11th Grade American History

Mr. Dalton’s Class

Subject: Chapter 19 The Truman Years

Objectives: Describe the United States’ adjustment to a peacetime economy and society determine the postwar events that led to the development of the Cold War

Objectives: Explain how fear of communism created a climate of suspicion that affected American society in the postwar period. Identify the causes of the Korean War

Objectives: Explain how American involvement in Korea affected political and social conditions at home

Activity one The students will write the script for a news documentary focusing on an important issue during the Truman years, such as demobilization, the elections of 1948, the cold war, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall plan, the Berlin Blockade, the formation of NATO, the Chinese Revolution, the spy trials,or the Korean War. They can act them out or film them for the class

Activity two The students will have a choice to read either The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger or Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, and write a report on it.

Activity three The students will watch the film, Modern U.S. History: Unit 1, It covers the Truman-Eisenhower years. Then they will get into groups and discuss the decisions that the Presidents made and tell what they would have done if they were President.

Activity four The students will watch the film, Truman: Years of Decision. It tells of present-day consequences of Truman’s European policies of military alliance and economic assistance. Then we will discuss as a class, how we feel about the film, whether or not he made bad decisions.

Activity five The students will list changes for black Americans, in the years after war and suggest ways that World War II affected people’s attitudes toward racial equality. Then they will answer the question in their notebooks, how did racial issues influence the election of 1948.

Activity six The students will get into groups and list the countries controlled by Communists or which were threatened by Communist takeover, then discuss why communism spread so quickly in those years. They will answer the question, what the U.S. did to prevent the spread of communism and present their answers to the class.

Activity seven As a class we will list on the board the events that led to the fear of communism and the responses to those fears. Then we will discuss whether or not the response to the fear of communism helped or harmed the nation

Activity eight In groups the students will discuss the relationship of the United States with Japan immediately after World War II. Then discuss if they are still strong allies. They will present their ideas to the class

Activity nine Each group will get an assigned crisis: occupation of Iran by the soviet Union, Greek Civil War, Berlin Blockade, or the struggle between Nationalist and Communist forces in china. They will brainstorm alternative solutions to their assigned problem. The group will present it to the class.

Activity ten We will watch a film called Cold War Confrontation. It examines two events that created a confrontation between East an West--the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War. Then they will write in their notebooks their ideas of what they think the Cold War is.

Important terms Demobilization Fair Deal Taft-Hartley Act Dixiecrat Cold war satellite iron curtain Turman Doctrine Marshall Plan Berlin Blockade NATO HUAC perjury Mcarthyism limited war

Important people Thomas E. Dewey Alger Hiss Strom Thurman Mao Zedong Ethel and Julius Rosenberg Chiang Kai-shek George Marshall

Web sites for more information

Web sites for more information tory_n2/a.html