Unit+10+Recent+Events

= **Unit 10: Recent Events (1968-Today) ** =

Before the Watergate scandal, Nixon was likely to earn a reputation as a successful leader and somewhat moderate president. Shortly after his re-election in 1972, however, the story broke, and Nixon's involvement in dirty politics eventually led to his resignation in August, 1974. As the country struggled with a loss of confidence in its leaders, it also struggled with a stagnant economy - a recession combined with a continued rise in prices (inflation). The next two presidents, Nixon's VP Gerald Ford and then Democrat Jimmy Carter, would have limited success as they struggled to manage the poor economy and tense Cold War politics during the 1970s. In the 1980s, Americans continued to divide along conservative and liberal lines. President Ronald Reagan laid the groundwork in the 1980s for a limited federal government, an end to communism in the Soviet Union, and government support of traditional and religious values. As America shifted into a new millennium, everything seemed to change as politics, economics, and culture began to take a more global shape.

Textbook Chapters:
 * ~ Chapter No. in Book ||~ Chapter Title ||~ Chapter No. in Computer ||
 * = 27 ||= A Crisis in Confidence ||= 31 ||
 * = 28 ||= The Conservative Resurgence ||= 32 ||
 * = 29 ||= Into a New Century ||= 33 ||

Major concepts:

Unit 10 Day 1 Topics: "Silent majority," New Federalism, stagflation, OPEC, southern strategy, busing controversy, Watergate, executive privilege, //United States v. Nixon// (1974)

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Evaluate Nixon's presidency during the early 1970s.
 * Analyze events that led to Nixon's resignation as president in 1974.

Quickwrite: Name three successes in Nixon's foreign policy before his re-election in 1972.

Homework: Read Ch. 27.2 & 27.3

Unit 10 Day 2 Topics: President Ford, Nixon's pardon, stagflation, President Carter, amnesty for draft-dodgers, energy crisis, demographic changes, "me" generation, televangelists, Helsinki Accords, SALT II, Camp David Accords, Iran hostage crisis

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Assess the causes and effects of the domestic challenges of the 1970s.
 * Assess the causes and effects of the foreign policy challenges of the 1970s.

Quickwrite: What two problems made it difficult for Ford to be an effective president after Nixon's resignation?

Homework: Read Ch. 28.1 & 28.2

Unit 10 Day 3 Topics: Liberals, conservatives, New Right Coalition, Moral Majority, "Reagan Revolution," supply-side economics ("Reaganomics"), deregulation, national debt, Savings and Loan crisis, school vouchers, AIDS, //Challenger// explosion

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Analyze the rise of conservatism in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
 * Describe the major characteristics of the conservative "Reagan Revolution."

Quickwrite: What are some differences between liberals and conservatives in American politics?

Homework: Read Ch. 28.3 & 28.4

Unit 10 Day 4 Topics: Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars"), "evil empire," anticommunist aid in Afghanistan and Latin America, Iran-Contra affair, Gorbachev, //glasnost, perestroika//, President Bush, end of communism, War on Drugs, Tienanmen Square, apartheid, Persian Gulf War

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Evaluate Reagan's foreign policies and how they contributed to the end of Communism in Europe.
 * Evaluate George H.W. Bush's foreign policies during and after the collapse of communism.

Quickwrite: Read Reagan's speech at the end of chapter 28.2. What are some changes taking place within the Soviet Union in the 1980s?

Homework: Read Ch. 29.1

Unit 10 Day 5 Topics: Microprocessors, biotechnology, "information age," satellites, internet, globalization, multinational corporations, e-commerce, service economy, decline of unions

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Identify the effects of technological changes on the American economy.
 * Analyze the impact of globalization on today's economy.

Quickwrite: Generate a list of communications technologies that you rely on throughout the day.

Homework: Read Ch. 29.2 & 29.3

Unit 10 Day 6 Topics: President Clinton, "New Democrat," Contract With America, Whitewater/Lewinski scandal, impeachment, free trade, EU, NAFTA, GATT, WTO, World Bank, regional conflicts, al Qaeda

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Identify the successes and failures of the Clinton presidency.
 * Assess the US's role in global politics and economics after the Cold War.

Quickwrite: Why did George H.W. Bush fail to win re-election?

Homework: Read Ch. 29.4 & 29.5

Unit 10 Day 7 Topics: Election of 2000, //Bush v. Gore// (2000), tax cuts, No Child Left Behind, 9/11, Invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Homeland Security, WMDs, election of 2004, Immigration Act of 1990, bilingual education, affirmative action

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Analyze the impacts of George W. Bush's domestic agenda and his response to 9/11.
 * Assess how American society was changing by the beginning of the 21st century.

Quickwrite: In the 2000 election, what were Bush's and Gore's plans for spending the federal budget surplus at the end of Clinton's presidency?

Homework: Study for test on Ch. 27-29.

Unit 10 Day 8 Topics: Unit 10 test tomorrow!

Learning Objectives: Students will
 * Catch up and prepare for Unit 10 test tomorrow on chapters 27-29.

Quickwrite: Create a multiple choice question for the test tomorrow.

Homework: Study for test on Ch. 27-29.

Unit 10 Test Day Homework: Prepare for final exam. See Homework calendar for final exam schedule.

Links:

US History Textbook Site