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Evaluate the success of 1960s era presidents' foreign and domestic policies.
Standard #: SS.912.A.7.4
Standard Information
General Information
Subject Area: Social Studies
Grade: 912
Strand: American History
Standard: Understand the rise and continuing international influence of the United States as a world leader and the impact of contemporary social and political movements on American life.
Date Adopted or Revised: 02/14
Status: State Board Approved
Related Courses
Related Access Points
Related Resources
Assessments
  • Assessment: U.S Foreign Policy in the Cold War and Vietnam # This written assessment prompt may be used to assess student knowledge about U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and Vietnam War. A rubric and sample response are included.
  • Quiz: 1960s America # Try this 14-question multiple choice quiz to see how much you know about America in the 1960s. Foreign and domestic policy are both included in these questions.
Lesson Plans
  • The Cuban Missile Crisis # In this lesson, students will determine to what extent the Cuban Missile Crisis changed the Cold War as they analyze primary and secondary documents, including letters and telegrams from President Kennedy First Secretary Khrushchev, regarding events that brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.
  • Reading Like a Historian: Great Society # In this lesson, students analyze primary and secondary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Was the Great Society successful? Students first read LBJ's "Great Society" speech and answer sourcing, close reading and context questions about it before discussing as a class. The teacher then hands out a list of Great Society programs and asks: Which have you heard of? Which do you think were successful? Students then watch a film clip about the Great Society, streamed via Discovery Education. This is followed up with 2 secondary sources: a "Pro" perspective from historian Joseph Califano and a "Con" perspective from Thomas Sowell. They fill out a graphic organizer in groups and discuss: Which historian is more convincing? What kind of evidence does each use to make his case? How do these arguments still play out today?
  • Reading Like a Historian: Cuban Missile Crisis # In this lesson, students analyze primary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Why did the Russians pull their missiles out of Cuba? The teacher begins by recapping the Cold War and the presence of missiles in Cuba and streams a video clip from Discovery Education about the Crisis and the negotiations that ended it. *Please see note in reviewer public remark below about this video. Students then analyze, in pairs, 3 documents: 1) a letter from Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, 2) a letter from Kennedy to Khrushchev, and 3) a cable from Soviet ambassador Dobrynin to his foreign ministry. For each, they answer guiding questions. A final class discussion addresses the documents: What kind of a deal was struck? Why was it secret? Does the class textbook mention it?
Original Student Tutorial
  • Three Presidencies: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon # In this interactive tutorial, learn about the three U.S. presidents elected during the turbulent 1960s: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. You'll learn how each of these men left an unfinished legacy as president, and you'll learn about their politics, successes, and failures, with an emphasis on domestic politics.
Resource Collections
  • Commemorating the Vietnam War # This website, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, provides a wealth of resources that educators can use to teach their students about this important era in American history. Resources include an interactive historical timeline from 1945 to 1975, fact sheets detailing each branch of the U.S. military's involvement in the war, maps, and links to numerous primary source documents. The site also provides printable PDF posters that highlight different roles in the war, including the role of women and African Americans, as well posters that outline America's increasing involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1965, and posters that display service patches for each branch of the military.
  • American Experience: Lyndon B. Johnson # This full-length video is a complete biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States. Topics touched on include the Great Society, the Civil Rights movement, and the Vietnam War. Teachers should find the video an excellent resource to review or learn more about this time period. The webpage also includes numerous shorter videos, articles, and primary sources about LBJ, as well as a teacher's guide for using the film in class.
Teaching Idea
  • Source Analysis: Foreign Policy and the Vietnam War # In this source analysis activity, students will read and analyze speeches from President Kennedy and President Nixon, as well as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Students will answer questions about each document after reading. At the end, discussion questions require an overall analysis of U.S. foreign policy during the Vietnam War.
Text Resources
  • Sputnik: The Little Metal Ball That Fueled the Cold War # This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the Social Studies content area. It is most appropriate for 11th-12th grade students enrolled in a U.S. History class. In this article, the author, a professor of aeronautics, reflects on the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite and how it inspired both Cold War paranoia and a national commitment to scientific education. Sputnik, he concludes, was a true historical turning point.
  • Buzz Aldrin on Why We Should Go to Mars # This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the academic content areas. It is most appropriate for 9th-10th grade students enrolled in a U.S. History or an Earth/Space Science class.

    This is an interview of Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, one of the first men to walk on the moon. In a question/answer format, Aldrin answers questions about his ambitious vision for the future of American space exploration, and he also reflects on the past and present of the U.S. space program.
  • Why Do We Admire a President Who Did So Little? # This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the Social Studies content area. It is most appropriate for 11th-12th grade students enrolled in a U.S. History class.

    The author uses the 50th anniversary of JFK's inauguration to reflect on the undiminished popularity of this (to many historians) overrated president, leading to his general reflection on presidential reputations.

Tutorials
  • 60-Second Presidents: Lyndon B. Johnson # View a brief, funny video about the 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Learn about the ways he helped advance the Civil Rights Movement, his dream of a Great Society, and his approach towards the war in Vietnam.
  • 60-Second Presidents: John F. Kennedy # View a brief video about our 35th President, John F. Kennedy. His assassination while in office helped turn Kennedy into a legend, best remembered for telling Americans to "ask what you can do for your country."
  • We Shall Overcome # In this webisode brought to you by PBS, you will explore key events that took place in American history from 1963-1968, including the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. In this resource you can examine primary source documents and photographs, listen to segments of key speeches, examine a timeline and glossary, take a quiz, and explore additional resources connected to this era. Enjoy this journey into American history!
  • Crash Course U.S. History: The Sixties # In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through the 1960s, a decade in American history marked by social, political, and governmental change, as well as influential leaders such as JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. You'll learn more about the Civil Rights Movement and the laws and court decisions that sought to bring equality to more groups of people in our nation. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. History!
  • Crash Course U.S. History: Conservatism # In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through the era of conservatism in the 1960s and 1970s in America. During this time, President Richard Nixon and others harnessed a backlash to 1960s liberalism by bringing groups together to fuel a new conservative movement across the nation. You'll learn about Watergate and about key pieces of legislation and government agencies, such as the ERA and EPA, that mark this era. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. History!
  • Crash Course U.S. History: The Cold War in Asia # In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through key events of the Cold War in Asia. The United States' struggle against communist expansion led to full-blown, boots-on-the ground wars in both Korea and Vietnam. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. History!
Video/Audio/Animations
  • Portraits in Patriotism - Alejandro Brice: Middle - High School # Alejandro Brice and his family immigrated from Cuba at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. His father was jailed as a counter-revolutionary sympathizer and upon release, the family fled the country. Dr. Brice shares his memories of his “freedom wings”, the culture shock of growing up in Ohio as immigrants, learning English in elementary school, watching his family start over, and becoming a U.S. Citizen. Dr. Brice is a college professor specializing in the education of immigrant children and English language learners.
  • Portraits in Patriotism - Ivonne Blank: Middle and High School # Ivonne Blank immigrated to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, the largest exodus on unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. Ms. Blank talks about how difficult it was waiting for her parents and living in an orphanage in Denver, CO. Her parents later left the island by boat, were rescued by the Coast Guard, and resettled in the United States. After the family was reunited, they were able to rebuild their lives with support from their community. Ms. Blank went on to become a lifelong educator and U.S. citizen.
Original Student Tutorials Social Studies - U.S. History - Grades 9-12
  • Three Presidencies: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon # In this interactive tutorial, learn about the three U.S. presidents elected during the turbulent 1960s: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. You'll learn how each of these men left an unfinished legacy as president, and you'll learn about their politics, successes, and failures, with an emphasis on domestic politics.
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