Period 8: 1945-1980
#84 - 8.1 Contextualizing Period 8
The first lecture of the historical period provides context for all the major events that happened between 1945 and 1980. It describes in broad terms all of the ways that societal change happened, the causes for it, and its effects. The notes packet includes short answer response practice, and a secondary source activity in which students deconstruct the main points of a historian’s argument.
#85 - 8.2 The Cold War from 1945 to 1980
The second lecture of the historical period explains the continuities and changes in Cold War policies from 1945 to 1980. It analyzes the various stages of the Cold War and where it left off in the year 1980. The notes packet includes short answer response practice, and primary sources on the use of the atomic bomb, the Truman Doctrine, and the National Security Council’s NSC-68 report.
#86 - 8.3 The Red Scare
The third lecture of the unit explains the causes and effects of the Red Scare after World War II. It covers the growing concern of communist infiltration and the government policies that were implemented, which sometimes ran counter to the protection of civil liberties. The notes packet includes short answer response practice, and primary sources. One primary source is Richard Nixon recounting the degree that the communist threat was real and another is a transcript of Arthur Miller’s interrogation before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
#87 - 8.4 Economy after 1945
This lecture explains the causes of economic growth in the years after World War II. It also explains the related demographic shifts associated with the growing economy. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and two primary sources. One shows a Levittown in the 1950s and the other is Nixon’s speech from 1959’s “Kitchen Debate.”
#88 - 8.5 Culture after 1945
This lecture explains how mass cultural has been maintained and challenged in the historical period. The College Board’s wording “maintained” suggests the ways in which mass culture grew, while “challenged,” suggests the rise of the new counterculture. The notes packet includes a secondary source on the 1950s and an activity which asks students to deconstruct a historian’s argument.
#89 - 8.6 Early Steps in the Civil Rights Movement (1940s and 1950s)
This lecture explains how and why the civil rights movement developed and expanded from 1945 to 1960. It covers the major victories of the period that brought down de jure segregation like the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, Smith v. Allwright, and Shelley v. Kraemer. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and three primary source documents. They include the Brown decision, personal letters of Rosa Parks, and the Hernandez v. Texas court decision.
#90 - 8.7 America as a World Power
This lecture explains the various military and diplomatic responses to International developments from 1945 to 1980. It covers the American intervention in various countries, as well as the development of a non-aligned “Third World.” The notes packet includes short answer response practice and two primary sources; A poem by Pablo Neruda title “The United Fruit Company,” and a Soviet news article on the successful launch of Sputnik.
#91 - 8.8 The Vietnam War
This lecture explains the causes and effects of the Vietnam War. It portrays the war as part of the US foreign policy that battled the spread of Communism around the world. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and a secondary source activity in which students deconstruct the argument of a historian’s essay on the My Lai massacre.
#92 - 8.9 The Great Society
This lecture covers the various programs of the Great Society and frames the policy program as part of the larger debates about the role of the federal government. The Great Society and its liberal policy agenda’s effects are also covered. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and two primary source documents. One is a speech by President Johnson as he gets ready to sign the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the second is a campaign speech by Republican Barry Goldwater vocalizing the conservative opposition to the liberalism of the 1960s.
#93 - 8.10 The African American Civil Rights Movement (1960s)
This lecture explains the progression of the Civil Rights movement in the rest of the historical period. It also covers how various groups, in society and in government, reacted to calls for expansion of civil rights. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and two primary source documents. The first, the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s “Only a Pawn in their Game,” which was performed at the 1963 March on Washington. The second is a speech by Angela Davis about the persisting inequality in the 1970s after the majority of the legal civil rights victories had been achieved.
#94 - 8.11 The Civil Rights Movement Expands
This lecture explains how the victories of the African American Civil Rights movement inspired other historically marginalized groups to organize and take direct action to improve their condition. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and two primary source documents. The first is the Statement of Purpose for the National Organization for Women. The second is the Alcatraz Proclamation issued by the Indians of All Nations on their occupation of the decommissioned prison.
#95 - 8.12 Youth Culture of the 1960s
This lecture explains how and why opposition to existing policies and values developed and changed over the course of the 20th century. It identifies the baby boom generation coming of age as the primary reason counterculture movements, and a New Left with new priorities arise. The notes packet includes short answer response practice and three primary sources. The first is the Port Huron Statement issued by the Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Michigan. The second and third documents are songs that encapsulate the hippie counterculture of the 1960s, Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” and Jimi Hendrix’s edition of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock.
#96 - 8.13 The Environment and Natural Resources from 1968 to 1980
This lecture explains how and why policies related to the environment developed and changed from 1968 to 1980. The notes packet includes short answer writing practice and two primary sources. The first is and excerpt from Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring. The second is the text of the 1963 Clean Air Act.
#97 - 8.14 Society in Transition
This lecture describes the rest of the 1960s and 1970s as a tumultuous time. It frames the major historical events in the context of the larger debate about the role of the federal government. The notes packet includes short answer writing practice and three primary sources. One is a chart that shows unemployment and inflation rising simultaneously in the 1970s. The second is an excerpt of an essay opposing the Equal Rights Amendment. Lastly, the third is an image of Richard Nixon’s resignation letter.
#98 - 8.15 Continuity and Change in Period 8
The last lecture in the period covers the ways that society changed and stayed the same from 1945 to 1980. The lecture mostly covers the continuity and change of government policies and societal values. he notes packet includes short answer writing practice and an excerpt a speech by Barbara Jordan at the Democratic National Convention in 1976.
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