Historia de los Estados Unidos: opiniones al respecto (parte 3)

This is third part of a complete history of the United States. It will be taught through a combination of discussion and lecture, depending on the level of engagement students are willing to offer. I often use memes in my classes to humorously underline points. I also use primary and secondary sources, including writings, pictures, and artwork. This particular curriculum that I have created is unique in that it was my keystone education project and has been looked at rigorously by educational professionals, and is National Council for the Social Studies aligned. The specific alignments can be found in the Syllabus provided upon enrollment in the classroom. 

Students who have taken classes with me will be familiar with my "hot takes" tone- pointing out contradiction, racism, sexism, etc., and leading discussion about these topics. I strongly believe that to make history relatable, we need to be constantly making connections to modern day. Many history classes that I have observed wave away the sexism/racism/etc. of historical time periods as being products of the time. In this class, they will be dealt with head on and evaluated by the students. The experiences and contributions of minorities are fundamental to this class, not side panels. 

Teaching US history today is highly contentious. Many people disagree about what should and should not be included. I believe that students, as future adults, need to see the entire picture of the United States; its accomplishments as well as its many defects and faults. The interesting thing about the United States is that it was a nation founded on ideals, an experiment that had never been undertaken before. The guiding force for this class will be the US Constitution, and the enduring question: To what extent has the United States lived up to its initial ideals? This is a question we will come back to time and time again in this class and will form the basis for students final project, which is to lead a discussion on how has the US lived up to its ideals as set forth in the Constitution? 

This is the third of 3 terms of this class, as it is expansive. This is the third part of this course and will cover from World War II to modern day. 

The United States started as a Grand Experiment of English Liberal ideals set forth by Enlightenment thinkers. The unique geography of the continent the experiment was set on set forth arguably the most influential nation the world has ever known. The challenges set forth by the United State’s unique blend of people and resources, as well as by foreign forces, has seen the initial ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness tried time and time again. The United States is constantly reevaluating and reinventing itself through government, economics, and culture. 

Part 3:

The United States has changed a lot since the Revolutionary War. The possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction puts the world on edge through the second half of the 20th century and beyond. This anxiety permeates much of a shaken postwar society, manifesting itself in the fear of communism and the Red Scare. American culture bears little resemblance to group of Revolutionaries that started it. Mass consumerism and mass culture coupled with rapidly changing gender roles and opportunities fought hard for by minorities during the Civil Rights movement. 




Week 1 Lesson 1: US in Europe
-The Nazi Holocaust: reactions
-The Nuremburg Trials
-Demobilization

Week 1 Lesson 2: Truman's Fair deal
-The G.I. Bill: education and housing
-Minorities and fair housing practices
-Truman and Civil Rights

Week 1 Lesson 3: The UN
-Formation of the United Nations
-United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
-Displaced persons: refugee efforts
-Expansion and Containment

Week 2 Lesson 4: Postwar uses for US Power
-The Truman Doctrine: Greece, Turkey
-The Marshall Plan

Week 2: Lesson 5: The Cold War
-The Iron Curtain
-Spheres of Influence 


Week 2 Lesson 6: Containment
-The US in Japan
-Separate peace treaty (1951)
-Reconstruction of Japan
-The US and China
-The “hot war” in Asia: Korean War

Week 3 Lesson 7: The Cold War At Home
-USSR tests an A-Bomb
-Truman and gov. loyalty checks
-Loyalty and Dissent: the case of Robert Oppenheimer 
-McCarthyism
-Hollywood
-Politics of the Cold War

Week 3 Lesson 8: Returning the US to a peacetime economy
-Interstate Highway Act (1956)
-Suburbanization
-Civil Rights

Week 3 Lesson 9: Beginning of modern Civil Rights Movement
-Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954
-Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
-Little Rock: School Desegregation
-Sit-ins: nonviolent tactic
-Civil Rights Act of 1957

Week 4 Lesson 10: The People
-Prosperity and conservatism
-Postwar consumption: homes, autos, TV
-New educational opportunities: GI Bill
-The Baby Boom & its effects
-Migration and immigration
-Suburbanization: Levittowns
-New immigration patterns: Caribbean focus

Week 4 Lesson 11: Decade of Change: 1960s
-The Kennedy Years
-The New Frontier: dreams and promises
-Civil Rights actions
-March on Washington

Week 4 Lesson 12: Foreign policy and Cold War crises
-Bay of Pigs Invasion
-Vienna Summit/Berlin Wall
-Cuban Missile Crisis
-Laos and Vietnam
-Latin America and the Alliance for Progress
-Peace Corps
-Race to the moon

Week 5 Lesson 13: Movement for rights of disabled citizens
-Background
-Historic attitudes
-Emergence of institutions 
-Deinstitutionalization

Week 5 Lesson 14: Johnson and the Great Society
-War on Poverty
-Medicare
-Federal Aid to education
-Environmental issues and concerns
-The Moon Landing

Week 5 Lesson 15: Continued demands for equality
-Black protest, pride, power

Week 6 Lesson 16: The Modern women’s movement
-Kennedy Commission and the Civil Rights Act, 1963-64
-Shifting roles and images
-Roe v. Wade, 1973
-Equality in the workplace
-Focus on domestic abuse

Optional Exam 1

Week 6 Lesson 17: Gay Liberation Movement
-Stonewall Riots
-Pride 

Week 6 Lesson 18: Rising Consciousness of Hispanic-Americans
-“Brown Power” movement
-Organizing farm labor
-Cuban and Haitian immigration
-Increasing presence in American politics

Week 7 Lesson 19: Demands for equality: Native Americans
-Occupation of Alcatraz
-The “long march”
-Wounded Knee, 1973

Week  7 Lesson 20: The Limits of Power: Turmoil at Home and Abroad, 1965-1972
-Vietnam: Sacrifice and turmoil
-Student protests at home**
-Draft protestors
-Political radicals
-Cultural radicals: hippies and communalists

Week 7 Lesson 21: 1968: A Year of Turmoil
-Assassinations of MLK & Robert Kennedy
-The Democratic Convention: war protests disrupt proceedings
-Impact of Vietnam War on society

Week 8 Lesson 22: The Trend Toward Conservatism, 1972-1985
-	Nixon as President, 1969-1974
-	Domestic Policies and events
-Modifications to Great Society programs
-Self-Determination for American Indians (1970)
-Watergate
-United States vs. Nixon, 1974

Week 8 Lesson 23: The Ford and Carter presidencies*
-Domestic policy issues
-Oil crisis
-Environmental concerns
-Foreign policy issues
-Iranian hostage crisis: 1979-1981


Week 8 Lesson 24: Reagan and Bush: the “new” federalism and growth of conservatism*
-Tax policy and deficits
-Effects on minorities 
-New Approaches to old problems
-The “new” immigrants

Week 9 Lesson 25: The Cool War
-US-Soviet Relations
-Gorbachev and Soviet relations
-The End of the Cold War

Week 9 Lesson 26: Approaching the Next Century, 1986-1999
-Health Care
-Education
-Welfare Reform
-Stability of the Social Security System

Week 9 Lesson 27: Modern Issues 
-Economic concerns
-Role of technologies
-Impact of the baby boom generation
-Political concerns
-Gun control
-Foreign Policy Issues
-United States – Middle East relations: Israeli – PLO agreement
-US in the Global economy

Week 10 Lesson 28: Turn of the Century
-9/11
-Wars in the Middle East

Week 10 Lesson 29: The New Cold War?
-Foreign Relations
-Political Divide 

Week 10 Lesson 30: Current Events Report- Students should find a news article and discuss (verbally or written) historical events or trends that influenced it. 
Optional Exam 2