US History 20th Century

 Total of 5 questions and 400-600 words for each of them

 

·       Unit 5, Part 1: Watergate

Explain the Watergate scandal–who were the key players, and what role did Nixon play?  What role did the press play?  Wjat was the larger impact on American politics?

Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein most famously covered the story–and the newspaper has collected materials related to their coverage.  Please review it here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/timeline.html

Unit 5, Part 2: Economic Challenges

 

Why did the American economy slow in the 1970s–what were the key challenges both domestically and in foreign policy that were eroding the economic miracle of the postwar years?

 

For the 2nd part of this unit please read the following:

Wrenching Economic Transformations
The Age of Inflation
Oil Embargo
Foreign Competition
Whipping Stagflation

 

 

Unit 5, Part 3: The End of the Cold War

 

Discuss the Cold War from the 1970s to the end of the era–how did the end of the Vietnam War shape American policy?  What events in the Middle East presented challenges?  How did relations with the USSR change in the 1970s, and again in the 1980s?  Discuss the role of Ronald Reagan and the steps leading to the end of the long crisis?

 

For the 3rd part of Unit 5, please read:

Détente
Foreign Policy Triumphs
No Islands of Stability
Collapse of Communism

And watch:

http://www.c-span.org/video/?110723-1/president-reagan-berlin-wall

 

 

Unit 5, Part 4: New Conservatism

With the election of Ronald Reagan American politics took a turn into a new era of conservatism–what were the key ideological underpinnings of this era in American politics, the key domestic and foreing policy concerns of conservatives, and major policy changes? 

 

For this part of Unit 5, please read:

The Reagan Revolution
The Gipper
Reaganomics
The Celebration of Wealth
The Reagan Doctrine
A Remarkable Ideological Turnaround
The Reagan Revolution in Perspective
The First Bush Presidency

 

 

Unit 5, Part 5: The End of the Century

 

There is a brief live lecture prompt for this discussion–give it a listen and answer any of the questions raised in the lecture in this discussion board.