African Americans’ ability to organize politically, defend themselves from White oppression, and work in jobs of their choosing.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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Reading: United States Library of Congress: African American Odyssey: “Reconstruction and Its Aftermath”
Link: United States Library of Congress: African American Odyssey: “Reconstruction and Its Aftermath” (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read Part 1 and Part 2 in their entirety.

This resource focuses on African American experiences in the South and North in the decades after the Civil War.

This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: This resource is in the public domain.
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1.3 The Failure of Reconstruction

1.3.1 The Election of 1876

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 40 - The End of Reconstruction”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 40 - The End of Reconstruction” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the third section entitled “Reconstruction Ends.” Also, please read the accompanying text. Please note that this media addresses the topics for sections 1.3.1-1.3.3.

This presentation focuses on the political and economic turmoil in the United States during 1870s. Economic panic and political corruption in the federal government distracted many Americans in the North from the ongoing social and legal problems that African Americans faced in the South. The disputed election of 1876 enabled Democrats to make a compromise with Republicans that ended Reconstruction in exchange for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes gaining the presidency. The end of Reconstruction allowed southern states to restore unjust racial codes that openly discriminated against African Americans.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 45 minutes to complete.

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1.3.2 The End of Reconstruction

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “The Successes and Failures of Reconstruction”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “The Successes and Failures of Reconstruction” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the entire lecture (23:34).

This lecture presents an overview of Reconstruction, the period of time following the Civil War when Northern leaders attempted to reintegrate the South back into the Union politically, economically, and socially. It focuses on the successes and failures of the effort.

Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. It is attributed to The Saylor Foundation.
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1.3.3 The “New South”: Southern Redemption and Racial Injustice

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 41 - The New South, Race Relations in the New South” Presentation
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 41 - The New South” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the third section entitled “Race Relations in the New South” and read the accompanying text.

This presentation examines efforts by Whites in many southern states to marginalize Blacks politically and socially through legislation and violence. It also addresses Black reactions to White racism.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.
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Reading: Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education: “Segregated America” and “The Battleground: Separate and Unequal Education”
Link: Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education: “Segregated America” and “The Battleground: Separate and Unequal Education” (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read all of the pages of under “Segregated America” and “The Battleground.” These readings and images provide an overview of the emergence of the segregated South.

This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: This resource is in the public domain.
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Reading: Cornell University Law School: Legal Information Institute: The United States Supreme Court, Justice Brown’s “Opinion of the Court: Plessy v. Ferguson”
Link: Cornell University Law School: Legal Information Institute: The United States Supreme Court, Justice Brown’s “Opinion of the Court: Plessy v. Ferguson” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the entire document.

In this 1896 ruling, Justice Brown of the US Supreme Court presents the majority opinion of the court, which affirms a Louisiana state court’s ruling that racial segregation in railroad cars does not violate the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. The Plessy v. Ferguson case provided the legal basis for segregation of all public facilities in most southern states for the next fifty years. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: How does this Supreme Court decision distinguish between political and social equality? How did this distinction shape this Supreme Court decision? In this decision, what is the relationship between state government and the federal government? How does this decision compare to the later Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 (see sub-subunit 8.1.1)?

Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Unported License. It is attributed to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, and the original version can be found here.
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Unit 1 Assessment

Assessment: The Saylor Foundation's “Reconstruction”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “Reconstruction” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and follow the instructions for this written assessment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF).

This assessment should take you approximately one hour to complete.

Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. It is attributed to The Saylor Foundation.
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Unit 2: American Industrialization

The Civil War devastated the southern economy, but it encouraged the rapid growth and expansion of new industries such as steel and textile manufacturing in the North. In the decades immediately following this war, growing numbers of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe provided much of the manpower for these new factories. Meanwhile, native-born Americans tended to find well-paid jobs as supervisors and managers. This economic disparity resulted in workplace violence and led to unionization efforts in many industries. In this unit, you will explore the ways in which industrialization changed the character of many American cities and had a profound impact on economic, political, and social life during this “Gilded Age” (c. 1876–1900).

Unit 2 Time Advisory show close

Unit 2 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov: Outline of US History: “Chapter 8: Growth and Transformation”
Link: America.gov: Outline of US History: “Chapter 8: Growth and Transformation” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the first five sections of the chapter, and stop when you reach the section entitled “The Divided South.”

This chapter from America.gov’s Outline of US History focuses on the major economic and technological transformations that reshaped American industry during the final quarter of the nineteenth century.

This reading should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: This resource is in the public domain.
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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Politics in the Gilded Age”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Politics in the Gilded Age” (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the webpage from the beginning up until the subheading “Agricultural Discontent.” Note that this article offers a comprehensive overview of the major political and economic issues that shaped the late nineteenth century. How did the term “Gilded Age” originate? How does the moniker reflect this era in American history? Note that this reading covers the topics in sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.3.

This reading should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.

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2.1 The Second Industrial Revolution

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “The Impact of the Second Industrial Revolution”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “The Impact of the Second Industrial Revolution” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and watch the entire lecture (16:10 minutes).

This lecture focuses on the economic, political, and social impact of the second Industrial Revolution in the United States during the second half of the 19th century. It addresses the growth of “big business,” the expansion of transportation and communications networks, the development of consumer products, and the impact of industrialization on workers.

Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. It is Attributed to The Saylor Foundation.
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2.1.1 Industrial Expansion

Web Media: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 47 - Consumer Culture”
Link: University of California: UC College Prep’s US History: “Lesson 47 - Consumer Culture” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click the link above and watch all three sections. Also, read the accompanying text for each section.

This presentation focuses on America’s rapid industrial expansion following the Civil War. Many factors contributed to this second Industrial Revolution, including abundant natural resources, labor supplies, and financial capitol. Numerous entrepreneurs were responsible for creating large corporations in fields such as steel manufacturing, banking, and railroad transportation by uniting smaller companies to take advantage of economies of scale and greater managerial efficiencies. Some corporations amassed so much economic and political power during this era that the federal government was forced to step in and regulate their business practices in order to keep them from taking over entire industries.

Exploring this resource should take you approximately one hour to complete.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage's “The Gilded Age”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Gilded Age” (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link above, scroll down, and read the last three subheadings entitled “The Industrial Revolution in America,” “The ‘Robber Barons,’” and “Monopolies, Trusts, Pools and Corporate Integration.” Note that these articles focus on the factors that led to the emergence and expansion of large corporations in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. During this era, America quickly evolved from a nation of small, localized businesses to a nation of powerful corporations whose operations spanned the entire country.

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2.1.2 Scientific Management and Industrial Efficiency

Reading: Marxists Internet Archives: “Biography of Frederick W. Taylor”
Link: Marxists Internet Archives: “Biography of Frederick W. Taylor” (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the entire article. Note that this article discusses the professional life of Frederick W. Taylor, the father of the field known as Scientific Management. Taylor believed that factory production was inefficient because workers were inefficient. He developed techniques for simplifying industrial production by conducting studies of workers’ actions and then implementing new work practices to eliminate wasteful motions and actions. Why did Taylor’s techniques prove very controversial in the workplace?

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Reading: Marxists Internet Archive: Classics of Political Economy: Andy Blunden’s version of Frederick W. Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management: “Chapter One: Fundamentals of Scientific Management”
Link: Marxists Internet Archive's Classics of Political Economy: Andy Blunden’s versions of Frederick W. Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management: “Chapter One: Fundamentals of Scientific Management” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click on the link above and read the entire chapter.

In the first chapter of his groundbreaking study on efficiency and workplace management, engineer Frederick W. Taylor presents basic principles for eliminating “soldiering” on the job and motivating workers to perform their jobs more effectively through restructuring of the workplace and various means of performance-based monetary compensation. Taylor’s ideas revolutionized workplace management in American factories and initiated the Scientific Management movement throughout the world.

This reading should take you approximately 50 minutes to complete.

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2.1.3 Machine Politics, Robber Barons, and Gilded Age Corruption

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 15: Gilded Age, Lesson 46—Gilded Age Scandal and Corruption” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 15: Gilded Age, Lesson 46—Gilded Age Scandal and Corruption” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: To access the video, please click on “Start Lesson.” Then, watch both sections of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text for each section and click on the links entitled “New York City Tenement Houses” and “Satire on Civil Service Reform.”

Note on the Media: This presentation discusses corruption during the Gilded Age. The first section addresses political corruption in New York City and focuses on the activities of the infamous Tweed Ring. The second section looks at corrupt business practices that became common during this era and also addresses the links between corruption in industry and the federal government.

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2.2 Immigration and Migration

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “The Gilded Age in the East and the West”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “The Gilded Age in the East and the West” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the presentation (23:34 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation focuses on the major social, economic and political trends of the Gilded Age in the United States. It addresses immigration, urbanization, and the development of the American West in the years between 1870 and 1900.

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2.2.1 Causes of Immigration and Migration

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 16: Urban Nation, Lesson 49—Growth of Cities” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 16: Urban Nation, Lesson 49—Growth of Cities” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please note that this media covers the topics in sections 2.2.1-2.2.3. Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video, and then watch all three sections of the video presentation. Also, read the accompanying text for each section. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes, video presentation 14 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on immigration in the post-Civil War era. In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, millions of non-Western European immigrants began arriving in the United States. Some people immigrated in order to escape conflict and discrimination in their homelands. Others sought new work opportunities. The massive wave of immigration from Eastern Europe and Asia changed the face of many American cities during this period and led to political and social conflicts between immigrants and native-born Americans. Eventually, in the late 1910s, Congress acted to curb immigration by setting quotas on the numbers of immigrants that would be accepted from other countries around the globe.

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2.2.2 Impact of Immigration and Migration

Reading: United States Library of Congress: American Memory, The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals’ “The Immigration Question”
Link: United States Library of Congress: American Memory, The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals’ “The Immigration Question” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the section of this web page entitled “The Immigration Question.” In this editorial in a technical journal from 1887, the author expresses his concerns about recent immigrants to the country. What do the views expressed tell us about attitudes among Americans to immigrants by the late nineteenth century? This reading should take approximately 10 minutes.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Gilded Age”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage's “The Gilded Age” (HTML)

Instructions: Please go to the above website and scroll down to the last two subsections of the article: “Immigration” and “Chinese Immigration.” Read these sections in their entirety. Note that the above two articles address the social impact of immigration on the United States and discuss how native-born Americans reacted to increasing rates of Eastern European and Asian immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: Wikipedia’s “History of Immigration to the United States”
Link: Wikipedia’s “History of Immigration to the United States” (HTML)

Instructions: Click this link, scroll up, and analyze the chart, “Persons Obtaining Legal Resident Status Fiscal Years 1820 -2010.” How do the number of immigrants settling in the United States between 1850 and 1920 compare with the decades before and after this period? These statistics are provided by the US Department of Homeland Security. This exercise should take 10 minutes.

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2.2.3 Immigrant Life in the United States

Reading: Making of America: Louise C. Odencrantz’s Italian Women in Industry: A Study of Conditions in New York City: “Chapters 1-3”
Link: Making of America: Louise C. Odencrantz’s Italian Women in Industry: A Study of Conditions in New York City: “Chapters 1-3” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter 1, “Introduction”, Chapter 2, “The Women and their Families”, and Chapter 3, “Occupations of Italian Women at Work.” This reading should take approximately two hours.

Note on the Text: This 1919 book is based on the first-hand accounts of Italian women immigrants who arrived in New York City around the early 20^th century. This book concerns the experiences and the living and working conditions in New York City for new immigrants. After reading excerpts from this book, please consider the following questions: How would you describe the nature of the work for Italian immigrant workers? Were these women victimized and exploited, or were they scrappy women who took advantage of any opportunity to improve their lives? Do their stories put immigration in this era in a positive or negative light?

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Reading: Bartleby.com’s version of Jacob A. Riis’ How The Other Half Lives: “Chapter 3: The Mixed Crowd” and “Chapter 4: The Down Town Back-Alleys”
Links: Bartleby.com’s version of Jacob A. Riis’ How The Other Half Lives: “Chapter 3: The Mixed Crowd” (PDF) and “Chapter 4: The Down Town Back-Alleys” (PDF)

Also available in:
Google Books

Instructions: Read chapter 3 and chapter 4 on the website in their entirety. This reading should take approximately 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Note on the Text: In How the Other Half Lives, journalist Jacob A. Riis describes immigrant life in New York City at the end of the nineteenth century. In Chapters 3 and 4, Riis paints a vivid picture of urban decay and corruption and describes the squalor of immigrant living conditions in the tenements and back allies of lower Manhattan.

After reading Riis’s description of urban life in New York City in 1890, please consider the following questions: What immigrant groups did Riis identify as inhabitants of the city? What were the particular hazards of living in the tenements, according to Riis? How does Riis’s description of urban life compare with Sadie’s account of her experiences in this same city at the turn of the twentieth century?

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2.3 Industrial Labor and Unionization

2.3.1 Worker Unrest

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 15: Gilded Age, Lesson 48—Rise of Unions” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 15: Gilded Age, Lesson 48—Rise of Unions” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please note that this media covers topics in sections 2.3.1-2.3.3. Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video, and then watch all three sections of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text for each section. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation (13 minutes).

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the lives of industrial workers during the late nineteenth century and discusses efforts by workers to form unions. Many employers challenged employee unionization efforts and used coercive measures to break unions, or keep them from forming in their shops. Labor unions gradually achieved limited victories during the Gilded Age, such as federal 8-hour workday legislation, but also suffered serious defeats by powerful industrial employers.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Gilded Age: The War Between Capital and Labor”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Gilded Age: The War Between Capital and Labor” (HTML)

Instructions: Go to the above website and read the article from the beginning up until the subunit titled “Immigration and Urbanization.” Note that this article focuses on the history of workers in the Western world, the lives of industrial workers (including women and children) in late nineteenth century America, and the major strikes and labor protests of the era. Workers took great risks when they challenged the power of industrialists by going on strike, and few strikes were successful during this era. Commonly, city, state, and national leaders used private militias, police, and military forces to intimidate and threaten striking workers. Company owners also used strikebreakers to run factories and mines in place of striking workers. Nevertheless, the handful of successful strikes during this era demonstrated that workers possessed the power to shape their own destiny in the workplace. This reading covers topics in subunits 2.3.1–2.3.3. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation (13 minutes).

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2.3.2 Unionization Efforts

Reading: Marxist Internet Archive: “Biography of Samuel Gompers” and Making of America: George A. Stevens’ New York Typographical Union #6: Study of a Modern Trade Union and its Predecessor
Link: Marxist Internet Archive: “Biography of Samuel Gompers” and Making of America: George A. Stevens’ New York Typographical Union #6: Study of a Modern Trade Union and its Predecessor (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the biography of Gompers and chapter XXXVII, “Affiliation with the General Labor Movement” (pages 585-594) in Stevens’ book, which was published in 1913 under the direction of the Department of Labor of the State of New York. This chapter discusses the unionization efforts of workers in the printing industry with other trade unions in New York. Note that these readings discuss early unionization efforts in the United States during the mid-to-late nineteenth century and the role of Samuel Gompers, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor. These readings should take approximately 35 minutes.

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2.4 The Changing Face of the American City

2.4.1 Urbanization

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 15: Gilded Age, Lesson 50—Life in the City” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 15: Gilded Age, Lesson 50—Life in the City” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please note that this media covers material for subunits 2.4.1-2.4.3. Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the videos, and then watch all three sections of the video presentation. Also, read the accompanying text for each section. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 14 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the growth and maturation of America’s cities in the late nineteenth century. Industrialization, immigration, and economic opportunities each played an important role in the rapid growth of cities. Architects began building up, as well as out, in order to accommodate business interests and the first skyscrapers appeared during this era. The city was also a place of pollution and disease. Urban slums were a dominant feature of all cities. Many middle and upper class residents fled urban cores for healthier and cleaner “streetcar suburbs.” Nevertheless, city life dominated American life and the country entered the twentieth century as an industrial, urbanized nation.

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2.4.2 Building Up and Out: Technology and the American City

Reading: Making of America: James Blaine Walker’s Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864 -1917: “Chapters X-XIII”
Link: Making of America: James Blaine Walker’s Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864 -1917: “Chapters X-XIII” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter X, “Era of Public Ownership Begins”, Chapter XI, “Rapid Transit Act and Commission of 1894, Chapter XII, “Contract for Construction of First Subway Awarded”, and Chapter XIII, “First Subway Completed and Placed in Operation” (pages 123 -191). In these chapters of the book, published in 1918, the author discusses the efforts to construct the subway system in New York City around the beginning of the 20^th century. His account also presents an insight into the cozy relationship between important businessmen and city leaders in this era. To expedite your reading, feel free to glance over the long lists of members of boards and commissions. This reading should take approximately 2 hours and thirty minutes.

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Reading: Making of America: John Charles Van Dyke’s The New New York; A Commentary on the Place and the People: “Sky-Scrapers” and “The Tenement Dwellers”
Link: Making of America: John Charles Van Dyke’s The New New York; A Commentary on the Place and the People: “Sky-Scrapers” (PDF) and “The Tenement Dwellers” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter VI, “Sky-Scrapers” (pages 95 -111) and Chapter XV, “The Tenement Dwellers” (pages 255-269). In this book published in 1909, pay attention to the role that new technologies, such as steel beams and elevators, played in the construction of this new style of building. Also in discussing the poverty of New York City tenements, the author discusses ideas current in his time for addressing this problem and offers his own solutions, which reflect the anti-immigrant views of some Americans at this time. This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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2.4.3 Life at Work and Play in the Cities

Reading: The Library of Congress’s America at Work/America at Leisure, 1894-1915: “America at Work” and “America at Leisure”
Links: The Library of Congress’s America at Work/America at Leisure, 1894-1915: “America at Work” (PDF) and “America at Leisure” (PDF)

Instructions: Read both articles in their entirety. Select some of the vintage movie files by clicking on the links within each article and view them.

Note on the Text: This website, maintained by the Library of Congress, discusses some of the different employment options and recreational activities that Americans had at the turn of the twentieth century. It also provides an archive of vintage film clips depicting Americans at work doing various jobs. These readings should take approximately 20 minutes.

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Unit 2 Assessment

Assessment: The Saylor Foundation's "American Industrialization”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's "American Industrialization” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assessment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Unit 3: Expanding Frontiers

American explorers and settlers had pushed steadily westward across the North American continent since the earliest days of the Republic. In the process, they displaced many Native-American inhabitants, often through coercion and violence. After the end of the Civil War, the U.S. Government took an active role in promoting settlement of the Trans-Mississippi West and suppressing Native-American resistance through military force. In this unit, we will take a look at how Americans settled the West and examine their encounters with Native-American inhabitants across the western frontier.

We will then learn that, at the end of the nineteenth century, many Americans turned their attention from the western frontier to the international frontier. A short and successful war with Spain in 1898 led to the U.S. occupation of Cuba and the Philippine Islands. The U.S. also began to flex it military might elsewhere in Latin America and across the Pacific Ocean. We will examine how America emerged as a world power by the early twentieth century and explore the parallels between western settlement and international expansion.

Unit 3 Time Advisory show close

Unit 3 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 8: Growth and Transformation”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 8: Growth and Transformation” (PDF)

Instructions: Please scroll down about half-way until you read the section “The Last Frontier.” Please read the final five sections of the webpage beginning with “The Last Frontier.”

Note on the Text: This chapter from America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History focuses on the economic, social, and cultural consequences of America’s westward expansion during the second-half of the nineteenth century and its growing international ambitions. It discusses the economic development of western lands and the gradual displacement of Native Americans. It concludes by discussing America’s growing involvement in international affairs and the nation’s various military and political efforts to establish economic and political influence in Latin and South American and across the Pacific Ocean. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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3.1 The American West

3.1.1 Developing the West: Big Government and Big Business

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 42—Focus on the West” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 42—Focus on the West” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: To access the video, click on “Start Lesson.” Then, watch all three sections of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text for each section.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on western exploration and settlement in the post-Civil War era. It focuses on the role played by the federal government and powerful private industries, such as railroads and mining companies, in fostering western development. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 13 minutes.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Gilded Age in America: The American West”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Gilded Age in America: The American West” (HTML)

Instructions: Go to the above website and read all the sections down to the subheading, “The Industrial Revolution in America.” These sections discuss the railroad’s impact on the settlement of the American West and on Native Americans, and covers material in sections 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 below. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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3.1.2 Indian Wars and Cultural Genocide

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 43—Confrontations with Native Americans” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 43—Confrontations with Native Americans” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, watch all three sections of the video presentation. Also, read the accompanying text for each section.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the impact of American expansion into the trans-Mississippi West on Native American inhabitants. It discusses the evolving legal and social relationship between the federal government and native tribes during the nineteenth century. It also focuses on the consequences of efforts by federal government agents and the military to forcibly pacify tribes in the 1870s and 1880s and move them on to reservations. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation 13 minutes.

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3.1.3 Ranching, Farming, and Industry

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 44—Cattle, Frontiers, and Farming” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 44—Cattle, Frontiers, and Farming” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, watch all three sections of the video presentation. Also, please read the accompanying text for each section.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on agriculture in the American West. It discusses the development of a ranching industry in the West and the role that railroads played in transporting cattle to markets in the East. It also discusses the challenges that pioneers faced as they began to establish farms on the Great Plains and in the Far West.

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3.1.4 Ethnic and Racial Tensions in the West

Reading: Making of America: Proceedings of the California Senate’s “Chinese Immigration: the Social, Moral, and Political Effects of Chinese Immigration”
Link: Making of America: Proceedings of the California Senate’s “Chinese Immigration: the Social, Moral, and Political Effects of Chinese Immigration” (PDF)

Instructions: Read pages 3 -35 of these proceedings of the California State Senate in 1876, which conducted an inquiry regarding the impact of Chinese immigration on the state of California. Chinese immigrants played a key role in the construction of railroads in the American West. San Francisco was the port of entry for many Chinese immigrants into the United States. The testimony of these witnesses in this inquiry reveals the conditions which Chinese immigrants faced, as well as the hostility and prejudice of white Americans. Based on this testimony and the questions by the legislators, what were the major concerns of the American public with Chinese immigration? This reading should take approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

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3.1.5 End of an Era

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 45—End of the Frontier” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 14: Changing Landscape, Lesson 45—End of the Frontier” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Please focus on topics two (“The Frontier Passes into History) and three (“Farming Becomes a Business”) in the video presentation. Read the accompanying text for both sections. Reading the text should take approximately 50 minutes, video presentation 8 minutes.

Note on the Media: Sections two and three of the presentation discuss how the closing of America’s western frontier at the end of the nineteenth century affected the nation. Parts of the west soon began to look more like developed areas of the East. This change had a significant psychological impact on Americans who had always thought of the West as a vast untamed region.

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Reading: The University of Virginia, Department of English: Michael W. Kidd’s version of Frederick Jackson Turner’s The Frontier in American History: “Chapter 1: The Significance of the Frontier in American History”
Link: The University of Virginia, Department of English: Michael W. Kidd’s version of Frederick Jackson Turner’s The Frontier in American History: “Chapter 1: The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (PDF)

Also available in:
Google Books
Kindle ($1.00)

Instructions: Read chapter 1 of Turner’s “The Frontier in American History” in its entirety. This reading should take approximately 1 hour.

Note on the Text: Historian Frederick Jackson Turner originally presented the essay that appears in Chapter 1 of his book to a meeting of fellow historians in the summer of 1893. In this essay, he argues that the frontier (as both a real location and a concept) played a critical role in shaping American identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Modern historians have challenged elements of Turner’s “Frontier Thesis,” but his views demonstrate how important the frontier was for many Americans in the late nineteenth century. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: According to Turner, how did westward expansion influence American history? How did this movement shape American political institutions? How did this movement help mold Americans’ national character?

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3.2 American Imperialism

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “The Spanish-American War and American Imperialism”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “The Spanish-American War and American Imperialism” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (13:57 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation discusses the causes of the Spanish American War of 1898 and focuses on the consequences of the conflict for the United States.

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3.2.1 The Spanish-American War

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 18: Imperialism, Lesson 54—McKinley and Roosevelt” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 6: New Frontiers, Chapter 18: Imperialism, Lesson 54—McKinley and Roosevelt” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, focus on topics two (“Spanish-American War”), three (“Panama Canal”), and four (“Roosevelt Corollary”) in the video presentation. Read the accompanying text for each section. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 13 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the roles that President William McKinley and President Theodore Roosevelt played in America’s growing involvement in the international community at the beginning of the twentieth century. Under McKinley, the United States went to war against Spain and acquired overseas territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Roosevelt believed that America should act as a policeman for the nations of the Western Hemisphere and use political and military coercion to ensure that the developing nations of Latin and South American had good government and a positive attitude towards American businesses.

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Reading: America.gov’s Outline of American History: Chapter 8, “Growth and Transformation”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of American History: Chapter 8, “Growth and Transformation” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the section of the article beginning with the subheading “Ambivalent Empire.” Read this section in its entirety. Note that this article focuses on the sources and impact of American expansionism in the late nineteenth century, from the purchase of Alaska from Russia, the causes and consequences of the Spanish-American War, conflicts in Asia, and the impetus for the Panama Canal. Note that this article covers topics in subunits 3.2.1–3.2.3. This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

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3.2.2 The Philippine Occupation

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Reading: Fordham University’s Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of the American Anti-Imperialist League’s “Platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League”
Link: Fordham University’s Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of the American Anti-Imperialist League’s “Platform of the American Anti-imperialist League” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the entire document on the website. This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

Note on the Text: This document presents the 1899 platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League. The League opposed America’s growing military and political involvement in the affairs of other countries and argued against annexation of the Philippines. They argued that imperialism was un-American and violated America’s fundamental political values. After reading this document, consider the following questions: What arguments do the authors of this platform employ to urge Americans to support the independence of the Philippines? To what historical events in American history do these authors refer in this platform and why would these events be relevant to the situation in 1899? How did the Anti-Imperialist League differ from the Isolationist America First Committee before World War II (see section 6.3.2)?

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3.2.3 Theodore Roosevelt and American Internationalism

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Reading: Classic Liberal: Thomas E. Woods’ “Theodore Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency”
Link: Classic Liberal: Thomas E. Woods’ “Theodore Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article. Note that the above article provides an overview of the administration of the 26th president. This reading should take around one hour.

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Unit 3 Assessment

Assessment: The Saylor Foundation's "Expanding Frontiers"
Link: The Saylor Foundation's "Expanding Frontiers” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assessment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1.5 hours.
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Unit 4: Political and Social Reform Movements

The 1890s and early 1900s witnessed a profound social and political reaction to the Gilded Age, the period between the early 1870s and late 1890s, characterized by its excesses and corruption. In the Midwest, farmers and workers organized political movements to reign in the power of corrupt corporations that dominated local economies and controlled access to credit and transportation resources. Populists demanded greater political democracy and increased access to economic resources for poor and middle-class Americans. In American cities, middle-class reformers organized political movements to address crime, pollution, urban decay, and other unintended consequences of industrialization. The Progressives also tried to “Americanize” immigrants and promote responsible, middle-class lifestyles by organizing settlement houses for immigrants and campaigning against alcohol consumption. We will examine how both of these political and social movements reformed the structure of American democracy and altered the character and appearance of American cities at the turn of the twentieth century.

Unit 4 Time Advisory show close

Unit 4 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 9: Discontent and Reform”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 9: Discontent and Reform” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the entire article. Note that this chapter from America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History focuses on the emergence of two major political and social reform movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Populists demanded greater government involvement in the agricultural sector of the economy and looked to America’s past for inspiration. Progressives attempted to use the power of government to improve America’s cities and institute major economic reforms at the national level. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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4.1 The Populist Movement

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “The Populist and Progressive Reform Movements”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “The Populist and Progressive Reform Movements” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (22:20 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation focuses on the origins of the Populist and Progressive reform movements in the United States in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. The presentation also discusses the political, economic, and social consequences of these reform movements for the nation as a whole.

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4.1.1 Origins: Agrarian Discontent

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 51—Agrarian Revolt” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 51—Agrarian Revolt” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, please watch section one (“The People’s Party”) of the video presentation. Also, read the accompanying text for each section.

Note on the Media: Section one of the presentation focuses on the origins of the People’s Party in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Known as Populists, these agrarian political reformers from the West and Midwest wanted the federal government to regulate large corporations and provide economic support to struggling American farmers. Reading the text should take approximately 10 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

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4.1.2 Political, Economic, and Social Objectives

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Politics in the Gilded Age”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage's “Politics in the Gilded Age” (HTML)

Instructions: Please go to the above webpage and scroll down to the subheading “Agricultural Discontent & the Populist Movement.” Please read this section in its entirety. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: Making of America: Davis Rich Dewey’s National Problems, 1885 -1897: “Chapter XV: Presidential Election of 1892”
Link: Making of America: Davis Rich Dewey’s National Problems, 1885 -1897: “Chapter XV: Presidential Election of 1892” (PDF)

Instructions: Read “Chapter XV: Presidential Election of 1892” (pages 238 -251). In this 1907 book this prominent economist discussed the formation of the Populist Party in the 1892 presidential election. After reading this chapter, please consider the following question: How did the resolutions in the Populists platform seek to address the concerns of both urban workers and farmers? This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Reading: Making of America: Henry Clews’ The Wall Street Point of View: “Chapters XXV-XXVIII”
Link: Making of America: Henry Clews’ The Wall Street Point of View: “Chapters XXV-XXVIII” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter XXV, “Prophetic Views on Silver”, Chapter XXVI, “President McKinley’s Policy and the Nation’s Future”, Chapter XXVII, “The Masses and the Classes”, and Chapter XXVIII, “A Question of Good Citizenship” (pages 184 -221). Henry Clews was a prominent Wall Street financier who in this 1900 book expressed his support for the policies of President William McKinley and his opposition to the Populists within the Democratic Party at this time. These Populist reformers wanted to limit the power of large corporations through government regulation and make it easier for farmers to pay their debts by permitting the coinage of silver. These plans were vigorously opposed by Republican political leaders. These readings should take approximately two hours.

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4.1.3 Regional and National Impact

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 51—Agrarian Revolt” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 51—Agrarian Revolt” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, please watch sections two (“The Election of 1892”) and three (“The Election of 1896”) of the presentation. Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 10 minutes.

Note on the Media: Sections two and three of the presentation focus on the Populists’ participation in the presidential elections of 1892 and 1896. The Populists attracted great support from farmers and agricultural workers in the West and Midwest and threatened the nation hold of the Republican and Democratic Parties. Eventually, the Democratic Party allied with the Populists against the Republicans in the 1896 election.

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Reading: Making of America: Davis Rich Dewey’s National Problems, 1885 -1897: “Chapter XVI, Maintenance of the Gold Standard (1893 -1896)”, and “Chapter XX, Campaign for Free Coinage (1896)”
Link: Making of America: Davis Rich Dewey’s National Problems, 1885 -1897: “Chapter XVI, Maintenance of the Gold Standard (1893 -1896)” (PDF) and “Chapter XX, Campaign for Free Coinage (1896)” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter XVI (pages 252-276) and Chapter XX (pages 314 -329). These two chapters of Dewey’s book discuss the Panic of 1893 and the presidential election of 1896. After reading excerpts from William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic convention in 1896, please consider the following questions: In this speech, for what groups in society did William Jennings Bryan claim to be their spokesman? Besides his support for coining silver, what in this speech would have been appealing to Populists? Bryan and his supporters argued that the federal government should purchase and coin silver in addition to gold. Both measures were favored by Populists, because they would create jobs in the western mining industry and increase the money supply in the United States, which would make it easier for farmers to pay down their debts. Reading this text should take approximately one hour and 30 minutes.

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4.2 The Progressive Movement

4.2.1 Origins: Educated, Middle-Class Reformers

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, focus on the first section (“Origins of Progressivism”) of the presentation. Read the accompanying text. In the first section, click on the accompanying text, “Upton Sinclair,” and read an excerpt from his novel, The Jungle. Reading this text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one of this presentation focuses on the origins of the Progressive Movement in the United States and the broad objectives of Progressive reformers.

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Reading: Marxists Internet Archives’ “Biography of Edward Bellamy”
Link: Marxists Internet Archives’ “Biography of Edward Bellamy” (HTML)

Instructions: Click the link and read this biography of novelist Edward Bellamy, whose novel, Looking Backward (1888), was one of the top bestsellers of the nineteenth century. This novel would inspire Progressives. This reading should take approximately 5 minutes.

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Reading: University of Virginia’s Looking Backward: Chapter 1 and Chapter 5
Link: University of Virginia’s Looking Backward: Chapter 1 (HTML) and Chapter 5 (HTML)

Instructions: Click and read Chapters 1 and 5. In Chapter 1, the main character introduces himself to the reader and describes his society in 1887. Chapter 5 takes place after this character had fallen asleep and awakened in the year 2000. In this chapter, the main character learns about society in the year 2000. After reading these excerpts, consider the following questions: How did the main character describe society in 1887? How does his description compare with the crisis described in the Omaha Platform (see section 4.1.2)? Why would the description of society in the year 2000 in this novel be so attractive to middle class Progressives? This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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4.2.2 Evolution of the Progressive Movement

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Focus on the second section (“Municipal, State, and National Reforms” of the presentation. Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 10 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section two of the presentation discusses the development of Progressive reform efforts at the local, state, and eventually national levels. Reformers targeted political corruption, urban decay, and other forms of inequality.

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4.2.3 Progressive Objectives: “Muckrakers” and “Trust-Busters” and “Suffragists”

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Focus on sections three (“Social Alternatives”) and four (“Women and Blacks of America”) of the presentation. Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes, video presentation 8 minutes.

Note on the Media: The final two sections of the presentation focus on some of the objectives of Progressive reformers, including women’s voting rights, minimum wage legislation, the 8-hour workday, and other political and social issues.

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4.2.4 National Progressivism

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 53—The Progressive Presidents” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 53—The Progressive Presidents” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, watch each section of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the Progressive reform policies of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. Under these presidents, Progressivism became a driving force behind national politics. Roosevelt challenged the power of large corporations that he felt were not acting in the public interest. He also supported conservation of natural resources. His two successors continued the Progressive agenda into the mid-1910s.

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Reading: Fordham University’s Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of The New York Times’ “The Woman of Thirty”
Link: Fordham University’s Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of The New York Times’ “The Woman of Thirty” (HTML)

Instructions: Please scroll down the webpage to reach the article titled “The Woman of Thirty,” and read the entire primary-source document. This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

Note on the Text: In this newspaper article from August 29, 1920, New York Times’ editors discuss some of the broader social and political implications of the 19^th Amendment, which recognized women’s right to vote. The editors argue that the amendment will have a significant impact on women’s participation in American political life. After reading this document, consider the following questions: According to the author, how would the inclusion of women as voters affect future government policies? To what degree were the author’s predictions influenced by the traditional role of women as mothers?

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4.2.5 The City Beautiful

Reading: University of Virginia American Studies Program: Julie K. Rose’s The City Beautiful: The 1901 Plan for Washington, D.C.: “The City Beautiful Movement,” “The 1901 Plan for Washington D.C.,” and “Washington, D.C. and Beyond”
Links: University of Virginia American Studies Program: Julie K. Rose’s The City Beautiful: The 1901 Plan for Washington, D.C.:“The City Beautiful Movement,” (HTML) “The 1901 Plan for Washington D.C.,” (HTML) and “Washington, D.C. and Beyond” (HTML)

Instructions: Read all three webpages on the website in their entirety. These readings should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Text: This website discusses the impact of the Progressive-Era City Beautiful Movement on American cities and focuses specifically on the 1901 redevelopment plan for the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

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Unit 4 Assessment

Assessment: The Saylor Foundation's “Political and Social Reform Movements”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “Political and Social Reform Movements” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assessment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding.” (PDF) This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Unit 5: World War I and the 1920s

When the nations of Europe declared war on each other in the summer of 1914, few observers expected the conflict to last more than a few months. President Woodrow Wilson declared American neutrality and attempted to keep the nation isolated from the violent conflict. As the war gradually expanded throughout much of the world, both sides suffered millions of casualties. Wilson continued to champion American neutrality and won reelection in 1916 on an anti-war platform, but less than a year later, German attacks on American shipping convinced him to declare war on the Central Powers. Fresh American soldiers joined weary English and French troops along the Western Front and eventually forced Germany to declare an armistice on November 11, 1918. In this unit, we will discuss how the war affected the United States and examine why Woodrow Wilson’s plans for a League of Nations failed to receive Congressional approval. In the decade following this war, many Americans feared foreign influences that could, in their view, undermine the American way of life, and this period witnessed a “Red Scare,” a resurgence of nativism and race riots. We will also how Americans lived, worked, and played during this decade of economic and technological abundance.

Unit 5 Time Advisory show close

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “World War One and the United States”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “World War One and the United States”

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (19:45 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation focuses on the causes of the First World War and discusses how the United States reacted to the crisis in Europe. The presentation explains how and why the United States eventually entered the war in 1917 and the consequences of the conflict for the nation.

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Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 10: War, Prosperity, and Depression”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 10: War, Prosperity, and Depression” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the entire article except for the final section entitled “The Great Depression.” This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Text: This chapter from America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History focuses on how the United States was gradually drawn into World War One. The chapter goes on to discuss President Woodrow Wilson’s role in the peace negotiations at Versailles and the turbulent period that followed the conflict. The later part of the chapter addresses the economic, political, and social forces that influenced the lives of many Americans during the 1920s.

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5.1 Woodrow Wilson and American Isolationism

5.1.1 Origins of the Conflict

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Lecture: iTunes U: Open Yale Courses: HIST 202: Professor John Merriman’s “The Coming of the Great War”
Link: iTunes U: Open Yale Courses: Professor John Merriman’s “The Coming of the Great War” (mp3)

Instructions: Please click on the link above, and select lecture 16 entitled “The Coming of the Great War.” Please listen to the entire lecture (48 minutes). In this lecture Professor Merriman discusses the events leading to World War I. Many experts believed the war would be short and decisive, but British, French, and German armies on the Western Front quickly bogged down and began constructing massive trench lines along the entire front. Each side fought a bloody war of attrition for the next three years as the armies tried to wear out the industrial and military capacities of the opposing side.

Viewing this lecture and pausing to take notes should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.
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5.1.2 American Neutrality

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 56—US Entry into WWI” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 56—US Entry into WWI” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the presentation. Then, focus on sections one (“US Neutrality”) and two (“Subs”) of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes, video presentation 9 minutes.

Note on the Media: Sections one and two of the presentation focus on American efforts to maintain political neutrality from 1914 through 1916 as World War One raged in Europe. The presentation also discusses how German submarine warfare and other militant actions threatened to undermine America’s neutrality and pull the nation into the conflict.

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5.2 America Enters the War

5.2.1 Declaring War: Making the World “Safe for Democracy”

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 56—US Entry into WWI” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 56—US Entry into WWI” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Focus on the third section (“Mobilizing the Nation for War”) of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: The third section focuses on President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to enter World War One on the side of Great Britain and France in order to “make the world safe for democracy.” The presentation examines national, state, and local efforts to mobilize the country and put American industry on a wartime footing.

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Reading: Brigham Young University Library’s The World War I Document Archive: Woodrow Wilson’s “War Message to Congress”
Link: Brigham Young University Library’s The World War I Document Archive: Woodrow Wilson’s “War Message to Congress” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the primary-source document on the webpage. This reading should take approximately 25 minutes.

Note on the Text: In his “War Message,” President Woodrow Wilson presents specific arguments as to why the United States can no longer remain neutral. He argues that Germany and its allies have violated American neutrality and the United States must respond militarily in order to make the world “safe for democracy.” After reading this document, consider the following questions: What recent historical events did Wilson touch on as grounds for war with Germany? Why would a war against Germany be a war to advance democracy? How did Wilson characterize the government of Germany at this time? What actions, according to Wilson, did the United States need to implement to prosecute this war?

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5.2.2 The War in Europe

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Lecture: iTunes U: Open Yale Courses: HIST 202: Professor John Merriman’s “War in the Trenches”
Link: iTunes U: Open Yale Courses: Professor John Merriman’s “War in the Trenches” (mp3)

Instructions: Please click on the link above, and select lecture 17 entitled “War in the Trenches.” Please listen to the entire lecture (50 minutes). In this lecture Professor Merriman discusses the war in Europe and the nature of trench warfare.

Viewing this lecture and pausing to take notes should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Reading: United States Library of Congress: African American Odyssey: “Fighting at Home and Abroad” and “Theodore Roosevelt’s Address to the Circle for Negro War Relief”
Link: United States Library of Congress: African American Odyssey: “Fighting at Home and Abroad” (HTML) and “Theodore Roosevelt’s Address to the Circle for Negro War Relief” (HTML)

Instructions: Click the first link and read the entire webpage. Also click the second link from this webpage to Emmett J. Scott’s Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in the World War, and read this address by former president Theodore Roosevelt in 1919 on image pages 33 -37. This reading should take approximately 25 minutes to complete.

Note on the Text: These readings focus on the contributions of African-Americans to American military efforts in World War One and efforts by African Americans to achieve equal rights.

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5.2.3 The Home Front

Reading: Brigham Young University Library’s The World War I Document Archive: Arthur L. Frothingham’s “Handbook of War Facts and Peace Problems”
Link: Brigham Young University Library’s The World War I Document Archive: Arthur L. Frothingham’s “Handbook of War Facts and Peace Problems” (HTML)

Instructions: Read Chapter V, “Our Government’s Conduct of the War” from the 1919 pamphlet regarding the actions taken by the United States government to channel the nation’s resources for the war effort. How does the author justify the vast expansion of executive power of the president and the federal government during the war?

This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “America and World War I”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “America and World War I” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this webpage through the subsection, “World War I on the Home Front.” Note that this reading concerns the domestic impact of World War I, discusses growing anti-German sentiments in the United States and the federal government’s actions to silence political opponents of the war through legal prosecution and intimidation. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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5.3 Failure at Versailles

Lecture: Saylor Foundation: “World War I's Domestic Legacy”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “World War I's Domestic Legacy” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (17:51 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation discusses the
domestic impact of World War I on American politics and society.
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5.3.1 The Versailles Negotiations

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 57—Peace Conferences” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 57—Peace Conferences” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the presentation. Focus on the first section of the video presentation titled “Wilson’s 14 Points.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: This first section of the presentation focuses on Woodrow Wilson’s peace proposals that he tried to convince French and British leaders to adopt in the Treaty of Versailles.

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5.3.2 The Versailles Treaty

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 57—Peace Conferences” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 57—Peace Conferences” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the presentation. Then, watch section two of the video presentation titled “Treaty of Versailles.” To access this section of the video, click the circle above the title at the top of the webpage. Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 5 Minutes.

Note on the Media: This section focuses on the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles and Woodrow Wilson’s negotiating successes and failures.

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5.3.3 Wilson’s Agenda Fails

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 57—Peace Conferences” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 57—Peace Conferences” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video presentation. Then, watch section three of the video presentation titled “Defeat of Treaty in US.” To access this, click on the circle above the title at the top of the webpage. Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: This section focuses on Woodrow Wilson’s efforts to secure approval of the Versailles Treaty by the United States Senate. It addresses the Senate’s rejection of the Treaty and the consequences of this action for the United States and the Western World.

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5.3.4 Prelude to Future Conflict

Lecture: iTunes U: Open Yale Courses: HIST 202: Professor John Merriman’s “Fascists”
Link: iTunes U: Open Yale Courses: Professor John Merriman’s “Fascists” (mp3)

Instructions: Please click on the link above, and select lecture 22 entitled “Fascists.” Please listen to the entire lecture (48 minutes). In this lecture Professor Merriman discusses examines how important provisions of the Versailles Treaty led to political and economic instability in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s, which led to the emergence of the Nazi movement in Germany and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power.

Viewing this lecture and pausing to take notes should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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5.4 The “Roaring Twenties”

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “American Society in the 1920s”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “American Society in the 1920s” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (20:39 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation focuses on three
dominant trends in American society during the 1920s: Consumption,
Prohibition, and the Great Migration.
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5.4.1 The Red Scare and Labor Turmoil

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Then, watch the first section of the video presentation titled “Red Scare.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 15 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Text: This presentation focuses on the roots of the postwar Red Scare. The federal government feared that Socialist and Communist organizations were trying to challenge the American democratic system and instituted a period of intense political repression directed by the U.S. Justice Department against radical political organizations.

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5.4.2 Political Conservatism—Republican Domination

Note: This topic is also covered by the video at the beginning of Unit 1.

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Roaring Twenties”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Roaring Twenties” (HTML)

Instructions: Please go to the above website and read the entire webpage, which focuses on American politics during the 1920s. The Republican Party controlled the White House and Congress during these years and strongly favored business interests over working-class Americans. Republican presidents worked to reverse many of the social and political reforms made during the Progressive Era. Prohibition, the legal ban on alcohol production and sales, also played an important role in shaping life during this decade by empowering organized crime and driving alcohol consumption underground. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video presentation. Then, watch section four (“Prohibition”) of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: This portion of the presentation examines the political, social, and cultural impact of Prohibition on the United States in the 1920s.

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5.4.3 Social and Cultural Tensions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Focus on sections two (“Nativism and Racism”) and three (“Religion”) of the presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 8 minutes.

Note on the Media: These sections of the video presentation focus on American anti-immigration policies of the 1920s and the growing public divisions between evangelicalism and secular humanism in America society.

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5.4.4 Mass Production and Mass Consumption

Lecture: TheEnglishfaculty.org: University of Leeds: Andrew Warnes’ “The Great Gatsby and the Roaring Twenties, Pt. 1” and “The Great Gatsby and the Roaring Twenties, Pt. 2”
Link: TheEnglishfaculty.org: University of Leeds: Andrew Warnes’ “The Great Gatsby and the Roaring Twenties, Pt. 1” (mp4) and “The Great Gatsby and the Roaring Twenties, Pt. 2” (mp4)

Instructions: Listen to these lectures, part 1 (9:46) and part 2 (8:31). The classic American novel, The Great Gatsby(1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald was set in America in the 1920s. In these lectures Warnes discusses the historical context of this novel, focusing on mass consumption and materialism of this era. Consumption of retail goods, such as ready-to-wear clothing, automobiles, and other products, increasingly came to define the “American way of life.” For the first time, many Americans purchased consumer products on credit rather than saving for them. By the end of the decade, consumer spending made up a significant portion of the American economy.

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Reading: MIT Open Course Ware: Science, Technology, and Society’s “Henry Ford and the Advent of Mass Production”
Link: MIT Open Course Ware: Science, Technology, and Society’s “Henry Ford and the Advent of Mass Production” (PDF)

Instructions: Scroll down on this page and click the link, “Henry Ford and the Advent of Mass Production”. Read the entire PDF file. This reading should take approximately 10 minutes.

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5.5 The Changing Face of American Culture

5.5.1 Mass Culture

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 19: World War One and the Roaring 20s, Lesson 58—Social Tensions” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Please view the final section of the video presentation (“New Culture”). Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: This section of the presentation focuses on new cultural trends in the 1920s such as the emergence of an African-American art and literary movement in New York and the rise of feminist writing. It also discusses the changing role of women in American society and young women’s newfound social and cultural liberation.

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Reading: Learn NC’s “The Flapper” and “Going to the Movies”
Link: Learn NC: “The Flapper” (HTML) and “Going to the Movies” (HTML)

Instructions: Read both of these webpages and consider the questions posed on each webpage. Note that these webpages discuss new mass cultural forms, such as movies and advertising, that consumed many Americans’ free time in the 1920s and focus on the place of women in America’s rapidly evolving society. These readings should take approximately 45 minutes.

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5.5.2 Minority Cultural Expressions: The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance

Reading: The Library of Congress’s African American Odyssey: “The Harlem Renaissance and the Flowering of Creativity”
Link: The Library of Congress’s African American Odyssey: “The Harlem Renaissance and the Flowering of Creativity” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the article on the webpage. Click on the images to examine larger versions of the primary-source documents and photos on the webpage. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

Note on the Text: This webpage by the Library of Congress discusses the Harlem Renaissance, a period of vibrant cultural activity centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. African-American poets, writers, artists, and scholars contributed to this era of cultural expression and introduce African-American culture to mainstream America. The mass exodus of African-Americans from the South to the industrial North beginning in the 1910s and lasting through the 1920s changed the demographics of America’s northern cities dramatically. New, vibrant African-American communities emerged in cities like New York, as well as Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

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Unit 5 Assessment

Assessment: The Saylor Foundation's “World War I and the 1920s”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “World War I and the 1920s” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assessment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 2 hours.
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Unit 6: The Great Depression and World War II

A stock market crash that began in September of 1929 and continued through November signaled the end of the Roaring Twenties. Falling stock prices throughout the world triggered an economic panic that rippled throughout the entire U.S. economy. While only a small percentage of Americans owned stocks, commercial banks with large stock investments failed and soon pulled down other financial institutions, as investors rushed to withdraw their money from failing banks, which in turn led to further bank failures. Unemployment rates rose as worldwide consumption of manufactured goods fell and many companies laid off workers or went out of business. This stock market crash was the final devastating blow to an economy already weakened by stagnating business profits and wages. President Herbert Hoover tried to reassure the nation but refused to take drastic measures to prop up the U.S. economy and end the Great Depression. Hoover lost the 1932 presidential election to Democrat Franklin Roosevelt who promised through his “New Deal” to use every means available to put Americans back to work and end the Great Depression.

In this unit, we will examine the policies and people behind Roosevelt’s New Deal, and analyze the impact that the New Deal had on the American economy and American society. We will also look at the emergence of totalitarian governments in Germany, Italy, and Japan during the Depression, and examine the origins of the Second World War. During the conflict, the U.S. engaged in a two-front war across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and with the development of the atomic bomb, the U.S. emerged from the conflict as the most powerful nation on the planet.

Unit 6 Time Advisory show close

Unit 6 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 10: War, Prosperity, and Depression” and “Chapter 11: The New Deal and World War II”
Links: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 10: War, Prosperity, and Depression” (PDF) and “Chapter 11: The New Deal and World War II” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the final section of Chapter 10 entitled “The Great Depression” and all of Chapter 11. This reading should take approximately 40 minutes.

Note on the Text: These chapters from America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History focuses on the origins of the Great Depression and the Roosevelt Administration’s efforts to alleviate the economic and social consequences of the Depression through the New Deal, a series of federal programs created to put Americans back to work and improve the economy. Chapter 11 also discusses America’s entry into the Second World War and the impact of the war on the United States and the broader international community.

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6.1 The Great Depression

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “Origins of the Great Depression"
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “Origins of the Great Depression" (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (19:13 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation examines the long-term and short-term causes of the Great Depression.
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6.1.1 Economic and Political Origins

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 59—Causes and Consequences” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 59—Causes and Consequences” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Then, view the entire video presentation. Also, read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 2 hours, video presentation 23 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the origins of the Great Depression. It addresses the role that America’s Republican political leadership played in encouraging irresponsible behavior by major corporations and banks in the United States. Over time, fraud, corruption, and other actions led to corporate instability and weakened the U.S. economy. Only a small crisis was required to draw the nation into an economic depression. The stock market crash of 1929 led to the collapse of numerous financial institutions and destroyed many Americans’ confidence in the economy.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Crash of 1929 and the Depression”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Crash of 1929 and the Depression” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire web page. Note that this webpage addresses the great American stock market crash of 1929 and examine how the crisis ended an era of sustained economic growth in the United States. This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

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6.1.2 Government Indecision

Reading: Cato Institute: Steven Horwitz’s “Herbert Hoover, Father of the New Deal”
Link: Cato Institute: Steven Horwitz’s “Herbert Hoover, Father of the New Deal” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the entire article. Note that this article focuses on President Herbert Hoover’s unsuccessful efforts to deal with the Great Depression in the early 1930s. Hoover was a trained engineer with years of government experience, but he was not willing at first to use the power of the federal government to tackle the growing unemployment rate or prop up failing banks. Instead, he was more concerned with balancing the federal budget through income tax and tariff increases. Only in the final year of his term in office did he begin creating government programs to tackle the Depression, but by that point Americans had lost their faith in Hoover’s abilities. This reading should take approximately 40 minutes.

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6.1.3 The Downward Spiral

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Depression and New Deal Years, 1929 -1939”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Depression and New Deal Years, 1929 -1939” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this webpage down through the section, “The Smoot-Hawley Tariff.” This reading should take approximately 10 minutes.

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Reading: Learn NC’s “Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression” and “The Bonus Army”
Link: Learn NC’s “Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression” (HTML) and “The Bonus Army” (HTML)

Instructions: Read both webpages in their entirety. These webpages address the Great Depression’s human impact. Americans across the nation lost their jobs and homes due to the Depression. Private charities and local governments tried to help homeless and hungry citizens, but they found themselves overwhelmed by the number of needy people. As economic conditions worsened, the situation threatened the very fabric of American society. This reading should take approximately thirty minutes.

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6.2 Roosevelt and the New Deal

Lecture: The Saylor Foundation: “The First and Second New Deals”
Link: The Saylor Foundation: “The First and Second New Deals" (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (24:54 minutes).

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation focuses on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's efforts to combat the Great Depression through the a series of economic reforms known as the First and Second New Deals.
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6.2.1 “Happy Days Are Here Again”: The Election of 1932

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 60—The New Deal” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 60—The New Deal” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Please view section one (“Roosevelt Election”) of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 40 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one of the presentation focuses on Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election as president in the 1932 election. Fed up with Hoover’s inaction, many Americans turned to Roosevelt with his positive message of economic recovery and cheery campaign theme song “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

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Reading: Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley's The American Presidency Project: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Address at the Democratic National Convention”
Link: Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley's The American Presidency Project: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Address at the Democratic National Convention” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the primary-source document on the webpage. This reading should take approximately 50 minutes.

Note on the Text: In the summer of 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the Democratic nomination for president. In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt presents his economic plan to tackle the Great Depression and proposes a “new deal for the American people.” After reading this document, consider the following questions: In this address, what did FDR identify as the major problems facing the country? As president in his “first 100 days,” which of these problems did FDR tackle (see section 6.2.2)?

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6.2.2 The First New Deal (1933-1935)

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 60—The New Deal” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 60—The New Deal” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Focus on section two of the video presentation titled “New Deal Programs.” Also, read the accompanying text. Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Focus on section two of the video presentation titled “New Deal Programs.” Also, read the accompanying text. In this section, click the accompanying text, “The Dust Bowl,” and examine the photographs and the map, which illustrate the extent of the devastation of the Dust Bowl. Reading the text should take approximately 40 minutes, video presentation 6 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the government programs that the Roosevelt administration put into place during the New Deal. These programs were intended to alleviate the economic and social disruptions caused by the Great Depression and restore economic prosperity to the nation.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Depression and New Deal Years, 1929 -1939”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Depression and New Deal Years, 1929 -1939” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll down this webpage and read the sections, “The Rise of Franklin Delano Roosevelt” and “The Hundred Days: FDR in Action.” Note that these two sections focus on the Roosevelt administration’s efforts to alleviate the major economic problems caused by the Great Depression. Between 1933 and 1935, Roosevelt and Congress devised a series of government programs to alleviate joblessness and regulate industrial competition. These programs, referred to by historians as the First New Deal, were intended to reverse the economic downward spiral that had crippled the nation. These readings should take approximately 20 minutes.

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Web Media: Learn NC’s “The Banking Crisis” and “The Economics of Recovery and Reform”
Link: Learn NC’s “The Banking Crisis” (HTML) and “The Economics of Recovery and Reform” (HTML)

Instructions: Read both webpages in their entirety and listen to FDR’s “Fireside Chat” from 1933. These resources should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Web Media: The Library of Congress’s Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection: “Voices from the Dust Bowl”
Link: The Library of Congress’s Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection: “Voices from the Dust Bowl”

Instructions: Click on the above link and then select the various links, which allow you to see photographs, read lyrics, and listen to folk songs concerning the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. After accessing these primary sources, please consider the following questions: How did farmers affected by the Dust Bowl react to their circumstances? What do these sources tell us about the living conditions of those whose livelihoods were impacted by the Dust Bowl? Students should spend approximately 20 minutes exploring this site.

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6.2.3 The Second New Deal (1935-1937)

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Depression and New Deal Years, 1929 -1939”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Depression and New Deal Years, 1929 -1939” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll down this webpage down to the section entitled “The Second New Deal” and read the remainder of the webpage. Note that this section of the webpage focuses on the series of social programs, which historians refer to as the Second New Deal; the Roosevelt administration and Congress passed this legislation between 1935 and 1937. These programs were intended to give workers more rights in the workplace, provide a social safety net for aged Americans, and assist various minority groups in the United States. These readings should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Reading: Learn NC’s “Relief, Recovery and Reform”
Link: Learn NC’s “Relief, Recovery and Reform” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire webpage and click and read the links on this page. This webpage focuses on the impact of New Deal reforms such as the Fair labor Standards Act. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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6.2.4 The New Deal’s Legacy

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 60—The New Deal” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 20: Great Depression, Lesson 60—The New Deal” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Then, view section three of the video presentation titled “Critics and Challenges.” You may access this section by clicking on the circle above the section’s title at the top of the webpage. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes, video presentation 6 minutes.

Note on the Text: This presentation focuses on New Deal critics and examines why the pace of New Deal reform legislation slowed after 1938.

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6.3 The Rise of Totalitarianism Abroad

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “World War II and the United States” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “World War II and the United States” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (24 minutes) on YouTube.

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation examines the origins of World War II and discusses the impact of the war on the United States.

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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “US History Overview 3—WWII to Vietnam”
Link: Khan Academy’s “US History Overview 3—WWII to Vietnam” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 15 minutes), which covers the major events in U.S. history from the 1930s to the 1960s. This web media will also cover subunits 6.3.1, 6.3.2, 6.4.1, 6.4.3, 7.1, 7.1.1–7.1.3, 7.1.5, 7.1.6, 7.3.2, 9.1, 9.1.1, 9.1.2, 9.1.3, 9.2.2, 9.2.3, 9.3, 9.3.1, 9.3.2, 9.5.1, 9.5.2, 9.5.3.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.
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6.3.1 Domestic Responses to Foreign Militarism in the 1930s

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 61—The Failures of Diplomacy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 61—The Failures of Diplomacy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, watch the first three sections of the video presentation. Also, please read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 12 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on efforts by European and American officials in the 1920s to promote world peace and prevent future wars from happening. It also examines the emergence of militaristic, anti-democratic governments in Germany, Italy, and Japan in the 1930s and the impact of these new fascist regimes on other nations of Europe and Asia.

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6.3.2 American Isolationism and the Pending Global Conflict

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 61—The Failures of Diplomacy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 61—The Failures of Diplomacy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. View the fourth section of the video presentation title “American Isolationism.” Read the accompanying text. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on American social and political efforts to remain isolated from the growing political turmoil in Europe in the mid-1930s.

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Reading: The Public Broadcasting Service and WGBH Boston’s The American Experience: Lindbergh: Charles Lindbergh’s “Address to the America First Committee”
Link: The Public Broadcasting Service and WGBH Boston’s The American Experience: Lindbergh: Charles Lindbergh’s “Address to the America First Committee” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the primary-source document in its entirety. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Text: In this April 1941 speech, famed American aviator Charles Lindbergh argues that the best course of action for the United States is to remain isolated from the building war in Europe. He asserts that America should focus on defending itself from foreign attacks and should not join the war for the benefit of other nations, such as Great Britain and France. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: What arguments did Lindbergh employ against intervention in the war in Europe as an ally of Great Britain? What events led Lindbergh to conclude that Great Britain was losing the war? In this address, what historical events did Lindbergh fail to anticipate that would enable the United States to invade Continental Europe successfully during World War II?

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6.4 A Two-Front War

6.4.1 America Enters the Global Conflict

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 62—The Second World War” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 62—The Second World War” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video presentation. Watch all four sections of the video presentation, and read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 2 hours, video presentation 23 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the outbreak of war in Europe and Asia at the end of the 1930s and the events that led the United States into the global conflict at the end of 1941.

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6.4.2 The Home Front

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 63—The Home Front” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 63—The Home Front” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the presentation. Watch all four sections of the video presentation, and read the accompanying text. In the fourth section (“Japanese Internment”), click on the accompanying text, “Japanese Internment,” and participate in the virtual discussion. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation 15 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on American mobilization for war and examines how the war affected many different segments of the American population including women, African-Americans, and other ethnic minorities.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The United States in World War II”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The United States in World War II” (HTML)

Instructions: On this webpage read the section entitled “World War Two: The Home Front” down through the section “Science and World War II.” Note that this webpage focuses on American efforts to convert peacetime industry to war production, shape public opinion regarding the conflict, and deal with the Japanese American population during the war years. These readings should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: HistoryLink.org: James R. Warren’s “World War II Home Front on Puget Sound”
Link: HistoryLink.org: James R. Warren’s “World War II Home Front on Puget Sound” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article, which focuses on the impact of World War II in Washington State. The effects of this war on this part of the country were widespread over much of the nation, but to the West Coast in particular. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Web Media: YouTube: United States Government’s “Japanese-American Internment”
Link: YouTube: United States Government’s “Japanese-American Internment” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the video on YouTube in its entirety (9:27 minutes).

Note on the Media: This 1942 U.S. government propaganda film attempts to justify the detention and internment of over 100,000 Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast of the United States. The film depicts Japanese-Americans as a potential wartime threat and asserts that the government acted in the best interests of all Americans by interning these American citizens. After watching this film, please consider the following questions: According to the film, what factors justified the forced relocation of Japanese Americans from the west coast to the interior? What aspects of this relocation did the film neglect to mention or pass over?

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6.4.3 The War Abroad

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 64—Wartime Diplomacy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 64—Wartime Diplomacy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch the first three sections of the video presentation, and read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation 13 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the international military alliance that the United States joined to fight Nazi Germany and imperial Japan during the Second World War. It discusses wartime diplomacy and how agreements between the U.S., Great Britain, and Russia shaped the war and its outcome.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Important Battles of World War II: the Pacific Theater”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Important Battles of World War II: the Pacific Theater” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire webpage. This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Important Battles of World War II: the European Theater”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Important Battles of World War II: the European Theater” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire webpage. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The United States in World War II (continued)”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The United States in World War II (continued)” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this webpage down through the section entitled “Hiroshima – The Atomic Age Arrives.” This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

Note that the three webpages above focus on American military actions during World War II. They address the fighting in the European and Pacific Theaters. They also address the use of atomic weapons in Japan and the Holocaust.

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6.4.4 Forging a New World Order

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The U.S. and the Postwar World” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The U.S. and the Postwar World” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (22 minutes) on YouTube.

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation discusses the domestic and international consequences of World War II.

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Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 64—Wartime Diplomacy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 8: The U.S. at War, Chapter 21: World War II, Lesson 64—Wartime Diplomacy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch part four of the video presentation titled “The Aftermath of World War II.” Read the accompanying text.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the outcome of the Second World War. It addresses the postwar goals of the allied nations and examines how a growing rift developed between the United States and the Soviet Union following the end of the conflict.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The United States in World War II”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The United States in World War II” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire webpage. This webpage discusses the creation and purpose of the United Nations and the historic legacy of World War II. This reading should take approximately 10 minutes.

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Unit 6 Assessment

Assessment: The Saylor Foundation's “The Great Depression and World War II”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “The Great Depression and World War II” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assessment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Unit 7: The Cold War

The economic destruction and loss of life caused by World War II devastated Great Britain, Germany, France, and much of Eastern Europe and Asia. Only the democratic United States and the totalitarian Soviet Union emerged from the war as strong international superpowers. Mutual distrust, fear, and hostility in both nations led to decades of military, economic, and political conflict throughout the globe. Both nations possessed powerful military arsenals and could not take one another on directly without fear of mutual destruction. Instead, they engaged in indirect conflicts as the Soviet Union tried to support Communists revolutionaries in many developing nations and the U.S. tried to keep anti-communist forces in control of these countries.

At home, some Americans grew worried that Soviet spies and secret Communists were infiltrating American society and attempted to persecute suspected Communists for disloyalty and treason. This unit will examine the military and political dimensions of the Cold War and the Second Red Scare and take a look at the cultural trends, demographic changes, and economic prosperity in the United States during the 1950s.

Unit 7 Time Advisory show close

Unit 7 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 12: Postwar America”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 12: Postwar America” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter 12 through the end of the section entitled “The Culture of the 1950s.” This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

Note on the Text: This chapter focuses on the origins of the Cold War and the international and domestic impact of the growing conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Communism”
Link: Khan Academy’s “Communism” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 15 minutes), which provides an overview of communist doctrine and Marxist-Leninist States.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.
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7.1 Defending the “Free World”

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “Cold War America” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “Cold War America” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (27 minutes) on YouTube.

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation discusses the origins of the Cold War and examines the international and domestic impact of the conflict during the 1950s and early 1960s.

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7.1.1 Postwar America

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 65—End of War” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 65—End of War” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Watch the entire video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation 14 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the end of World War II and the postwar international settlement. It also discusses President Harry Truman’s domestic reform policies following the end of the conflict.

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7.1.2 The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 66—Containment” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 66—Containment” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Then, please watch sections one (“U.S.-Soviet Relations”) and two (“Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan”) of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 40 minutes, video presentation 8 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation discusses American efforts to rebuild Europe in the wake of World War II and support nations threatened by internal and external Communist movements.

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Reading: Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library's version of “The Truman Doctrine”
Link: Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library's version of “The Truman Doctrine” (PDF)

Instructions: Please click this link and read the speech delivered by President Truman to Congress on March 12, 1947. In this address to Congress, Truman laid out what would become known as the Truman Doctrine. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: On what grounds did Truman maintain that the United States ought to provide aid to Greece and Turkey? In establishing the principles on which aid to these countries should be delivered, how did Truman describe the threat that these and other countries faced and the possible consequences of failing to provide this aid? This reading should take approximately 25 minutes.

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7.1.3 Containment of Communism

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 66—Containment” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 66—Containment” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Focus on sections three (“Berlin Airlift”) and four (“NATO”) of the video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes, video presentation 6 minutes.

Note on the Media: Sections three and four of the video presentation focus on the growing military and diplomatic tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union the led to the Berlin Blockade in 1948 and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization later the same year.

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7.1.4 The Cold War Goes Nuclear

Reading: Authentichistory.com: “Origins of the Cold War (1946 -1950)”
Link: Authentichistory.com: “Origins of the Cold War (1946 -1950)” (PDF)

Instructions: Read this article which chronicles the major events at the beginning of the Cold War including the successful testing of the atom bomb by the Soviet Union in 1949.

Reading this article should take you approximately 30 minutes.

Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. It is attributed to Authentichistory.com and the original version can be found here.
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Reading: Los Alamos National Laboratory’s A History of National Security: “Postwar World,” “The Debate,” and “The Development of the Hydrogen Bomb”
Links: Los Alamos National Laboratory’s A History of National Security: “Postwar World,” (PDF) “The Debate,” (PDF) and “The Development of the Hydrogen Bomb” (PDF)

Instructions: Read these articles in their entirety. Reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Text: These articles discuss the development of American nuclear weapons following the Second World War, which culminated in the creation of the Hydrogen Bomb in 1952.

Terms of Use: The public may copy and use this information without charge, provided that this Notice and any statement of authorship are reproduced on all copies. The original licensing details are available here.
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Web Media: Authentichistory.com: “Radio News Report: The Execution of the Rosenbergs”
Link: Authentichistory.com: “Radio News Report: The Execution of the Rosenbergs” (YouTube)

Instructions: Listen to the original radio broadcast (2:49 minutes) announcing the execution of the Rosenbergs. The acquisition of the atom bomb by the Soviet Union in 1949 resulted in efforts to find and punish spies who were suspected of passing along sensitive information including nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.

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7.1.5 The Korean War

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 67—Conflict in Asia” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 67—Conflict in Asia” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video. Watch the entire video presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 14 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the factors that led to the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 and the United States’ bloody three-year involvement in the conflict.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “America and the Cold War: The Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy Years”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “America and the Cold War: The Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy Years” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the section of the webpage entitled “The Cold War Turns Hot: Korea, the Forgotten War.” This reading the text should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Korean War Overview”
Link: Khan Academy’s “Korean War Overview” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 16 minutes), which discusses the conflict between the Northern communist government and the Southern capitalists of Korea.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 20 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.
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7.1.6 World’s Policeman

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Reading: Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Message to Congress,” January 5, 1957
Link: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Message to Congress,” (PDF) January 5, 1957

Instructions: Read the entire primary-source document. This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

Note on the Text: In this speech to Congress, President Dwight D. Eisenhower justifies American economic and military support for nations of the Middle East. He argues that the Soviet Union wishes to undermine Middle Eastern governments and install Soviet-friendly leaders and the United States must prevent this from happening. After reading this document, consider the following questions: How does Eisenhower’s address to Congress compare and contrast with President Truman’s speech to Congress in 1947 (see section 7.1.2)? What recent events did Eisenhower mention in this speech and how did these events in Eisenhower’s opinion necessitate a new course of action by the United States in respect to the Middle East?

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “America and the Cold War: The Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy Years”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “America and the Cold War: The Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy Years” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this section of the webpage beginning with the section entitled “Dwight D. Eisenhower: The General as President” down to the end of the webpage. Note that this webpage discusses the expansion of the Cold War into developing nations throughout the world. America used covert tactics to support pro-American leaders in the Third World, while also trying to destabilize Communist-friendly regimes in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This reading the text should take approximately 30 minutes.

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7.2 Domestic Anti-Communism

7.2.1 Postwar Red Scare

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 68—Red Scare—Again” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 68—Red Scare—Again” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Then, please view the first section of the video presentation titled “Un-American Activities.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 3 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one of the presentation focuses on the post-World War II “Second Red Scare” that spawned fears about Communist infiltration of American society and government agencies and led to political and social efforts to root out and expose covert Communist activities

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7.2.2 Exposing “Un-American” Activities

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 68—Red Scare—Again” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 68—Red Scare—Again” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. View the second section of the video presentation titled “The Hunt for Subversives.” Also, read the accompanying text. Reading this text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on efforts by Congress and federal officials in the late-1940s and early-1950s to investigate and expose so-called Communist subversives in federal agencies who were secretly spying for the Soviet Union.

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7.2.3 McCarthyism

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 68—Red Scare—Again” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 22: HST and IKE, Lesson 68—Red Scare—Again” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Watch the third section of the video presentation titled (“McCarthyism”). Read the accompanying text. Reading this text should take approximately 15 minutes, video presentation 3 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section three focuses on the ignominious career of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his efforts to identify and expose Communists in the U.S. government through public investigations. McCarthy specialized in publicly smearing the reputations of federal employees with little-to-no evidence to support his charges against them.

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7.3 The 1950s: Cold War Conformity

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “1950s America” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “1950s America” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (24 minutes) on YouTube.

Note on the Lecture: This multimedia presentation focuses on the major economic, social, and political trends in the United States during the 1950s.

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7.3.1 Birth of the “Baby Boom” Generation

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 25: Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay, Lesson 73—Baby Boom” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 25: Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay, Lesson 73—Baby Boom” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video. Watch all three sections of the presentation, and read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 50 minutes, video presentation 11 minutes.

Note on the Text: This presentation focuses on American society in the 1950s. It examines the emergence of a widespread and pervasive consumer culture in the postwar years and discusses the dramatic population shift in the United States from cities to suburbia.

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Web Media: Archive.org’s “In the Suburbs (1957)”
Link: Archive.org’s “In the Suburbs (1957)” (Flash)

Instructions: Watch this movie (19:29), which was produced as a promotional movie for Red Bookmagazine. Note that this film presents an idealized portrait of suburban life in the 1950s. After watching this film, please consider the following question: What does this film tell us about the values of middle class families in this era?

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7.3.2 Dwight D. Eisenhower and American Foreign Policy in the 1950s

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 23: Eisenhower, Lesson 70—Foreign Policy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 23: Eisenhower, Lesson 70—Foreign Policy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Watch each section of the video presentation, and read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation 14 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation examines President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s foreign policy concerns during his two terms in office during the 1950s. It highlights his efforts to contain the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

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7.3.3 Eisenhower’s America

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 23: Eisenhower, Lesson 69—Internal Improvements” Presentation and “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 25: Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay, Lesson 74—Material Culture” Presentation
Links: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 9: The Cold War, Chapter 23: Eisenhower, Lesson 69—Internal Improvements” Presentation (Adobe Flash) and “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 25: Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay, Lesson 74—Material Culture” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video presentations. Watch all three sections of Lesson 69 and all three sections of Lesson 74. Read the accompanying text. Reading to the text for both lessons should take approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes, video presentation 22 minutes.

Note on the Media: These presentations focus on domestic concerns in the United States during Eisenhower’s time in office and discuss popular culture during the 1950s.

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Unit 7 Assessment

Assignment: The Saylor Foundation's “The Cold War”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “The Cold War” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assignment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Unit 8: The Civil Rights Movement

Reconstruction offered African-Americans a chance to participate in the American political process and exercise their civil rights, but this opportunity was short-lived in many southern states. Once Reconstruction ended in 1877, African-Americans faced harassment, violence, and intimidation at the polling booth. Jim Crow laws segregated African-Americans from white society and denied them equal rights and protections. Lynch mobs killed blacks that challenged white rule. African-American leaders in the North organized political campaigns to challenge segregation and discrimination and expose lynch-mob justice. By the end of the Second World War, this burgeoning civil rights movement began to have an impact on American society. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine from the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision in the landmark Brown v. Board decision. This decision spurred civil rights organizers to push for voter rights legislation and challenge racist southern political leaders who refused to integrate public facilities.

In this unit, we will look at the historical origins of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and examine the legacies of various civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. We will also look at the broader social and cultural consequences of the Civil Rights Movements, including the emergence of the modern Feminist Movement, Gay and Lesbian Rights Movements, and the Ethnic Rights Movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

Unit 8 Time Advisory show close

Unit 8 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 12: Postwar America” and “Chapter 13: Decades of Change—1960-1980”
Links: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 12: Postwar America” (PDF) and “Chapter 13: Decades of Change—1960-1980” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the final two sections of Chapter 12 beginning with “The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement” and the first four sections of Chapter 13 ending with “The Native-American Movement.” This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

Note on the Text: These chapters focus on the origins of the civil right movement in the United States in the mid-1950s and its development into a mass movement during the first half of the 1960s. Chapter 13 also discusses how the civil rights movement affected a broad spectrum of the American population including women, Latinos, and Native-Americans.

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8.1 The Formation of a Mass Movement

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Roots of the Modern Civil Rights Movement” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Roots of the Modern Civil Rights Movement” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (34 minutes) on YouTube.
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8.1.1 Brown v. Board of Education

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 71—Challenging Jim Crow” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 71—Challenging Jim Crow” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the presentation. Watch the first section of the video presentation titled Brown v. Board of Education. Read the accompanying text. Reading this text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 3 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” legal doctrine that had permitted legalized segregation in public education since the 1890s.

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Reading: Chief Justice Earl Warren’s “Majority Opinion, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954”
Link: Chief Justice Earl Warren’s “Majority Opinion, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,Kansas,1954” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the primary-source document on the website. This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

Note on the Text: In the Brown v. Board of Education majority opinion, Chief Justice Earl Warren states that the doctrine of “separate but equal” in public education is unconstitutional, because it denies Americans equal protection under the law. The ruling would play a major role in providing a legal basis for civil rights political campaigns of the 1960s. After reading this document, please consider the following questions: According to Chief Justice Earl Warren, why did segregated schools violate the Fourteenth amendment? How does this decision compare and contrast with the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision (see section 1.3.3)?

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8.1.2 Montgomery and Grassroots Protests

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 71—Challenging Jim Crow” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 71—Challenging Jim Crow” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. View section two of the presentation titled “Civil Unrest.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section two focuses on grassroots efforts to challenge segregation in the South. It highlights efforts by civil rights activists, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., to draw nationwide attention to their cause by engaging in non-violent civil disobedience campaigns against segregation in public institutions and public accommodations. In this section, click and read the accompanying text, “Rosa Parks,” which includes an interview concerning her historic act of civil disobedience in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955.c accommodations.

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8.2 Integration Campaigns in the South

8.2.1 Youth Revolt: Freedom Rides

Reading: Swarthmore College: Global Nonviolent Action Database’s “Freedom Riders end Racial Segregation in Southern U.S. Public Transit, 1961”
Link: Swarthmore College: Global Nonviolent Action Database’s “Freedom Riders end Racial Segregation in Southern U.S. Public Transit, 1961” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire webpage. This webpage concerns the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement. Many college students sought to desegregate public accommodations in the early 1960s. These young people hoped to undermine the institution of segregation in southern states and draw national attention to racial inequalities in the South. This reading should take approximately thirty minutes.

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8.2.2 Birmingham and Martin Luther King

Reading: Swarthmore College: Global Nonviolent Action Database’s “African Americans Campaign for Equal Accommodations, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 1963”
Link: Swarthmore College: Global Nonviolent Action Database’s “African Americans Campaign for Equal Accommodations, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 1963” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this webpage. Note that this webpage focuses on the landmark desegregation campaign that Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference waged in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. King’s nonviolent protests met with a violent response in Birmingham. White segregationists blew up black churches and homes and attached marchers. Nationwide public disgust with these actions enabled King and his followers to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict that committed white city leaders to desegregate public facilities. These readings should take approximately 20 minutes.

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8.2.3 The March on Washington

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 71—Challenging Jim Crow” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 71—Challenging Jim Crow” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch the third part of the video presentation titled “March on Washington.” Read the accompanying text. In this part, click the accompanying text, “I Have a Dream” and read an excerpt from Martin Luther King’s famous speech in Washington DC in 1963.Also in this section click the accompanying text, “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” and read an excerpt from this letter in 1963 by Martin Luther King to fellow clergy in which he discusses the purpose of his civil disobedience campaigns in the South. Reading the text should take approximately 25 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: This section of the video presentation focuses on the civil rights march on Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1963. Organizers hoped to put pressure on President John F. Kennedy and Congress to pass civil rights legislation.

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8.2.4 The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 72—Consequences of the Civil Rights Movement” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 72—Consequences of the Civil Rights Movement” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the presentation. Then, view section one of the video presentation titled “Civil Rights Legislation.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one of the presentation focuses on the landmark civil rights bills of 1964 and 1965. Kennedy’s successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson pressured Congress to pass legislation banning discrimination in employment and public accommodations and assuring voting rights for minorities. Congress finally responded with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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8.3 Radical Separatism and the Fragmentation of the Civil Rights Movement

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Civil Rights Movement: Integration and Segregation” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Civil Rights Movement: Integration and Segregation” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (27 minutes) on YouTube.

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8.3.1 The Black Power Movement

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 72—Consequences of the Civil Rights Movement” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 10: Turbulent Decades, Chapter 24: Civil Rights Movement, Lesson 72—Consequences of the Civil Rights Movement” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. View section three of the presentation called “Rise of Black Power.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section three focuses on urban African-Americans’ growing discontent regarding their lack of social equality and economic opportunities and the emergence of a radical civil rights movement that called for black empowerment and separation from white society in the United States.

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Reading: University of Notre Dame, Open Course Ware: African American History II: Richard B. Pierce’s “Activism Choices”
Link: Reading: University of Notre Dame, Open Course Ware: African American History II: Richard B. Pierce’s “Activism Choices” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage. Note that this webpage discusses the rise of a militant, the black, nationalist movement in the mid-1960s that demanded greater economic and social opportunities for blacks living in America’s cities. Black nationalists argued that white oppression and discrimination were responsible for poverty, violence, and other problems within the black community and argued that African-Americans needed to embrace their African heritage and demand social and economic equality using force if necessary. These readings should take approximately 25 minutes.

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Web Media: YouTube: Malcolm X’s “Malcolm X Explains Black Nationalism”
Link: YouTube: Malcolm X’s “Malcolm X Explains Black Nationalism” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the video (3:44 minutes) on YouTube.

Note on the Media: In this 1964 speech, Nation of Islam spokesman Malcolm X discusses the sources of black frustration in the United States and explains why militant nationalism is a necessary tool in African-Americans’ struggle for social justice and economic equality. After listening to this speech, consider the following questions: Based on this speech, what would have been Malcolm’s X’s opinion of the tactics employed by Martin Luther King to obtain civil rights for African Americans? What would have been Malcolm X’s opinion of the pending Civil Rights Act of 1964?

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8.3.2 White Backlash

Reading: European Journal of American Studies: Patrick Hagopian’s “The ‘Frustrated Hawks’, Tet 1968, and the Transformation of American Politics”
Link: European Journal of American Studies: Patrick Hagopian’s “The ‘Frustrated Hawks’, Tet 1968, and the Transformation of American Politics” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire article. Note that white disenchantment with the civil rights movement and its gradual decline followed the major gains of the mid-1960s. This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Note: This topic is also covered below in subunit 9.2
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8.3.3 Keeping the Dream Alive

Lecture: iTunes U: Stanford University: Clayborne Carson’s ”African American History: The Modern Freedom Struggle”
Link: iTunes U: Stanford University: Clayborne Carson’s “African American History: The Modern Freedom Struggle” (mp3)

Instructions: Click on the link above and select lecture 11, “Clarence Jones on King.” Clarence Jones worked with Martin Luther King, and he discusses his experiences and the legacy of this Civil Rights leader. Jones discusses some of the major milestones of the Civil Rights Movement.
Viewing this lecture and pausing to take notes should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.

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8.4 Offshoots of the Civil Rights Movements

8.4.1 Women’s Rights

Reading: Learn NC: L. Maren Wood’s “The Women’s Movement”
Link: Learn NC: L. Maren Wood’s “The Women’s Movement” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this webpage in its entirety. Note that this webpage discusses the emergence of the radical women’s rights movement in the 1960s. Feminists challenged gender-based discrimination in employment, housing, access to birth control, and other areas. Radical feminists used the legal system and engaged in public demonstrations throughout the 1960s in their efforts to secure equal rights and treatment for women in the United States. This should take approximately 30 minutes.

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8.4.2 Gay Rights

Reading: US Intellectual History: Andrew Hartman’s “The Gay Sixties”
Link: US Intellectual History: Andrew Hartman’s “The Gay Sixties” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the article on the webpage in its entirety. Note that this article addresses efforts by gay and lesbians to fight for social and legal equality in the United States beginning in the 1960s. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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8.4.3 Latino and Native-American Rights

Reading: European Journal of American Studies: Benita Heiskanen’s “A Day without Immigrants”
Link: European Journal of American Studies: Benita Heiskanen’s “A Day without Immigrants” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire article which discusses the history of Latino immigration into the United States and efforts by Latinos to secure equal rights and highlight injustice and mistreatment at the hand of whites in the United States. These readings should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Reading: Connexions: José Ángel Gutiérrez’s “The Chicano Movement: Dead or Alive?”
Link: Connexions: José Ángel Gutiérrez’s “The Chicano Movement: Dead or Alive?” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire webpage concerning the history of the Chicano Movement. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Reading: HistoryLink.org: Patrick Roberts and Kit Oldham’s “Fort Lawton Military Police Clash with Native American and other Protesters in the Future Discovery Park on March 8, 1970”
Link: HistoryLink.org: Patrick Roberts and Kit Oldham’s “Fort Lawton Military Police Clash with Native American and other Protesters in the Future Discovery Park on March 8, 1970” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee’s “American Indian Movement”
Link: Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee’s “American Indian Movement” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire webpage. Also click the link, “Wounded Knee” on the sidebar and read this web page. These webpages and the article above it concern the American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier and the history of the American Indian Movement. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Unit 9: The Vietnam Era

During the 1950s and1960s, many American officials firmly believed in the Domino Theory, which held that a Communist revolution in one nation would eventually lead to Communist revolutions in surrounding countries, meaning that an entire region would fall to the Soviet Union like a row of dominos. Guided by this theory, the U.S. government sent troops to South Vietnam, a small Southeast Asian nation involved in a guerrilla war with North Vietnam, its Communist neighbor. Direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam began when President Dwight Eisenhower sent small numbers of military advisors to aid the South Vietnamese military in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, President Lyndon Johnson made the decision to escalate America’s involvement in this conflict and sent a large number of U.S. combat troops to the area. Between 1965 and 1973, American troops engaged in a bloody jungle war against Viet Cong guerillas and North Vietnamese Army troops across much of South Vietnam as well as in the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia.

We will now examine how the U.S. became involved in the Vietnam War and why the country finally chose to withdraw troops in 1972. We will also look at the impact of the war on American society and examine the activities of the vocal Anti-War Movement that developed in the United States during the conflict. Our study of the Vietnam Era will show that the war had a profound and lasting effect on the United States.

Unit 9 Time Advisory show close

Unit 9 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 13: Decades of Change—1960-1980”
Link: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 13: Decades of Change—1960-1980” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter 13 beginning with the fifth section entitled “The Counterculture” and ending with the next-to-last section entitled “The Ford Interlude.” This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Text: This chapter focuses on the domestic and international challenges that the America leaders faced during the 1960s and early 1970s. It also addresses important changes in American society during this era.

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9.1 Kennedy: Cold Warrior

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Vietnam Era: International Impact” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Vietnam Era: International Impact” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (33 minutes) on YouTube.
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9.1.1 Foreign Policy

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 75—JFK” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 75—JFK” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please note that this web media covers sections 9.1.1 to 9.1.3. Click “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch all three sections of the presentation, and read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 10 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on the presidential career of John F. Kennedy. The first and third sections discuss Kennedy domestic political agenda and the second section addresses his foreign policy objectives.

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9.1.2 The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Bay of Pigs Invasion”
Link: Khan Academy’s “Bay of Pigs Invasion” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 14 minutes) on the unsuccessful action by Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the United States, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.
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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Cuban Missile Crisis”
Link: Khan Academy’s Cuban Missile Crisis (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 19 minutes),which discusses the 13-day confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States off the shores of Cuba in 1962. This was one of the major confrontations of the Cold War and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 30 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.
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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Kennedy Years”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Kennedy Years” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire webpage. Note that this webpage focuses on Kennedy’s efforts to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Communist regime in Cuba and the subsequent confrontation with the Soviet Union over the presence on nuclear-tipped, medium-range missiles on the island. These readings should take approximately 10 minutes.

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9.1.3 Vietnam

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Cold War in Asia: The American Experience in Vietnam”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Cold War in Asia: The American Experience in Vietnam” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this webpage down to the section “Escalation.” Note that this webpage focuses on the origins of the anti-colonial war in Vietnam in the 1940s and America’s growing involvement in the conflict during Eisenhower’s presidency in the 1950s and JFK’s presidency in the early 1960s. This reading should take approximately 25 minutes.

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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Vietnam War”
Link: Khan Academy’s “Vietnam War” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 18 minutes) on the Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1955 to the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 30 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.
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9.2 Lyndon Johnson: “Guns and Butter”

9.2.1 Johnson’s Domestic Agenda

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 76—LBJ” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 76—LBJ” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video. Watch sections one (“Great Society”) and three (“Urban Unrest”) of the presentation. You may fast-forward to the third section by clicking on the circle above the title at the top of the webpage. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 45 minutes, video presentation 9 minutes.

Note on the Media: Sections one and three of the presentation focus on President Lyndon Johnson’s domestic challenges and accomplishments during his terms in office.

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9.2.2 American Intervention in Vietnam

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3.

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Cold War in Asia: The American Experience in Vietnam”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Cold War in Asia: The American Experience in Vietnam” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll this webpage down to the section “Escalation” and read the rest of the webpage. This reading concerns America’s conduct of this conflict. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: Ashbook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University’s TeachingAmericanHistory.org: Lyndon Johnson’s “Message to Congress”
Link: Ashbook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University’s TeachingAmericanHistory.org: Lyndon Johnson’s “Message to Congress” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the primary-source document on the webpage. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

Note on the Text: In his August 5, 1964 message to Congress, President Lyndon Johnson summarizes American policy on Communist aggression in Southeast Asia and seeks Congressional approval for an escalation of the American military involvement in South Vietnam in response to North Vietnamese threats against American military forces. After reading this document, consider the following questions: On what grounds did President Johnson ask Congress to authorize the president in a resolution to use military force in this region? How does this message to Congress compare and contrast with the earlier messages to Congress by President Eisenhower in 1957 (see section 7.1.6) and President Truman in 1947 (see section 7.1.2)?

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Web Media: Khan Academy’s “Pattern of US Cold War Interventions”
Link: Khan Academy’s “Pattern of US Cold War Interventions” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 10 minutes) which compares and contrasts the patterns of U.S. Cold War interventions in Korea, Cuba and Vietnam. While watching the video, think about what factors made these interventions similar.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

Terms of Use: This video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy and the original version can be found here.

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9.2.3 The Fighting on the Ground

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Reading: Learn NC: Sharon Raynor’s “Something He Couldn’t Write About: Telling My Daddy’s Story of Vietnam” and “A Soldier’s Experience in Vietnam: Herbert Rhodes”
Link: Learn NC: Sharon Raynor’s “Something He Couldn’t Write About: Telling My Daddy’s Story of Vietnam” (HTML) and “A Soldier’s Experience in Vietnam: Herbert Rhodes” (HTML)

Instructions: Read these two webpages, which discuss the experiences of US servicemen in the Vietnam War. These reading should take around one hour.

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9.3 Military Stalemate and the War at Home

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Lecture: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Vietnam Era: Domestic Impact” Presentation
Link: YouTube: Saylor Foundation: “The Vietnam Era: Domestic Impact” Presentation (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the entire video lecture (28 minutes) on YouTube.
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9.3.1 The Tet Offensive

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Web Media: Archive.org’s “1968 Revolution Rewind Moment – Tet Offensive”
Link: Archive.org’s “1968 Revolution Rewind Moment – Tet Offensive” (mp3)

Instructions: Listen to this reporter’s eye-witness account of the 1968 Tet Offensive (2:40). American reporters such as Walter Cronkite shaped public opinion concerning the Vietnam War and LBJ’s handling of this conflict.

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9.3.2 The Counterculture and the Anti-War Movement

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 76—LBJ” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 76—LBJ” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch section two of the presentation titled “Counterculture.” You can skip to this section by clicking on the circle above the section’s title at the top of the webpage. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 3 minutes.

Note on the Media: This section of the presentation examines the emergence of a youth movement in the United States that challenged mainstream social and political values and demanded greater personal freedom for individuals.

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9.3.3 1968: A Year of Chaos

Reading: European Journal of American Studies: Patrick Hagopian’s “The ‘Frustrated Hawks’, Tet 1968, and the Transformation of American Politics”
Link: European Journal of American Studies: Patrick Hagopian’s “The ‘Frustrated Hawks’, Tet 1968, and the Transformation of American Politics” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this entire article. Please note that this article concerns the political and social events of 1968, the turbulent election year in which both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated and in which Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not run for reelection as president. This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Note: This topic is also covered above in subunit 8.3.
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9.5 Nixon: “Peace with Honor”

9.5.1 Election

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 77—Nixon and Foreign Policy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 77—Nixon and Foreign Policy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video presentation. View the first section (“Election of 1968”) of the presentation. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one of the presentation focuses on Richard Nixon’s election as president in 1968. Nixon appealed to middle-class voters who had grown weary of the social upheavals of the 1960s. He promised to end the war in Vietnam and restore America’s international standing.

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9.5.2 Expansion of the War and Withdrawal

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 77—Nixon and Foreign Policy” Presentation
University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 77—Nixon and Foreign Policy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, watch the second section of the presentation titled “Vietnam.” You may skip to this section by clicking on the circle above the title at the top of the webpage. Read the accompanying text. Reading this text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section two of the presentation focuses on Richard Nixon’s Vietnam policies and his efforts to end the war through diplomacy and military action.

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9.5.3 Fall of South Vietnam and the War’s Toll

Note: This topic is also covered by the video in subunit 6.3

Reading: Historylink.org: David Wilma’s “Fall of Saigon to Communists Troops Marks the End of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975”
Link: Historylink.org: David Wilma’s “Fall of Saigon to Communists Troops Marks the End of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article. Note that this article discusses the fall of South Vietnam to the Communist North in 1975 following American military withdrawal two years earlier. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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9.6 The 1970s

Lecture: YouTube: The Saylor Foundation’s “The 1970s: An Age of Crisis”
Link: YouTube: The Saylor Foundation’s “The 1970s: An Age of Crisis” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the entire video (39 minutes).
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9.6.1 Nixon and American International Relations

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 77—Nixon and Foreign Policy” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 77—Nixon and Foreign Policy” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video presentation. Focus on section three of the presentation titled “Foreign Affairs.” You may skip to this section by clicking on the circle above the section’s title at the top of the webpage. Also, please read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 15 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section three discusses President Nixon’s foreign policy decisions during his presidency. It addresses his efforts to establish diplomatic relations with Communist China and achieve détente with the Soviet Union.

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9.6.2 Nixon’s Domestic Agenda and the Watergate Scandal

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 78—Nixon and Domestic Issues” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 78—Nixon and Domestic Issues” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video. Watch the entire video presentation, and read the accompanying text. In the first section, “The Supreme Court,” click and read the accompanying text, “Roe v. Wade.” This Supreme Court decision was heralded as a great victory by feminists (see section 8.4.1). In section 3, “Watergate,” click and read “Watergate: The “Smoking Gun” and listen or read the transcript from the White House tapes that incriminated President Richard Nixon in a “cover-up” of the Watergate break-in. Reading the text should take approximately 1 hour, video presentation 11 minutes.

Note on the Media: This presentation focuses on Richard Nixon domestic political agenda and discusses his downfall from the presidency due to the Watergate Scandal.

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Reading: Authentic History’s “Watergate Scandal Timeline”
Link: Authentic History’s “Watergate Scandal Timeline” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire webpage and learn about how this political scandal unfolded. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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9.6.3 Gerald Fords Presidency

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 79—Ford, Carter, and Reagan” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 79—Ford, Carter, and Reagan” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video presentation. Please view section one of the presentation titled “Gerald Ford.” Also, read the accompanying text. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one discusses the presidency of Gerald Ford. Ford’s time as president after Nixon’s resignation was marked by political conflict and economic turmoil. The public’s confidence in his abilities declined markedly and Ford failed to win the 1976 election.

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Unit 9 Assessment

Assignment: The Saylor Foundation's “The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam Era”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam Era” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assignment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Unit 10: The Conservative Ascendancy - The "Reagan Revolution"

America’s defeat in the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon’s resignation due to the Watergate Scandal plunged the nation into a period of popular discontent with political institution and leaders. Gerald Ford, Nixon’s Republican successor, did little to alleviate this discontent and voters elected Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter to replace him in 1976. Carter won voters with his folksy personality and his “outside the Beltway” credentials, but his popularity faded as an oil crisis, economic stagnation, and rampant inflation plunged the nation into an economic recession.

In 1980, frustrated voters elected Ronald Reagan, the former Governor of California, president. Reagan’s optimism and his moderate-conservative political views appealed to many Americans. Reagan also promoted an aggressive foreign agenda and called for renewed U.S. military strength in the ongoing Cold War with the Soviets. Under Reagan’s administration, the U.S. economy improved and his firm stance with the Soviet Union led to unexpected diplomatic opportunities.

In this unit, we will evaluate the Carter and Reagan years and examine Reagan’s economic and political legacy. We will also look at the role his policies may have played in the bringing about the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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Unit 10 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 13: Decades of Change—1960-1980” and “Chapter 14: The New Conservatism and a New World Order”
Links: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 13: Decades of Change—1960-1980” (PDF) and “Chapter 14: The New Conservatism and a New World Order” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the final section of Chapter 13 entitled “The Carter Years” and Chapter 14 from the beginning through the section entitled “U.S.—Soviet Relations.” This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Text: These chapters focus on the domestic and international challenges that President Jimmy Carter and President Ronald Reagan faced from the late 1970s through the late 1980s. They also address important changes in American society during this era.

Terms of Use: The material above is available in the public domain.
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10.1 The Carter Years

10.1.1 Economic Crisis at Home

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 79—Ford, Carter, and Reagan” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 79—Ford, Carter, and Reagan” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch section two of the presentation called “Jimmy Carter.” Read the accompanying text. In section 2, “Jimmy Carter,” click and read the accompanying text, “Iranian Hostages,” and read an excerpt from the diary of an American hostage in Iran in 1979 during the Iranian hostage crisis. Reading the text should take approximately 25 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section two discusses the presidency of Democrat Jimmy Carter. Carter entered office on a wave of popular support after the turbulent years of the Nixon and Ford presidencies. A growing economic recession at home coupled with a hostage crisis in Iran led many to question his leadership abilities. In the 1980 election, Republican Ronald Reagan swept to victory with a new conservative agenda for the nation.

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10.1.2 Diplomatic Crisis Abroad

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this webpage down through the section, ”The Rise of Conservatism”. Note that this webpage addresses the Iran Hostage Crisis that began in 1979 when Iranian revolutionaries took staff hostage at the American embassy in Teheran. The hostage crisis lasted 444 days. President Carter had no leverage over the situation and faced growing public criticism for his handling of it. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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10.2 The Reagan Revolution

Lecture: YouTube: The Saylor Foundation’s “The 1980s: The Reagan Era”
Link: YouTube: The Saylor Foundation’s “The 1980s: The Reagan Era” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the entire video (31 minutes).
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10.2.1 Rebirth of American Conservatism

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 79—Ford, Carter, and Reagan” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 79—Ford, Carter, and Reagan” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video presentation. Then, view section three of the presentation titled “Ronald Reagan.” Read the accompanying text. In this section click and read the accompanying text, “Communism Collapses” and read a President Ronald Reagan’s speech in 1983 in which he advocated a strong stance against the Soviet Union and the advance of Communism. Reading the text should take approximately 25 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section three discusses the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Reagan capitalized on public dissatisfaction with Carter’s administration to win a landslide election to the presidency in 1980. Reagan pursued a conservative agenda as president and supported tax breaks, deregulation, and other objectives intended to improve the economic situation in the United States.

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10.2.2 Regan: Domestic Policies

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll down this web page to the section, “The Reagan Years” and read down through the section “Growth of the Christian Right”. Note that this webpage discusses Ronald Reagan’s economic policies and his efforts to stimulate the American economy through federal income tax cuts. His presidency experienced a period of sustained economic growth that lasted until the early 1990s This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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10.2.3 Regan: International Agenda

Lecture: Player.FM: New Books in Foreign Policy: James Mann’s “The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War”
Link: Player.FM: New Books in Foreign Policy: James Mann’s “The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War” (mp3)

Instructions: Listen to this interview (56 minutes). Note that this interview focuses on Reagan’s foreign policy and his diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union near the end of the Cold War. This lecture should take about an hour to complete.

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Reading: The History Place: Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down this Wall” Speech
Link: The History Place: Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down this Wall” Speech (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the speech in its entirety. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

Note on the Media: In one of the most memorable speeches of his two presidential terms, Ronald Reagan in 1987 summarizes U.S. and Soviet relations over the previous 40 years and appeals to Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev to come to Berlin and end the political and military divisions that have split Europe since the end of World War II. After reading (or listening) to this speech, consider the following questions: How does President Reagan contrast the status of democratic and totalitarian states? Why would these differences be of particular interest to people in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev?

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10.2.4 The Reagan Legacy

Reading: Foreign Policy in Focus: Stephen Zunes’ “Don’t Credit Reagan for Ending the Cold War”
Link: Foreign Policy in Focus: Stephen Zunes’ “Don’t Credit Reagan for Ending the Cold War” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article in which the author offers his own assessment of Ronald Reagan’s role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Unit 10 Assessment

Assignment: The Saylor Foundation's “The Conservative Ascendancy”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “The Conservative Ascendancy” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assignment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Unit 11: New World Disorder

Our final unit will evaluate trends in U.S. history during the 1990s and early 2000s. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States no longer had a powerful international adversary. Instead, America provided support for the reconstruction and reunification of Germany and much of Eastern Europe. With NATO and European Union allies, U.S. forces assisted with military and humanitarian efforts in the former Yugoslavian republics and Somalia. At home, economic prosperity pushed the stock market to new levels and some Americans began to speak of permanent economic prosperity. At the same time, warning signs of a growing threat from Islamist extremists began to appear abroad. Embassy bombings and attacks on U.S. forces in the late 1990s preceded the 9-11 terrorist attacks in which Al Qaeda targeted New York City and Washington, DC. These attacks resulted in the U.S. engaging in long military struggles in Afghanistan (beginning in 2001) and Iraq (beginning in 2003). By late 2008, the economic bubble that had been growing since early 2002 finally burst, plunging the U.S. stock market into the worst circumstances since the Great Depression and initiating a steep economic decline. In response to these problems, voters elected Barack Obama president based on his message of change and renewal. We will examine these contemporary political, economic, and social trends within the context of the past century of American history.

Unit 11 Time Advisory show close

Unit 11 Learning Outcomes show close

Reading: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 14: The New Conservatism and a New World Order” and “Chapter 15: Bridge to the 21st Century”
Links: America.gov’s Outline of U.S. History: “Chapter 14: The New Conservatism and a New World Order” (PDF) and “Chapter 15: Bridge to the 21^st Century” (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter 14 from the section entitled “The Presidency of George W.H. Bush” through the end of the chapter and all of Chapter 15. This reading should take approximately 1 hour.

Note on the Text: These chapters focus on the domestic and international challenges that Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush faced from the late 1980s through the first decade of the twenty-first century. They also address important changes in American society during this era.

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11.1 The 1990s

Lecture: YouTube: The Saylor Foundation’s “The Walls Fall: The US in the Post-Cold War World”
Link: YouTube: The Saylor Foundation’s “The Walls Fall: The US in the Post-Cold War World” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please watch the entire video (35 minutes).
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11.1.1 George H.W. Bush

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “Start Lesson” button to launch the video. Please watch the first section of the presentation (“George Bush”), and read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section one discusses the presidency of George H.W. Bush. Bush entered office promising to continue the economic policies of Ronald Reagan. In office he faced numerous international challenges, including the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. Bush organized a coalition of nations to fight the Persian Gulf War and liberate Kuwait. His domestic policies, though, could not prevent a declining economy, which led to his decline in popularity among voters.

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11.1.2 Bill Clinton

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Then, view the second section of the presentation titled “Bill Clinton.” Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 25 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section two discusses the presidency of Bill Clinton. Clinton ran as a moderate Democrat in 1992 and gained widespread support from American frustrated by George H.W. Bush’s policies. In office, Clinton attempted a number of ambitious legislative proposals including a universal healthcare plan. Popular dissatisfaction with his ideas led to a Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. During his remaining time in office, Clinton was forced to work with Republicans in order to pass necessary legislation. Clinton’s personal actions while in office also led to an impeachment effort by Congress, which failed to gain the necessary votes for approval.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll down this webpage to the section, “The Election of 1988” and read down through the section, ”The Economy of the 1990s”. This webpage concerns the presidencies of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and the major events of their presidencies (1989-2001). Also note that the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the trial of the right-wing extremist, Timothy McVeigh was part of historic development in the 1990s, which witnessed the emergence of extremist anti-government organizations and militias. The ideology of these groups inspired the bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City, OK, and the murder of 168 people by Timothy McVeigh and his co-conspirators.

This reading should take approximately 20 minutes.

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11.2 Entering the New Millennium

11.2.1 The Election of 2000

Lecture: University of California Irvine: Richard Hasen’s “The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown”
Link: University of California Irvine: Richard Hasen’s “The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown” (mp3)

Instructions: Listen to this lecture (48 minutes). Note that this lecture focuses on the controversial 2000 election and its aftermath.

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11.2.2 George W. Bush

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch the third section of the presentation titled George W. Bush. You may access this section by clicking on the circle above the section’s title at the top of the page. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 25 minutes, video presentation 4 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section three discusses the presidency of George W. Bush. Bush entered office following a controversial and disputed election in 2000. He promised a more conservative social and economic agenda than Clinton’s administration. Bush’s terms in office were marked by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. His growing unpopularity enabled Democrats to take over Congress in 2006. Bush left office in 2009 with extremely high negative opinion numbers.

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Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “Beyond Watergate: The Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Years, America 1974 - 2001” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll down this webpage to the section, “The Election of 2000” and read to the end of the webpage. This webpage concerns the presidency of George W. Bush.

This reading should take approximately 10 minutes.

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11.2.3 9-11 and the War on Terror

Web Media: Authentic History’s “The September 11 Attacks and Aftermath”
Links: Authentic History’s “The September 11 Attacks and Aftermath” (Flash)

Instructions: Read the entire webpage. Reading the text and watching the accompanying videos should take approximately 30 minutes.

Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. It is attributed to Authentic History.
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11.3 A New Age of Uncertainty

11.3.1 A Changing Society

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course:“Unit 11: Toward a New Century, Chapter 26: Imperial Presidency, Lesson 80—Moving into a New Millennium” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. Watch the final section of the presentation titled “The Changing American Society.” You may skip to this section by clicking on the circle above the section’s title at the top of the webpage. Read the accompanying text. Reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes, video presentation 5 minutes.

Note on the Media: Section four provides an overview of America’s changing society over the past two decades. It addresses the role of immigration, foreign competition, and new technologies in shaping the lives of Americans in the new millennium.

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11.3.2 A Great Recession

Reading: Political Affairs: Ross Morrow’s “A Critical Analysis of the US Causes of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008”
Link: Political Affairs: Ross Morrow’s “A Critical Analysis of the US Causes of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article, which examines this financial collapse from a Marxist perspective. This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Reading: Cato Institute: Patric Hendershott and Kevin Villani’s “What Made the Financial Crisis Systemic?”
Link: Cato Institute: Patric Hendershott and Kevin Villani’s “What Made the Financial Crisis Systemic?” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire article, which examines this financial crisis from a libertarian perspective. This reading should take approximately one hour.

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11.3.3 The Election of Barack Obama

Web Media: Democracy Now’s “Unchaining History: Barack Obama Elected President of the United States”
Link: Democracy Now’s “Unchaining History: Barack Obama Elected President of the United States” (Flash)

Instructions: Listen to President Barack Obama’s 2008 election victory address (23 minutes) and read the transcript. The speech highlights his message of change and social renewal.

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Unit 11 Assessment

Assignment: The Saylor Foundation's “New World Disorder”
Link: The Saylor Foundation's “New World Disorder” (PDF)

Instructions: Click the link and follow the instructions concerning this written assignment. When you are finished, check your work against this “Guide to Responding” (PDF). This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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Final Exam

Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's HIST212 Final Exam
Link: The Saylor Foundation's HIST212 Final Exam

Instructions: You must be logged into your Saylor Foundation School account in order to access this exam. If you do not yet have an account, you will be able to create one, free of charge, after clicking the link. This assessment should take approximately 1 hour.
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