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Lesson Plans
Out of Many: A History of the American People ©2000
by Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, and Armitage
Focus Lesson 23
Chapter 26: "The Cold War, 1945–1952"
Chapter 27: "America at Midcentury, 1952–1963"
AP* Course Description
- Truman and the Cold War
- Postwar domestic adjustments
- The Taft-Hartley Act
- Civil rights and the election of 1948
- Containment in Europe and the Middle East
- Truman Doctrine
- Marshall Plan
- Berlin crisis
- NATO
- Revolution in China
- Limited war: Korea, MacArthur
- Eisenhower and Modern Republicanism
- Domestic frustrations; McCarthyism
- John Foster Dulles' foreign policy
- American People: homogenized society
- Space race
- Kennedy's New Frontier; Johnson's Great Society
- Foreign Policy
- Bay of Pigs
- Cuban missile crisis
- Foreign Policy
Key Components
- Instructor's Manual:
Chapter 26, pp. 146–151
Chapter 27, pp. 152–157 - Study Guide, Vol. II:
Chapter 26, pp. 89–97
Chapter 27, pp. 98–105 - Documents Set, Vol. II:
Chapter 26, pp. 379–397
Chapter 27, pp. 398–413 - Test Item File:
Chapter 26, pp. 238–246
Chapter 27, pp. 247–256
Key Web Sites
Given the changing nature of the Internet, you may wish to preview these sites. Always check PHSchool.com for updated links to U.S. history sites.
- Korean War—Personal Experiences
- Alger Hiss: Spy?
- World Bank Group — Europe and Central Asia
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Key Words and Terms
Chapter 26
- United Nations
- containment policy
- election of 1948
- Fair Deal
- Red Scare
- GI Bill
- Korean War
- Taft-Hartley Act
- election of 1952
Chapter 27
- Federal Highway Act of 1956
- mass culture
- New Frontier
Suggested Pacing
In order to complete all material prior to the Advanced Placement* exam, it is advisable to complete Chapters 26 and 27 in five class sessions on a block schedule of 90-minute classes or in ten sessions on a traditional bell schedule of 45-minute classes. A thematic approach may be helpful in presenting the material in a limited amount of time.
Test Strategy
When taking the multiple-choice portion of the AP* exam, students need to make efficient use of time. If a student gets stuck on a question, he/she should scratch out any answer choices the student knows to be incorrect, circle or star the question in the question booklet—not on the answer sheet—and move on, returning to the question later. Students need to be aware of the number of the question they skip so that they can skip the corresponding answer row on the answer sheet.
Key Concepts
- Truman presidency
At the end of World War II, the United States faced two major problems: demobilization and reconversion. Truman's efforts to return the nation to peacetime were met with resistance by a coalition of conservative Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats. Congress began attempting to dismantle the New Deal. - Containment
Truman changed the nature of U.S. foreign policy toward the Soviet Union. Whereas Roosevelt used diplomacy, Truman adopted the policy of containment. According to this theory, the Soviet Union and its newly acquired satellite nations would implode over time from the weight of economic and political problems. In hindsight, Truman proved correct.
Summing Up Student Understanding
Have students make a postwar time line. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a year from 1944 to 1960. They should list all the major items—political, economic, and social—that occurred in that year. They should refer to as many chapters from the text as necessary to be sure they have included all major events. Either have students work on butcher paper to hang around the room or on sheets of notepaper to be collected and copied for each student. This time line then becomes a teaching and review tool for the AP* exam.
You might also have students make time lines for each decade of the twentieth century for review.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
You might also find these additional readings useful in developing students' background knowledge or for DBQ activities:
- American Issues: Vol. II Since 1865, edited by Unger and Tomes—Chapters 11 and 12
- The Power of Words: Vol. II From 1865, edited by Breen—Chapter 10
- American Experiences: Volume II From 1877, edited by Roberts and Olson (secondary source readings)—Part Six