Essential QuestionWhat roles were women expected to play during the 1950s?MaterialsQuestions for The Feminine Mystique (PDF)Four Photos of Women, ProQuest K–12"Housewife or Career Woman: The Changing Roles of Women in WWII and Beyond," Proquest K–12Excerpts from The Feminine Mystique, University of WisconsinProcedureHave students read the excerpts from The Feminine Mystique and answer the attached Bloom Questions.Show students the first image on the first link above without the caption below it and ask them to create a caption for the photograph that reflects what they learned...

Essential Questions How can the powers of government be divided to best run our nation in this modern era? What role should the federal government play in shaping our economy? Document Ronald Reagan’s State of the Union Message, January 26, 1982, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara Procedure Pre-Reading Vocabulary Lesson: Briefly discuss the meaning of the following terms: federalism excise taxes deregulation budget deficit private sector interlocking jurisdictions Document Analysis: Have students read the above excerpts from Reagan’s State of...

Essential Questions What constitutes great presidential leadership? How did Eisenhower demonstrate great leadership through his support of the Federal-Aid Highway Act (1956) and his warning about the growth of the Military-Industrial Complex (1961)? Documents Transcript of National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956), Our Documents Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1961), Avalon Project, Yale University Excerpt on the Military-Industrial Complex from Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (1961) (PDF) Quotes from Dwight D. Eisenhower (PDF) Procedure Begin...

Essential Questions What impact did "the Moral Majority" have on American culture and politics in the 1980s? What are the differences between primary and secondary sources? Materials Excerpt from Listen America by Jerry Falwell (1980), WW Norton Excerpt from New York Times obituary for Jerry Falwell, New York Times Written Document Worksheet, National Archives (PDF) Procedure Read both documents about Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority listed above. Use the National Archives Written Document Analysis Worksheet to analyze each document. Lead a discussion about the benefits and...

Essential Question How did conformity apply as a value to the living choices of Americans during the 1950’s? Materials Postwar Society Data and Questions (PDF) Little Boxes, written by Malvina Reynolds (1962) (Lyrics) Two Photos & Excerpts from The Levittown Legacy: Segregation in Suburbia, Hofstra University Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb, University of Illinois at Chicago "At 50, Levittown Contends With Its Legacy of Bias", The New York Times Procedure Use the attached charts and follow-up questions to obtain background information about the Postwar...

BackgroundImperial rivalries have often been resolved through war; however, the Treaty of Tordesillas is an important example of a rivalry that was resolved without hostilities through the demarcation of areas of influence by the Catholic Church. The Treaty of Tordesillas successfully arbitrated which lands could be ruled by Spain and which could be ruled by Portugal by creating a boundary "three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands." This line ran from the North to South Poles. Any lands discovered to the east of the line would be ruled by...

IntroductionBy the early to mid-seventeenth century, Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands were all competing for colonies and trade around the world. Beginning in the late fifteenth century, explorers, conquerors, missionaries, merchants, and adventurers sought to claim new lands to colonize. It was only a matter of time before imperial rivals butted heads over land possession and trade routes. Competition for land grabs, settlement, trade, and exploration led to the growth of New World imperialism and the economic system of mercantilism. As European nations squabbled and...

View this item in the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the Common Core State Standards....

Unit Overview This unit is part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teaching Literacy through History resources, designed to align to the Common Core State Standards. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze and assess primary source material. Over the course of five lessons, students will read, analyze, and gain a clear understanding of "I Have a Dream," a speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr., at the March on...

Introduction The Cold War is the term for the rivalry between the two blocs of contending states that emerged following the Second World War. It was a series of confrontations played out on the world stage between the non-Communist states, led by the United States and Great Britain, and the Communists, led by the Soviet Union. In 1946 the former prime minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, gave a speech in Missouri foreshadowing the divide between East and West using the metaphor of an "iron curtain." The reality of this divide was evidenced in Germany in Berlin in 1961....