ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 8 :

8 ) Describe how the United States' role in the Cold War influenced domestic and international events.

•  Describing the origin and meaning of the Iron Curtain and communism

•  Recognizing how the Cold War conflict manifested itself through sports

Examples: Olympic Games, international chess tournaments, Ping-Pong diplomacy

•  Identifying strategic diplomatic initiatives that intensified the Cold War, including the policies of Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy

Examples: trade embargoes, Marshall Plan, arms race, Berlin blockade and airlift, Berlin Wall, mutually assured destruction, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Warsaw Pact, Cuban missile crisis, Bay of Pigs invasion

•  Identifying how Cold War tensions resulted in armed conflict

Examples: Korean Conflict, Vietnam War, proxy wars

•  Describing the impact of the Cold War on technological innovations

Examples: Sputnik; space race; weapons of mass destruction; accessibility of microwave ovens, calculators, and computers

•  Recognizing Alabama's role in the Cold War (Alabama)

Examples: rocket production at Redstone Arsenal, helicopter training at Fort Rucker (Alabama)

•  Assessing effects of the end of the Cold War Era

Examples: policies of Mikhail Gorbachev; collapse of the Soviet Union; Ronald W. Reagan's foreign policies, including the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or Star Wars)

[SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

In this lesson, students explore a variety of documents highlighting various issues and perspectives that led to the Cold War and address the question: Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War, the United States or the Soviet Union? Students will read and analyze four primary documents about the Cold War including excerpts from Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech and the Truman Doctrine, to answer the essential question. 

The website includes lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, primary source documents, and student graphic organizers. Teachers will need to create a free account to access the materials. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] WH9 (9) 15 :

15 ) Describe post-World War II realignment and reconstruction in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, including the end of colonial empires.

Examples: reconstruction of Japan; nationalism in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Africa; Chinese Communist Revolution; creation of the Jewish state of Israel; Cuban Revolution; Central American conflicts

•  Explaining origins of the Cold War

Examples: Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, "Iron Curtain," Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Warsaw Pact

•  Tracing the progression of the Cold War

Examples: nuclear weapons, European power struggles, Korean War, Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War

[SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

[SS2010] US11 (11) 12 :

12 ) Describe major initiatives of the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson Administrations. [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

Examples: President Kennedy—New Frontier, President Johnson—Great Society

•  Describing Alabama's role in the space program under the New Frontier (Alabama)

Examples: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), space race, satellites

•  Describing major foreign events and issues of the John F. Kennedy Administration, including construction of the Berlin Wall, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Cuban missile crisis

[SS2010] US11 (11) 13 :

13 ) Trace the course of the involvement of the United States in Vietnam from the 1950s to 1975, including the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the Tet Offensive, destabilization of Laos, secret bombings of Cambodia, and the fall of Saigon. [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Locating on a map or globe the divisions of Vietnam, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and major battle sites

•  Describing the creation of North and South Vietnam

[SS2010] US11 (11) 14 :

14 ) Trace events of the modern Civil Rights Movement from post-World War II to 1970 that resulted in social and economic changes, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the March on Washington, Freedom Rides, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the Selma-to-Montgomery March. (Alabama) [A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Tracing the federal government's involvement in the modern Civil Rights Movement, including the abolition of the poll tax, the nationalization of state militias, Brown versus Board of Education in 1954, the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

•  Explaining contributions of individuals and groups to the modern Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr.; James Meredith; Medgar Evers; Thurgood Marshall; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and the civil rights foot soldiers

•  Appraising contributions of persons and events in Alabama that influenced the modern Civil Rights Movement, including Rosa Parks, Autherine Lucy, John Patterson, George C. Wallace, Vivian Malone Jones, Fred Shuttlesworth, the Children's March, and key local persons and events (Alabama)

•  Describing the development of a Black Power movement, including the change in focus of the SNCC, the rise of Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panther movement

•  Describing the economic impact of African-American entrepreneurs on the modern Civil Rights Movement, including S. B. Fuller and A. G. Gaston (Alabama)

[SS2010] US11 (11) 15 :

15 ) Describe changing social and cultural conditions in the United States during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. [A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

Examples: economic impact on the culture, feminist movement, recession, Arab oil embargo, technical revolution

[SS2010] US11 (11) 16 :

16 ) Describe significant foreign and domestic issues of presidential administrations from Richard M. Nixon to the present. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.h., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

Examples: Nixon's policy of détente; Cambodia; Watergate scandal; pardon of Nixon; Iranian hostage situation; Reaganomics; Libyan crisis; end of the Cold War; Persian Gulf War; impeachment trial of William "Bill" Clinton; terrorist attack of September 11, 2001; Operation Iraqi Freedom; war in Afghanistan; election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama; terrorism; global warming; immigration

[SS2010] SOC (9-12) 3 :

3 ) Describe how values and norms influence individual behavior.

•  Comparing ways in which cultures differ, change, and resist change, including countercultures, subcultures, and ethnocentric beliefs

•  Comparing the use of various symbols within and across societies

Examples: objects, gestures, sounds, images

•  Explaining the significance of socialization in human development

•  Illustrating key concepts of socialization, including self-concept, looking-glass self, significant others, and role-taking

•  Determining the role of family, school, peer groups, and the media in socializing young people

•  Explaining the process of socialization in adulthood

[SS2010] SOC (9-12) 10 :

10 ) Describe social movement and social change.

•  Comparing various forms of collective behavior, including mobs, riots, fads, and crowds

•  Identifying major ethical and social issues facing modern society

Examples: technological, governmental, medical

•  Explaining the impact of the modern Civil Rights Movement, the women's movement, the gun rights movement, the green movement, and other minority movements in the United States

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the Cold War as it unfolded in Asia. As John pointed out previously, the Cold War was occasionally hot, and a lot of that heat was generated in Asia. This is starting to sound weird with the hot/cold thing, so let's just say that the United States' struggle against communist expansion escalated to full-blown, boots-on-the-ground wars in Korea and Vietnam. In both of these cases, the United States sent soldiers to intervene in civil wars when it looked like communists might win.

**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

[SS2010] US11 (11) 16 :

16 ) Describe significant foreign and domestic issues of presidential administrations from Richard M. Nixon to the present. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.h., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

Examples: Nixon's policy of détente; Cambodia; Watergate scandal; pardon of Nixon; Iranian hostage situation; Reaganomics; Libyan crisis; end of the Cold War; Persian Gulf War; impeachment trial of William "Bill" Clinton; terrorist attack of September 11, 2001; Operation Iraqi Freedom; war in Afghanistan; election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama; terrorism; global warming; immigration

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the end of the Cold War and the presidency of George H.W. Bush. On the domestic front, the first president Bush inherited the relative prosperity of the later Reagan years and watched that prosperity evaporate. The collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest deal of Bush's term, and along with all this, you'll learn about Bush's actions, or lack thereof, in Somalia and the Balkans.

**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the Cold War, which was the decades-long conflict between the USA and the USSR. The Cold War was called cold because of the lack of actual fighting, but this is inaccurate. There was plenty of fighting, from Korea to Viet Nam to Afghanistan. The Cold War started, in short, by growing out of World War II when the Soviets occupied Eastern Europe and the US-supported western Europe. This setup would spill across the world, with client states on both sides.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

This video from Khan Academy is an overview of the Cold War which was a period of increased tensions and competition for global influence between the United States that lasted from approximately 1945 until 1991. Tensions increased in the aftermath of World War II when the United States dropped the atom bomb and Russian forces took over Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union never directly attacked one another but instead fought proxy wars in order to repel or spread communism, respectively. This video can be played to introduce a lesson on the Cold War. The video is 11 minutes and 57 seconds in length.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 11 :

11 ) Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Cold War policies and issues, the domino theory, McCarthyism, and their consequences, including the institution of loyalty oaths under Harry S. Truman, the Alger Hiss case, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Examples: G.I. Bill of Rights, consumer economy, Sputnik, rock and roll, bomb shelters, Federal-Aid Highway Act

•  Locating areas of conflict during the Cold War from 1945 to 1960, including East and West Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Korea, and China

This is an article from Khan Academy which provides an overview of the start of the Cold War. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman pledged that the United States would help any nation resist communism in order to prevent its spread. His policy of containment is known as the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine demonstrated that the United States would not return to isolationism after World War II, but rather take an active role in world affairs. To help rebuild after the war, the United States pledged $13 billion of aid to Europe in the Marshall Plan. This article can be used when teaching about the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and as an assessment.  Students can answer the questions at the end of the article.