• Transcends time and place,
  • Helps students understand and explain causal relationships in history,
  • Influences many subsequent events,
  • Affects a large number of people,
  • Helps us discern patterns to explain the world around us,
  • Has many clear and related examples,
  • Helps students see history from many different perspectives,
  • Helps students understand the past motivations and actions within the historical context of the time the event occurred, and
  • Illustrates that many different narratives or stories can be told in American and Michigan History.

Theme 4: Turmoil at home and conflict abroad causes America to take action and reevaluate its domestic and foreign policies.

Benchmark Alignment: I.3HS3, I.2HS3, I.1HS3, II.4HS2, II.4HS3, II.5HS2, III.1HS2, III.5HS1, III.5HS2, IV.3HS4

Transcontinental Railroad

Definition: The completion of four transcontinental railroads connected the country by 1883 and encouraged the westward movements of people, promoted commerce, and communication.

Explanation: The transcontinental railroads helped to link distant parts of the United States of America. This linking helped foster the movement and exchange of goods, ideas and services. This technological achievement stimulated industrialization and the diffusion of culture and values.

Panic and Depression of 1893

Definition: The Depression of 1893 was caused by over extension of the domestic economy, high tariffs, a plunge in markets, and droughts that destroyed the delicate balance of nature needed by farmers.

Explanation: A series of bank failures and financial collapses in 1893 brought to a head the bleak conditions of industry, farmers and the working class nationwide. The Silver Purchase Act of 1890, depletion of the treasury's gold reserves, liquidation of American securities abroad, and protectionist philosophy led to the Pullman Strike, and the fiery candidacy of William Jennings Bryant. After the distraction of the Spanish American War, America experienced an eventual return to prosperity.

Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS3, I.2HS1, I.2HS3, I.3HS3, I.4HS1, II.4HS4, III.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4.HS1, IV.3HS4, IV.4HS1, IV.4HS4, VI.1HS1

Formation of Populist Party

Definition: The Populist Reform Party was founded by a coalition of western rural people to forward solutions to solve their economic problems.

Explanation: This is an example of a large-scale effort by a group within the modern industrial era to use the political process to advance its interests. The Populist Party wanted to reduce the amount of control that large industrialists and bankers had in government and over many aspects of the rural citizen's life. Many of their proposals became policies after being adopted by the Democrats.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS3, I.2HS1, I.2HS3, I.3HS3, I.4HS1, II.4HS4, III.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4.HS1, IV.3HS4, IV.4HS1, IV.4HS4, VI.1HS1

Plessy V. Ferguson - Legacy of Reconstruction

Definition: This Supreme Court decision established the precedent that "separate but equal" facilities for blacks and whites did not violate the 14th amendment. (1896)

Explanation: The verdict in this trial established that the fourteenth amendment protected citizens only from governmental infringement of their civil rights, not acts of private discrimination by citizens such as railroad conductors. This segregation attitude held by many Americans helped to shape formal governmental policy as decided by the Supreme Court.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS3, I.2HS1, I.2HS3, I.3HS3, I.4HS1, II.4HS4, III.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4.HS1, IV.3HS4, IV.4HS1, IV.4HS4, VI.1HS1

Spanish American War/Battle of the Philippines/Battle over Cuba

Definition: Sympathy for the anti-Spanish rebellion of 1895 in Cuba drew American popular opinion towards supporting a war against Spain. In May 1898, the U.S. Navy defeated the Spanish fleet guarding the Philippine City of Manila and went on to capture the city. This battle marked the beginning of the Spanish-American War. During the next series of battles, the U.S. Defeated the Spanish in Cuba, after several bloody and expensive engagements.

Explanation: Popular U.S. sentiment supporting the revolutionaries was fueled by the "yellow journalism" of two New York City newspapers. A further outraged public demanded action when the U.S. battleship Maine exploded in a Havana harbor killing 266 American seamen. President McKinley reluctantly sent a war message to Congress.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.2HS2, I.3HS1, I.3HS2, I.4HS4, II.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4HS1, III.3HS2, IV.4HS3

Muckrakers and "The Jungle"

Definition: Muckraker was a name given to many of the Progressive journalists who were tireless in their attack on societal ills. The most famous muckrakers were Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle, a book about the meat packing industry.

Explanation: The Muckrakers used the media to inform and incite the nation about sub-standard conditions in the very factories and food processing plants upon which Americans depended. Muckrakers were important in the Progressive Partys efforts to change the face of the American workplace. Publication of "The Jungle", by Upton Sinclair, exposed unsanitary conditions of the meat packing industry in Chicago. Subsequent demands from the public established federal legislation prohibiting unhealthful conditions in the food processing industries, as well as passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act.

Election of 1912 and split of the Republican Party

Definition: The two party system was challenged in the election of 1912. Four candidates were presented to the American public, Republican Taft, Democratic Wilson, Progressive Roosevelt, and Socialist Debs. Wilson won the election, but "third party" candidate, Roosevelt, came in second.

Explanation: The election identifies the Democrats with reform---except on the issues of race---beginning an association with a reform agenda that continued to the 1933 inauguration of FDR. The breakaway Progressive Party demonstrated the strength of the reform movement at the grass roots level.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.3HS3, I.2HS3, I.1HS3, II.4HS2, II.4HS3, II.5HS2, III.1HS2, III.5HS1, III.5HS2, IV.3HS4

Causes of World War I and Wilson's 14 Points

Definition: Intense nationalism engulfed Europe in the early 1900s. Many nations, acting with imperialistic ambition, acquired colonies and took over smaller European countries. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Shortly, 30 nations took sides in the "Great War."

Explanation: The U.S. was dragged into the war on the side of Great Britain, France, and Russia. This involvement was caused by continued attacks on U.S. ships, the Zimmermann Telegram, and American financial interests in an Allied victory. This represents a clear example of responding to international turmoil. Nationalist interests and imperialistic policies which maintained colonial relationships remained dominant in world politics throughout the twentieth century spanning World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.2HS2, I.3HS1, I.3HS2, I.4HS4, II.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4HS1, III.3HS2, IV.4HS3

Jazz Age

Definition: The 1920s has been called the Jazz Age because it was a new, creative, vibrant music format.

Explanation: The big band sound of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway provided a uniquely American expression for the largely disenfranchised African-American community. In a racially divided America, jazz grew in popularity and became the bridge for a shared experience.

Volstead Act and the 18th Amendment

Definition: This amendment banned the manufacturing, sale, or importation of alcoholic beverages. The Volstead Act of 1919 was enacted to enforce this amendment.

Explanation: The 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is a good example of society attempting to solve a societal problem using legal action. Prohibitionists connected alcohol consumption to many of the nations problems. While the amendment intended to improve the lives of working class Americans, it proved that simple political solutions to complex social problems rarely work. Official corruption increased and the willingness to break the law led to a wider decline in moral standards.

Harlem Renaissance

Definition: African-American artists in New York Citys Harlem in the 1920s expressed a growing pride.

Explanation: Although racism persisted in American society, black musicians, writers, and artists enjoyed celebrity during a flowering of African-American arts in the 1920s. Through art, the writers of the Harlem Renaissance protested against the injustices blacks faced. They also provided a positive view of black culture in America and Africa.

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Theme 1: Technological and economic growth defines and promotes American culture and economic expansion within the United States and the global community.

Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS2, I.3HS1, I.2HS3, II.1HS1, II.3HS2, II.4HS4, III.2HS1, IV.5HS1

Radio Broadcasting

Definition: Beginning in the 1920s, an increasing number of Americans acquired home radio sets. As people across America listened to the same radio broadcasts they shared common cultural experiences.

Explanation: The radio was an affordable technological innovation, similar to the television in later years. The radio effectively shaped a common American experience through the broadcasting of news and entertainment. In 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt used the radio to address the American people to shape public opinion. American industry used radio commercials to promote goods and services to nationwide and international audiences.

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Theme 3: Citizens needs, values and beliefs can shape governmental policies and institutions.

Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS3, I.2HS1, I.2HS3, I.3HS3, I.4HS1, II.4HS4, III.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4.HS1, IV.3HS4, IV.4HS1, IV.4HS4, VI.1HS1

Great Depression and the Flint GM Sit-Down Strike

Definition: A group of United Automobile Workers took control of three General Motors plants in Flint and brought about the first agreement between GM and a union that guaranteed collective bargaining on a national basis by a union for its union members.

Explanation: As ideas regarding unions changed in the United States during the Depression, the issue of workers rights to organize and bargain collectively became law. The policies of the pro-union Roosevelt administration and the economic devastation of the Depression brought about a rise of union membership for unskilled laborers. This support enabled union members to take possession of essential General Motors plants in Flint and idle a million workers nationwide in an effort to force GM to comply with the Wagner Act. The 48 day sit-down strike provided the leverage that the UAW needed to successfully negotiates terms with GM that gave the UAW recognition on a national basis.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS3, I.2HS1, I.2HS3, I.3HS3, I.4HS1, II.4HS4, III.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4.HS1, IV.3HS4, IV.4HS1, IV.4HS4, VI.1HS1

Depression and New Deal

Definition: The Depression was a deep economic downturn that gripped the United States. The Depression reflected a transition in the way Americans thought about themselves and their government. President Franklin Roosevelts fifteen relief and recovery measures were designed to curtail the Great Depression.

Explanation: Widespread unemployment and hardship led Americans to turn to the Federal government for solutions to problems previously solved by non-governmental sources. The American public instead supported candidates who promised large scale governmental action.

Roosevelts pledge of "a new deal for the American people" is characterized by those large-scale federal programs designed to solve the problems of the depression. New Deal programs changed the relationship of the government to the people it serves.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.3HS3, I.2HS3, I.1HS3, II.4HS2, II.4HS3, II.5HS2, III.1HS2, III.5HS1, III.5HS2, IV.3HS4

World War II

Definition: On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland and ignited an international conflict that lasted until 1945 when Japan surrendered.

Explanation: America chose an isolationist position until 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Foreign and domestic policy changed to support the war effort. This marked a turning point in America's attitude toward its responsibilities and interests internationally.

The Holocaust

Definition: Between 1939 and 1945, NAZI Germany conducted a systematic slaughter of European Jews, dissidents, and selected ethnic groups.

Explanation: After World War II ended, the United States became a strong supporter of Israel. This support might to attributed to the fact that the American people were sympathetic to the perceived need of the Jewish people after they came out of such a catastrophic event.

Japanese Internment

Definition: The Japanese was the forced relocation and imprisonment of Japanese Americans living on the Pacific Coast during World War II.

Explanation: The international turmoil of World War II caused the United States to adopt a domestic policy that uprooted and relocated Japanese Americans living along the Pacific coast. This internment forced an important moral question: Does the United States government have the right to imprison U.S. citizens and residents because of a fear of what they might do? The policy was reevaluated at the close of World War II and has since raised many important issues regarding the constitutional protection of minority groups.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.2HS2, I.3HS1, I.3HS2, I.4HS4, II.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4HS1, III.3HS2, IV.4HS3

Congress on Racial Equality (CORE)

Definition: Founded in 1942, CORE challenged segregation and Jim Crow laws with the strategy of non-violent resistance.

Explanation: CORE was the response of ordinary citizens to injustice. It represented the many individual actions undertaken to solve contemporary problems, such as sit-ins at restaurants that refused service to blacks inspired other Americans to challenge injustices.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Definition: Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a key player in his administration. Her keen social conscience and willingness to travel ceaselessly helped shape FDRs ideas regarding women, minorities, and the disadvantaged.

Explanation: Eleanor Roosevelt became the "eyes and ears" of the American public. Her position as First Lady gave her access to wide audiences as well as the presidential staff. She used her position to speak out against injustice. In 1935, she began a syndicated newspaper column, "My Day," which provided a stage for her progressive ideas. She later became the first female ambassador to the United Nations representing the United States.

Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson

Definition: Paul Robeson was an African-American actor, singer and activist, and Marian Anderson was a famous contralto.

Explanation: Both Robeson and Anderson used their immense popularity with the American people and the world to challenge the stereotypes and discriminatory practices of their time. The performance of Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial challenged Americans to consider more deeply the problems of racial relations and helped minorities gain a stronger voice for change

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Benchmark Alignment: II.1HS2, II.4HS4, III.3HS1, VI.1HS1, VI.2HS1

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Definition: In protest against the arrest of Rosa Park for violating the citys segregation laws, Montgomerys 50,000 African-Americans organized a boycott against the bus system.

Explanation: In the 1950s, segregation was challenged on many fronts. Although Brown v. Board of Education declared "separate but equal" schools unconstitutional, segregation lingered in other parts of society. When Rosa Parks refused to surrender a seat at the front of a bus to a white man, the Montgomery boycott ensued. The financial hardship caused by the boycott led to a change in policy. After this boycott, Americans in other states challenged racial barriers.

The Great Society Legislation

Definition: President Lyndon Johnsons Great Society legislation sought to improve civil rights, health care, education, and urban conditions.

Explanation: In 1962, Michael Harrington published The Other America, a bestseller documenting poverty in the United States. This author argued that racism kept many minority groups impoverished. Though John F. Kennedy had difficulty pushing legislation through Congress during his presidency, Johnson fulfilled all of his predecessors major goals, many of them providing social welfare programs. Some claim that Kennedys assassination helped to provide the momentum Johnson needed to push his reforms through Congress.

Growth of Suburbia

Definition: Suburbs grew following World War II as expressways made housing outside of the city more accessible.

Explanation: Prosperous urban people moved to new communities called suburbs. In many locations the urban areas were left to the poorer members of society. The growth of the suburbs challenged the predominance of cities as the centers of the economic and cultural life. Suburbs helped increase de-facto segregation

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Benchmark Alignment: I.3HS3, I.2HS3, I.1HS3, II.4HS2, II.4HS3, II.5HS2, III.1HS2, III.5HS1, III.5HS2, IV.3HS4

Berlin Airlift

Definition: The partition of Germany by the Allies at the close of World War II included the partition of Germany's capital, Berlin, which was wholly surrounded by the Soviet-controlled area of East Germany. For ten months, the Soviets prevented re-supply of the Allied forces located in West Berlin. United States and British planes carried more than two million tons of food and supplies to the people of West Berlin.

Explanation: The Berlin airlift was a direct response to international tensions caused by the Soviet blockade. This was one of the first confrontations between the western Allies and the Soviets. West and East Berlin came to symbolize the Cold War, and the maintenance of a "free" Berlin symbolized an American commitment to containment. Through a major commitment by NATO, West Berlin maintained its freedom until the fall of the USSR.

Korean War

Definition: The Korean conflict was a response by the United Nations to assist South Korea to stop an attempt by Communist North Korea to invade South Korea. (June 25, 1950)

Explanation: America's fear of the spread of communism in Asia and globally was first physically confronted in the Korean Conflict. The US began to take on the larger role of spokesperson for the free world. Many attitudes and policies that persisted throughout the Cold War era were established during the Korean Conflict.

McCarthyism

Definition: Senator Joseph McCarthy used his position as Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to wage war against all suspected communist sympathizers in the federal government. He also targeted celebrities thought to associate with the Communist Party.

Explanation: McCarthy attempted to expose people he believed to be communists in the United States government and popular culture. Individual careers were destroyed because of a mere suspicion that the person was associated with the Communist Party. After McCarthys senatorial tenure ended, some suspected communist sympathizers were exonerated. However, many remained outcasts within society. The McCarthy era became entrenched in the minds of many people who lived through it, fearing the possible repercussions from signing petitions and/or joining organizations.

Dissolution of the USSR

Definition: Made up of the Soviet Unions own republics and the "satellite" nations in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Sphere began to collapse in the late 1980s. It had completely fallen by 1992.

Explanation: The dissolution of the U.S.S.R. radically transformed world politics. The United States emerged as the sole super power and faced new questions. How widely would American influence be spread in the world? What would American military strategies be in the post-USSR world?

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Theme 2: Development of natural resources and technological advances enables the United States to rise to the level of a world power; yet choices about resource management and technological application remain controversial.

Benchmark Alignment: I.4HS1, I.3HS3, I.4HS4, II.1HS1, II.2HS1, II.2HS2, II.4HS3, III.3HS1, IV.2HS2

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Definition: Published in 1962, this book awakened many people to the dangers that DDT and other pesticides posed to the environment and built an awareness of the concept of ecosystems.

Explanation: As a result of the publication of "Silent Spring", DDT use was banned in the U.S. Silent Spring focused attention on the dangers that technological advancements posed to the environment. People began to question the use of chemicals and their consequences.

Three Mile Island 1978

Definition: In late March 1979, a nuclear reactor failed at the Three Mile Island power plant, nearly causing a catastrophic nuclear meltdown.

Explanation: The incident at Three Mile Island focused awareness within the United States about the dangers of nuclear energy. Though nuclear energy provided many benefits, especially financial, there were many risks, sparking a national debate about nuclear power and all toxic wastes.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.3HS3, I.2HS3, I.1HS3, II.4HS2, II.4HS3, II.5HS2, III.1HS2, III.5HS1, III.5HS2, IV.3HS4

Tet Offensive

Definition: On January 30, 1968, the start of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, the National Liberation Front and North Vietnamese troops attacked South Vietnam.

Explanation: Until the Tet Offensive, most Americans believed that the United States army was winning the war in Vietnam. News of massive American casualties shattered the confidence of the American public in the governments military policy. Americans realized that no part of South Vietnam was secure from the North Vietnamese and the American army was unable to protect it. Decades after the war the U.S. Government was still investigating possible cases of soldiers who were missing in action (MIA). The United States military and individual servicemen suffered embarrassment and ridicule as public opinion shifted toward non-support in the last years of U. S. involvement.

Assassinations

Definition: John F. Kennedy-1963; Martin Luther King, Jr.-1968; Robert Kennedy-1968.

Explanation: The 1960s marked a time of change in the United States. Ironically, the three men who championed the cause of cooperation and coexistence in America in the early 1960s all met a violent ends. Though the two Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated, their deaths contributed to move toward liberalism. After John F. Kennedys death, the United States Congress approved President Lyndon Johnsons social welfare agenda (The Great Society), an agenda (The New Frontier) that Kennedy supported during his lifetime. Martin Luther King Jr.s life and death proclaimed the important need to achieve equality for all people within our nation. His non-violent integration movement required more patience than many civil rights advocates could muster. While serving as Attorney General, Robert Kennedy was thrust into the thick of the civil rights movement.

These assassinations made many Americans seriously examine their commitments to the causes championed by these three men.

Chicago Democratic Convention (1968)

Definition: Ten thousand antiwar protesters demonstrated in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. This protest became a riot when the Chicago city police attacked. Television provided live coverage of the events.

Explanation: Protesters rioted against the Democratic President Lyndon Johnson's management of the Vietnam War at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Millions of viewers watched these riots on their home television sets. The event caused some Americans to question institutions that they had previously taken for granted.

Urban Riots

Definition: Los Angeles- Watts 1965, Detroit 1967

Explanation: In the mid 1960s, racial tensions flared into riots in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts and in Detroit, Michigan. The Civil Rights movement became more confrontational. The assassinations of President Kennedy, NAACP leader Medgar Evars and Malcom X, the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama church, and the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi undermined the non-violent commitment of the early Civil Rights Movement. A new presidential commission investigated the causes of the unrest, as Americans questioned both the institutions that sparked the violence and the violence itself.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.2HS2, I.3HS1, I.3HS2, I.4HS4, II.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4HS1, III.3HS2, IV.4HS3

Watergate

Definition: Watergate was break-in at the Democratic National located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. by individuals during the re-election campaign of President Nixon. Apparent attempts to cover up evidence led to President Richard Nixons resignation on August 9, 1974.

Explanation: The American public was disillusioned with a double standard: while American citizens were arrested for breaking laws, some government officials seemed to operate with disregard for the law. As a result, many Americans dropped out of the political process.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS3, I.2HS1, I.2HS3, I.3HS3, I.4HS1, II.4HS4, III.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4.HS1, IV.3HS4, IV.4HS1, IV.4HS4, VI.1HS1

Reagan Administration

Definition: President Ronald Reagan's administration led to a rise of conservative attitudes and policies. A strong military, smaller government, lower taxes and interest rates, de-regulation of government controlled industries, were all ideas promoted by his administration.

Explanation: Amid dissatisfaction with the nation's economic condition and Keynesian economic policies, a growing concern over social problems, and a perceived lack of presidential leadership enabled the conservative movement to gain momentum. Some voters were looking for conservative governmental policies that more closely mirrored their own values and beliefs. This led to the election of Ronald Reagan.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.2HS2, I.3HS1, I.3HS2, I.4HS4, II.1HS2, III.2HS2, III.4HS1, III.3HS2, IV.4HS3

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Definition: AIDS is the final, fatal stage of an illness caused by the human immune-deficiency virus (HIV). By the year 2000, more than 200,000 Americans died of AIDS, and countless numbers of people had been infected with HIV worldwide. The infection is now endemic in the world.

Explanation: In the 1980s, many Americans ostracized HIV-infected individuals, including children. Activists and HIV-awareness education have lessened prejudice against those with the infection, which is not communicable in ordinary social situations. Issues of public health and the health care system have been highlighted because of the HIV and AIDS problem.

Changing Family/Aging of America

Definition: A changed definition of the family and the aging of the American population have affected many lives. More people live in non-traditional families while older citizens face costly health care and decisions about the end of life.

Explanation: The make-up of families in America has undergone major change. Some serious societal problems are attributed to diminishing dominance of the nuclear family. Changes in family make-up have not always been accompanied by concurrent changes in the institutions, formal and informal, that supported families in the past. Questions like, 'who will make decisions about quality of life and longevity as medical technology prolongs life during illness and old age?' or, 'how do members of society change to meet the challenges of the changing family institution persist.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS2, I.3HS1, I.2HS3, II.1HS1, II.3HS2, II.4HS4, III.2HS1, IV.5HS1

World Trade Organization

Definition: The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established by GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), when officials of 125 nations signed an agreement of 22, 000 pages, which included the formation of the WTO.

Explanation: The World Trade Organization was established to mediate commercial disputes. It provides a forum for discussion and can mediate international trade issues. The organization provides a more secure environment for American companies to participate in the international business world.

Students can develop understanding of the spread of American culture through examining the pattern of international trade development.

Oil Crisis of 1973

Definition: In the fall of 1973, during an Arab-Israeli war, OPEC quadrupled oil prices. Many Arab countries cut off oil shipments to the United States as a reaction to the U.S. support of Israel.

Explanation: With the 1973 Oil embargo, the average American became more aware of the importance of oil. This deeper awareness of Americas dependency on foreign sources and the accompanying higher prices at the pump created a temporary desire by American consumers for fuel-efficient automobiles. The economic impact, stimulated American use of more fuel efficient products and an interest in alternative energy sources.

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Benchmark Alignment: II.1HS2, II.4HS4, III.3HS1, VI.1HS1, VI.2HS1

Flappers

Definition: The flapper phenomenon began around 1920, as women abandoned conventional dress, values, and behavior.

Explanation: The flapper became an icon for an era of increased freedom and choice. In the 1920s women who stopped wearing heavy corsets and started wearing shorter skirts and transparent silk stockings were called "Flappers".

Women became more independent as they broke with traditional roles. As the popularity of motion pictures grew, female actresses provided cultural role models for young women. Many women also developed a deep respect for the independence of working women.

Woodstock

Definition: In August 1969, some 400, 000 young people gathered in New York for the Woodstock festival.

Explanation: Woodstock became a symbol for what some believed to be an era of love and peace. The rejections by the Woodstock generation of previous generations values were flagrant and dramatic. Three days of rock music, sex and drugs emphasized the differences between the old morality and the new thinking of the youth culture. While acceptance of hair, clothing and musical tastes were adopted by many youths, the accompanying radical political thought most often was not.

Generation X

Definition: Generation Xers are the children of the "Baby Boomers." This group is composed of people born between 1961 and 1981.

Explanation: There was a population boom in the years following World War II. Some of the children of these "Baby Boomers" grew up to believe that although they might live a longer life, they would have fewer opportunities for economic success. Unlike previous generation, the expectation of remaining in a single job for an entire career was abandoned by this group. The military buildup of the 1980s and computer boom and information age of the 1990s helped to shape the beginning of independent attitudes and a trend of individualized careers for many Generation Xers.

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Benchmark Alignment: I.1HS2, I.3HS1, I.2HS3, II.1HS1, II.3HS2, II.4HS4, III.2HS1, IV.5HS1

Apollo 11

Definition: Apollo 11 was the culmination of America's determination to be the first country to put a person on the moon.

Explanation: When the Soviets successfully launched Sputnik, President John Kennedy challenged American scientists to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. This launched the United States into a space race and focused attention on the American public school system. The need for more courses in mathematics and science in K-12 schools was widely believed necessary for the United States to successfully compete with the Soviets and win the Cold War. Research and development in the race to the moon resulted in technological innovations now used worldwide.

Personal Computers and the Internet

Definition: The personal computer is a device that enables individuals to access an increasingly broader and more complex volume of information, and communication delivered via the Internet.

Explanation: The introduction of affordable personal computers and Internet use quickly influenced American and international life and business. The massive number of computers in homes, businesses, schools, and governments in the US and internationally extended American ideas, ideals and influence. Americans with PCs are also influenced by International business, cultures and ideas they encounter on the web.

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