Student Handouts
Foreign Affairs
Inform your class about foreign policy during the Reagan administration. The resource includes a reading passage that gives an overview of foreign policy decisions made during the Reagan administration and nine questions for pupils to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 3: Britain, Napoleon, and the American Embargo, 1803–1808
While the French were once the allies of Americans, the Napoleonic Wars saw the United States almost drawn into a war with its one-time friend. Wars in Europe threatened to draw in the early republic. A primary source-based activity...
Curated OER
"Police Action": The Korean War, 1950-1953
Students investigate facts about the war in Korea in the 1950's and attempt to classify American foreign policy as a triumph or a failure. Why the U.S. became involved and the unpopularity of the war in America forms the focus of this...
Curated OER
American Imperialism
Critical analysis skills can be built in a variety of ways. Using editorial cartoons (both domestic and foreign) learners will consider how American Imperialism was perceived during the late 19th century. Critical thinking questions,...
Curated OER
Imperialism
Students explore the concept of Imperialism. In this foreign policy lesson, students examine the policies of the US and other countries through time. Students then create a political cartoon of their own and create a timeline that...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: The United States, France, and the Problem of Neutrality, 1796–1801
While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...
Curated OER
Early U. S. Involvement in World War II
Ninth graders examine how the U. S. was aided by the Allies in World War II before the U. S. declared war. They analyze the evolution of U. S. foreign policy from the beginning of WW II through U. S. Declaration of War
Curated OER
Truman's Foreign Policy Decisions
Students examine foreign policy decisions of former President Truman which still affect us today, review factors to be considered in making foreign policy decisions, closely explore specific major foreign policy decisions, and share...
Curated OER
American Foreign Policy Since World War II (The Cold War)
Students identify and interpret some key figures and major events during the Cold War era, including the Korean War, Vietnam, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the United States and China Cold War Relations. They also play...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: “Report on Manufacturers,” Annals of Congress
Invite your learners to take a look at life during the term of United States president George Washington through analysis of an interesting primary source. The document summarizes American manufacturing capacities, as detailed by the...
Curated OER
Liberia and the U.S.: Historic Ties and Policy Decisions
Students discuss and analyze factors affecting U.S. foreign policy toward Liberia. They role-play various groups during 1900 who were concerned with the relationship between United States and Liberia as a "colony"
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: The United States Confronts Great Britain, 1793–1796
After the Revolutionary War, the success of the United States was far from guaranteed. Foreign powers coveted the new land, and Great Britain challenged American sovereignty. Learners consider the challenges facing the new nation using...
Annenberg Foundation
A Growing Global Power
How does a nation turn into a global superpower? The 16th installment of the 22-part series on American history investigates the rise of the United States to global importance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Groups...
Curated OER
The Tet Offensive and the Vietnam War
Students discover how the United States became involved in the Vietnam War, the importance of the Tet Offensive in turning American public opinion against the war, and how the Vietnam War is still a part of American life and culture.
Curated OER
The Monroe Doctrine: Whose Doctrine Was It?
Was James Monroe the sole contributor of the Monroe Doctrine? Young scholars study the doctrine and cite evidence to show contributions of John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson in its formulation.
Curated OER
The foreign and domestic policies of Lyndon B. Johnson
Eleventh graders study and evaluate the successes and failures of LBJ's domestic and foreign policies. They formulate historical questions and defend findings based on inquiry and interpretation. Each student identifies, analyzes and...
Rutgers University
African-Americans in WWII
Using transcripts of interviews of African-Americans who served in WWII, class members work in pairs to understand their experience. Prior to the group work, the teacher provides background on WWII and the African-American experience....
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Military Advisers in Vietnam: 1963
How did the beginning of the Vietnam War factor into the Cold War with the Soviet Union? As part of a study of American involvement in Vietnam, class members read a letter address to President Kennedy and his response in which he...
University of California
Containing Communism Abroad
Learn more about the policy of the United States to contain communism during the Cold War. The fifth installment of an eight-part series looks at primary and secondary materials about a challenging time in history. After analyzing the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Sources of Discord, 1945-1946
From Allies to enemies within a year. Scholars research the falling out between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945-1946 in the first lesson of a three-part series. Using primary source materials, group work, and interactive...
Curated OER
Police Action: The Korean War, 1950-1953
High schoolers explore why the United States became involved in the war in Korea. They discuss the confict between Truman and MacArthur, culminating in the latter's dismissal from command. They identify on a world map foreign countires...
Curated OER
The Monroe Doctrine: U.S. Foreign Affairs (circa 1782-1823) and James Monroe
High schoolers read the test of the Monroe Doctrine then list the key points and discuss its central tenets.
Curated OER
Founding Documents of the Peace Corps
Students examine United States foreign policy in the period immediately following World War II through the activities of the Peace Corps.
Curated OER
If We Knew Then What We Know Now -- Cuban Missile Crisis (Background)
Students examine the background of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Using the foreign policy decision-making process, they simulate and elaborate the processe involved. They identify the causes of the misconceptions that plagued the U.S.-Cuba...