Name: __________________________________
Mr. McLaughlin- APUSH
Unit 7: 1945-Present Political Thematic Unit
Unit Overview: World War II dramatically changed the United States from an isolationist country into a military
superpower and leader in world affairs. After WWII, the growing conflict between the communist Soviet Union and the
United States would later be known as the Cold War. Events like the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Cuban Missile
Crisis caused the threat of nuclear war to loom in the background of everyday life. The Al Qaeda terrorist attacks that
occurred on 9/11 and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq defined US foreign policy in the 21st Century.
Students will have knowledge of:
 The United Nations
 Containment/The Cold War
 Truman Doctrine
 Eisenhower Doctrine
 Berlin Airlift
 NATO and Warsaw Pact
 Communism in China
 USSR
 The Korean War
 Middle East Tensions
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Cuba – Revolution/Bay of Pigs/Cuban Missile
Crisis
The Vietnam War
Watergate
OPEC & the Energy Crisis
Iran Hostage Crisis
Fall of Communism in Europe
9/11 Attacks
War in Afghanistan and Iraq
Students will be able to: Analyze primary and secondary source documents, evaluate credibility of sources, use a
rubric to evaluate student work, Practice active reading, and collaborate with classmates.
Lesson Guide:
Theme
1
Early Cold
War
(Truman)
Readings Due/HW
1) AMSCO 549-554
2) Key Terms
Focus Topics
1) Topic: Iron
Curtain/Containment
2) Discussion Prompt:
Compare and Contrast
the US and Soviet view
of origins of the Cold
War?
Class
1) Teacher PowerPoint, students
complete graphic organizer
2) Iron Curtain Class Activity
3) Europe in the Cold War Map
2
Containment 1) 572-579
in Europe
2) Crash Course Cold
War (Highlight and
Annotate)
3) Key Terms
1) Topic: Truman Plan,
Marshall Plan, Berlin
Crisis
2) Discussion Prompt: To
what extent did the
Truman set a precedent
for US foreign policy in
the future?
1) Primary Document Reading;
Truman Doctrine from AMSCO,
pg. 565-Questions, DBQ Partner
Lesson
2) Cold War Document Analysis
3
Containment 1) AMSCO 555-558,
in Asia
2) FOF Fact Sheets:
Highlight and
Annotate
3) Korean Inquiry Prep.
4) Truman and
MacArthur Primary
Source Analysis
1) Topic: Eisenhower
Doctrine, Korean War
and China
2) Discussion Prompt:
What were the causes
and effects of US
involvement in Korea?
1) Video Clip
2) Korean Inquiry Analysis
5
6
7
8
9
Containment 1) AMSCO 575-576
in the
2) Key Terms
Middle East

Containment 1) AMSCO 578, 595in Latin
596
America
2) Key Terms
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Containment 1) AMSCO 619-621,
in Asia
626-627
2) FOF Sheets
(Highlight and
Annotate)
3) Crash Course:
Milestones in US
Foreign Policy the
Vietnam War
4) DBQ Jigsaw Reading
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Topic: Vietnam War
Discussion Prompt:
What were the causes
and effects of US
involvement in
Vietnam?
AMSCO 623-626
YouTube: Covering
Watergate: 40 Years
Later with MacNeil
and Lehrer

Topic: Watergate,
Detente Scandal,
Resignation
Prompt: What was the
legacy of Nixon’s
presidency?
AMSCO 648-652
AMSCO 658-659
American Pageant
pg. 1002-1006
9/11 Jigsaw Readings
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1970s
End of the
Cold War,
9/11
Afghanistan
and Iraq
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Topic: Suez Crisis, Iran,
OPEC, and Israel
Discussion Prompt:
Evaluate how US
involvement in the
Middle East in the past
impacts US Middle East
relations today.
Topic: Cuba, Panama,
and Nicaragua
Prompt: How did US
involvement in Cuba
reflect Cold War
tensions?
Topic 1: Iran Hostage
Crisis, Fall of Berlin
Wall, Reagan
Presidency,
Prompt: Why did the
Cold War end?
Topic 2: Al Qaeda, 9/11,
Afghanistan and Iraq
Discussion Prompt: To
what extent did US
foreign policy change as
a result of Al Qaeda
attacks?
1) Teacher PowerPoint
2) Suez Crisis and Iran Crisis –
news footage clips and
analysis
3) Primary Source Analysis
1) Video (8 min) Nixon Kitchen
Debate 1959
2) Video (10 min – JFK and
Nixon Debate on the Cold War
3) Journalist Report on the
Debate. Nixon Points vs. JFK
4) 4) Evaluate Kennedy’s Cold
War Policies
1) Vietnam DBQ Jigsaw Lesson
2) Class Discussion
1) Détente Reading
2) Watergate Documentary
3) Work on Social Movement
Projects
1) Iran Hostage Crisis Notes and Clip
2) Activity – Reagan Pros and Cons –
Foreign Policy (Be prepared to
defend your choices)
3) Video – Clips Reagan
4) Activity – Timeline off Al Qaeda
attacks
5) Teacher Presentation and Class
Discussion
6) Review Assignment
Assessment: Key Terms – WILL BE COLLECTED AND GRADED, Cold War Map, Political Timeline, Traditional
Test: multiple choice and essay
Essential Question
 What are the sources of conflict with other nations and when should the U.S. remain neutral, use diplomacy or go to
war?
Key Term Homework Assignment (25 points)
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All work must be hand written on lined notebook paper or written on note cards. Typed terms will not be accepted.
Define or identify and explain the historical significance.
Number all key terms correspondingly to the order below.
Include your name, date, subject, and block.
Number all page numbers
The cohorts of key terms correspond with the chapters
Key Terms: For each of the terms you should define and state the historical significance related to US history.
Vocabulary
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
Cold War
Iron Curtain
Containment
Arms Race
Police Action
Covert Action
Sputnik
Berlin Wall
Détente
First, Second, and Third World
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25)
26)
27)
Policies
Containment
Truman Doctrine
Marshall Plan
National Security Act
US-Japanese Security Treaty
Domino Theory
Eisenhower Doctrine
Open Skies
Brinkmanship
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Hawks and Doves
Vietnamization
Nixon Doctrine
War Powers Act
Strategic Defense Initiative
Flexible Response
Places
28)
29)
30)
31)
32)
33)
34)
35)
36)
37)
38)
39)
40)
41)
42)
43)
44)
45)
46)
47)
48)
49)
50)
51)
52)
53)
54)
55)
56)
57)
58)
59)
60)
61)
62)
63)
64)
65)
66)
67)
68)
East West Germany
Taiwan
38th Parallel Korera
Korea
Iran
Nicaragua
French Indochina
Vietnam
Cuba
Hungary
People’s Republic of China
USSR
Events
Berlin Airlift
Nat. Sec. Act (1947)
Chinese Civil War: Communists vs.
Nationalists
The Korean War: UN Police Action
Geneva Conference
Suez Crisis (1956)
U2 Incident
Hungarian Revolution
Bay of Pigs
Cuban Missile Crisis
Vietnam War
Cambodia : Khmer Rouge
My Lai Massacre
Tet Offensive
SALT
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Intermediate Nuclear Force
Agreement
Pentagon Papers
Watergate
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Paris Peace Accords (1973)
Camp David Accord (1978)
Yugoslavia Civil War/Genocide
Tiananmen Square- Beijing
Iran Contra Affair
Persian Gulf War (1991)
9/11 Attacks
War in Afghanistan
War in Iraq
68)
69)
70)
71)
72)
73)
74)
75)
76)
77)
Organizations
The United Nations
Un Security Council
The World Bank
The IMF
NATO
Warsaw PACT
NASA
SEATO
OPEC
Palestine Liberation Organization
People
78) Harry Truman
79) Winston Churchill
80) George Kennan
81) Dean Achenson
82) Douglas MacArthur
83) Kim Il Sung
84) Syngman Rhee
85) Mao Zedong
86) Chang Kai Shek
87) Joseph Stalin
88) Dwight D. Eisenhower
89) John Foster Dulles
90) Richard Nixon
91) Nikita Krushchev
92) Fidel Castro
93) John F. Kennedy
94) Lyndon B. Johnson
95) Ho Chi Minh
96) Richard Nixon
97) Henry Kissinger
98) Gerald Ford
99) Jimmy Carter
100) Ronald Reagan
101) Mikhail Gorbachev
102) George H. W. Bush
103) Saddam Hussein
104) Bill Clinton
105) Osama Bin Laden
106) George W. Bush
107) Barack Obama
Mastery
25-23
All terms are
defined/identified. The
historical significance is
fully explained for all key
terms. Terms are numbered
and in the correct order.
Demonstrates attention to
detail and excellent effort.
All work is legible. Students
included their name, block,
subject and date. All work is
stapled in correct order. The
work is hand written on
notebook paper.
Proficient
22-21
All terms are
defined/identified. The
historical significance is not
fully explained for all terms.
Terms are numbered and are
in correct order.
Demonstrates proficient
attention to detail. All work
is legible. Students included
their name, block and date
on the sheet. All work is
stapled in correct order. The
work is hand written on
notebook paper.
Less Proficient
20-18
Some terms are not
defined/identified.
Historical significance is not
explained or may not be
included for a several term.
Terms are numbered and are
in correct order. Some work
may not be legible. Students
may not have included their
name, block, subject, and
date on the sheet. The work
may not be stapled in
correct order. Demonstrates
less proficient effort and
attention to detail. The work
is hand written on notebook
paper..
Ineffective
17-0
Several terms are not
defined/identified. Terms
may not be numbered and
may not be in correct order.
Historical significance is not
explained for a number of
terms. Demonstrates
minimal attention to detail.
Some work may not be
legible. Students may not
have included their name,
block, subject, and date on
the sheet. The work may not
be stapled in correct order.
Demonstrates less proficient
effort and attention to detail.
The work is hand written on
notebook paper..
* Work that is not hand
written will receive a zero.