HONORS U.S. HISTORY – 2nd SEMESTER – STUDY GUIDE
World War 2 (Ch 16 & 17)
● Describe the events that brought the U.S into WWII
● Identify Pearl Harbor and explain how this engaged America in WWII.
● Identify and describe major battles that occurred during WWII including D-Day
● Explain the wartime mobilization and its effects on the American public
● Justification for dropping the atomic bombs
● Analyze and explain Korematsu v. United States decision
● Explain the role of women during and after WWII
The Early Cold War (Ch 18 & 20)
● Identify and explain the Truman Doctrine, containment policy and the Marshall Plan
● Explain the causes of the Berlin Airlift
● Describe the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact
● Explain America’s involvement in the Korean War and the war’s outcome
● Identify and describe Second Red Scare and McCarthyism
● Summarize the crises that developed in Cuba including the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
1950s Culture and Economics (Ch 19)
● Describe the formation of Levittowns
● Discuss the impact conformity had on suburban living
● Identify the how the G.I. Bill caused economic prosperity of the 1950’s
1960s Politics and Economics (Ch 20)
● Describe JFK’s “New Frontier” including the Space Race
● Summarize the goals of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society”
● Examine the several decisions of the Warren Court
Civil Rights Movement (Ch 21)
● Explain the effects of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas
● Identify who Dr. Martin Luther King was and the SCLC’s non-violent protest tactics
● State the motive of the 1963 March on Washington
● Describe the civil rights legislation between 1964-1968
● Identify groups whose beliefs and tactics differed from those of Dr. Martin Luther King
The Vietnam Conflict (Ch 22)
● Explain how America became involved with the Vietnam conflict
● Explain the impact of the Vietnam war on American Society
● Explain the Ho Chi Minh Trail’s involvement with the invasion/bombing of Laos and Cambodia
● Describe the antiwar movement and the growing divisions in U.S. public opinion including the
Democratic National Convention and the Kent State shooting.
● Describe the legacy of the Vietnam War including the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and War Powers
Act.
Other Rights Movements (Ch 23)
● Summarize the events created to secure civil rights reform for Latinos
● Identify and describe the importance of César Chávez
● Summarize the legacy of the women’s movement in employment, education and politics
● Identify the American Indian Movement (AIM) and its impact on Native American Civil Rights
● Describe immigration reform changes during the 1960s
The 1970s (Ch 24)
● Indentify Nixon’s foreign policy of “realpolitik” and détente
● Describe the events known as the Watergate Scandal
● Explain the impact of the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case on affirmative
action
● Describe the Three Mile Island Incident
● Describe how the energy crisis created a dependency on foreign oil
The Conservative Tide (Ch 25)
● Describe Reaganomics and its attempts to tackle inflation and unemployment
● Explain the Iran Contra Scandal
The 1990s and the New Century (26)
● Explain Clinton’s impeachment
● Explain the pros and cons of NAFTA
● Describe the internet and “dotcom” companies
● Describe economic changes in the modern age from globalization/outsourcing
● 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks and the start of the Global War on Terrorism