Unit+10-11

= Unit Prompt: Evaluate how the domestic and foreign policies of the United States have been formed by and impacted the forces of //globalization//.=

Unit 10 Challenges of Being #1 (1960-1980) Learning Target: Be able to analyze and evaluate the impacts of the following topics on the country's development
 * The 1970s saw a succession of presidents who had difficulty leading the country through a series of domestic and foreign crises.
 * In a conservative upsurge, Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980.
 * In post-Cold War America, the major domestic economic issue became how to maintain a growing stable economy, which included the issues surrounding entitlement programs, healthcare costs, and jobs
 * The threat of terrorism, the global environment, new nations seeking nuclear weapons, and the growing economic competition from many nations challenged the United States in the post-Cold War era.
 * American culture has been shaped by its history. Popular culture, or the main stream culture, has a vibrancy that betrays a violent of undercurrent of discrimination.
 * Individuals are defined as a minority, not because of their race, but because of their role in society. Women, for example, have constituted the largest minority in the United States.

Unit 11 1980s-Now: Learning Target: Be able to evaluate the overall impact of the following events Current Events Mini-Project: Unit 10-11 Formative Assessment Unit 10-11 Diagnostic Assessment Unit 10-11 Summative Assessment Unit 10-11 Post Assessment
 * The Reagan Era was characterized by rapid economic growth and lower tax burdens on citizens to increase consumerism, yet challenges to the US government's authority remained both internal (the Air Traffic Controller Strike) and global (Middle East conflicts at the expense of the decaying Soviet Union).
 * In spite of some drawbacks, Republican approval ratings ushered in an 8-year George H.W. Presidency, of which only half of those 8-years were considered successful; while for President Bush promised “No New Taxes” to secure a second term, he was unable to be faithful on his promise due in large part to an expensive yet successful 1st Persian Gulf War.
 * A failure of the Republican Party to deliver on its promises led to a distrust of Presidential Candidate Bob Dole, who ran on the Republican ballot, which earned a young and dynamic politician named William Clinton becoming our next 8-year President.
 * Clinton's presidency was shaped by success and scandal; by cutting back on military spending and raising taxes, the Clinton Administration was able to restore public trust in the federal government by pumping money into the economy, though not on the scale of the New Deal Reforms 50 years earlier; Clinton's scandalous affair with Monica Lewinsky caused approval ratings for the Democrats to plummet.
 * Texas Governor George W. Bush ran against President Clinton's Vice-President, Al Gore, and although Bush lacked Gore's elegance and manners of speaking, Bush won the Presidency due to a controversial Florida vote “recount”, where his brother, Jeb Bush presided as governor.
 * Forever will George W. Bush's presidency be portrayed by this controversial recount, but perhaps more significantly, the 2nd President Bush will have his domestic policies overshadowed by his foreign policy, which was dominated by the two front war effort in the Middle East in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 * What future historians will say about the 2nd Bush's Presidency is yet to be determined, but one glaring fact is apparent today, and that is that the 2nd Bush finished his father's work in Iraq by deposing and executing the infamous tyrant, Saddam Hussein; also, the 2nd Bush's Presidency has awhile yet before it is thoroughly analyzed, but it draws some obvious comparisons to the Lincoln Presidency during the 1860s; while people (Southerners in particular) hated Lincoln while he was president because they believed he was injecting many of his personal viewpoints into his anti-slavery laws, and while people were afraid of Lincoln because his hands-on approach to the war made him appear dictatorial (like a dictator), as historians dissected his presidency and considered the sacrifices he made to “get things done”, it has become more widely viewed that Lincoln was one of our Top 5 greatest Presidents in our nation's history. Political scientists feel Bush's Presidency will undergo a similar scrutiny and be viewed with a similar admiration and respect. This has yet to be determined...
 * The political stalwart and former Vietnam Prisoner of War, Republican Senator John McCain was outclassed by another young, dynamic Democrat named Barrack Obama; as our 2012 Election looms in the near future will we see this rockstar of a President replaced by the business-minded Republican, Mitt Romney? Or will Obama's charisma and the credit of Osama bin Laden's assassination (much of this should actually be attributed to the 2nd Bush for the system he put in place) earn him America's trust for another 4-years?
 * Using the News and Current Events List, assemble a Time Capsule of 5 Artifacts that represent the current events.
 * Have a 150-word synopsis that includes an explanation, analysis, and evaluation for each of the artifacts.
 * Creative and ingenious efforts are not only suggested, but required.
 * To earn credit for this project, submit photos of you burying your capsule.
 * Post Assessment: On a momentous or meaningful occasion, such as your high school graduation, or better yet, your college graduation, for yourself, reflect on how things have changed in the United States since you completed your time capsules assembly.