A Brief History of the USA 1945-2012

Presidents of the United StatesThere have been 44 US Presidents.How many can you name?

0-10 OK11-20 - Good21-30 - Excellent31+ - Genius!!

Presidents of the United StatesGeorge Washington 1789-1797 John Adams 1797-1801 Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809James Madison 1809-1817James Monroe 1817-1825 John Quincy Adams 1825-1829Andrew Jackson 1829-1837Martin Van Buren 1837-1841William Henry Harrison 1841John Tyler 1841-1845James Knox Polk 1845-1849Zachary Taylor 1849-1850Millard Fillmore 1850-1853Franklin Pierce 1853-1857James Buchanan 1857-1861 Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 Ulysses Simpson Grant 1869-1877Rutherford Birchard Hayes 1877-1881James Abram Garfield 1881 Chester Alan Arthur 1881-1885 Grover Cleveland 1885-1889 Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893Grover Cleveland 1893-1897 William McKinley 1897-1901 Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 William Howard Taft 1909-1913 Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921 Warren Gamaliel Harding 1921-1923 Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 Herbert Clark Hoover 1929-1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1933-1945 Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961 John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1961-1963 Lyndon Baines Johnson 1963-1969 Richard Milhous Nixon 1969-1974 Gerald Rudolph Ford 1974-1977 Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 Ronald Wilson Reagan 1981-1989 George Herbert Walker Bush 1989-1993 William Jefferson Clinton 1993-2001 George Walker Bush 2001- 2009 Barack Obama 2009 - present

Can you beat Ross?

US StatesAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

We Didnt Start the Fire

6Monday 12th September 2011Miss Christian 13D S20 Lesson #1

"We Didn't Start the Fire"The lyrics to the song We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel lists historical personalities and events from 1949 until 1989.We are going to use this song for the basis of our lesson.Lyrics can be found on VLE/Politics/Unit 2/Course Information

Learning ObjectivesTo identify and explain the key world events in the period 1945-2012To be able to identify the 12 presidents and US political events in this periodTo gain a broader understanding of the context in which the US system of government operates

Project TasksWe Didnt Start the FireKey political and historical events 1945-1989Great SpeechesKey presidential speeches 1945-2012

Task 1: We Didnt Start the FireListen to the Billy Joel song We Didnt Start the Fire and read the lyricsFor each historical, political or world event mentioned in the song you need to add it to your timeline with the following:- Key event- Date- Brief explanation of what happened/why**The song only covers events 1949-1989 so events between 1945-1949 you will have to find yourself!**15 Key US political events + 15 Key World Events

We Didnt Start the Fire US Political EventsHarry TrumanJoe McCarthyRichard NixonEisenhowerRockefellerAlabamaLittle RockKennedyBay of Pigs InvasionMalcolm XJFK Blown AwayRichard Nixon back againWatergateReganForeign debts

World EventsRed ChinaNorth Korea/South KoreaH bombEnglands got a new QueenStalin/MalenkovCommunist blocBudapestKhrushchevTrouble in the SuezSputnikSpace MonkeyCastroBerlinMoonshotChinas under martial law

Task 2: Great SpeechesYou will be given access to 12 key speeches 1 by each president 1945-2012.These speeches reflect the most important events of their presidency.Add the speech to your timeline explaining the following:- Issue/Event- Brief content of speech- Does it link to anything else on your timeline?- Political/Historical significance

Harry S Truman (1945-1953)Key EventsAuthorised the use of the atomic bomb against Japan leading to end of WW2Truman Doctrine tried to contain communism in Eastern EuropeMarshall Plan helped rebuild Europe after WW2Helped create NATOAssassination attempt in 1950

DemocratTRIVIATruman was Franklin D Roosevelts vice president and became president when he died.

Dwight D Eisenhower (1953-1961)Key EventsEnded Korean War with ChinaForced UK and France to abandon Suez Crisis (1956) U-2 incident US spy plane shot down in Russia and pilot capturedSent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce desegregation of schoolsSoviets launch Sputnik (USA has to catch up)RepublicanTRIVIA1st NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe

John F Kennedy (1961-1963)Key EventsBay of Pigs Invasion (attempt to overthrown Castro government in Cuba)Cuban Missile Crisis (USSR building nuclear missile sites in Cuba)Escalated US involvement in VietnamNuclear Test Ban TreatyAssassinated in 1963DemocratTRIVIAReported to have had affairs with Marilyn Monroe and many others.

Lyndon B Johnson (1963-1969)Key EventsServed in all 4 elected positions; Representative, Senator, Vice President, and PresidentSent half a million troops to VietnamEstablished federal funding for education through Great SocietyEstablished Medicare and MedicaidEncouraged NASA space program including Apollo 11DemocratTRIVIAJohnson was sworn in as President on Air Force One two hours and eight minutes after President Kennedy was assassinated.

Richard M Nixon (1969-1974)Key EventsAuthorised invasion of Cambodia (dropped more bombs on Cambodia in 1969 than the Allies dropped in WW2)Withdrew troops from VietnamApollo 11 Man walks on the moonWatergate ScandalResigns from presidency 1974RepublicanTRIVIANixon is the only president to have resigned the presidency.

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)Key EventsControversially pardoned Nixon for any crimes he had committed2 assassination attemptsBill Gates founds MicrosoftSupported the ERA (failed to be ratified by 1982)Established special education throughout the USA

RepublicanTRIVIAFord was never elected to the vice-presidency or the presidency.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)Key EventsLove Canal evacuation (houses built on a toxic landfill)1979 Three Mile Island worst nuclear disaster in USIran hostage crisis at US embassy (52 Americans held for 444 days)Boycotted the Moscow Olympics 1980 in response to Russian invasion of AfghanistanJohn Lennon assassinatedDemocratTRIVIAReceived the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)Key EventsAssassination attempt after only 69 daysReaganomics and War on DrugsArmed Mujahidin in Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight Soviet occupation & Star Wars programIran-Contra AffairAppointed Sandra Day OConnor as first female Supreme Court JusticeRepublicanTRIVIAReagan was a radio, film and television star before he moved into politics.

George H W Bush (1989-1993)Key EventsFall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and speeches by Bush and Gorbachev indicate tensions may be coming to an end declares a new world orderHubble Space Telescope launchedFirst Gulf War 1990End of the Cold War declared 1991Initiated US involvement in Somali Civil War 1992

RepublicanTRIVIABush had previously been Director of Central Intelligence before assuming the presidency.

William J Clinton (1993-2001)Key EventsTruck bomb explodes at World Trade Centre 1993Signs Dont ask Dont Tell into law prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military and DOMA (Defence of Marriage Act) which defines marriage as a union between a man and a womanOklahoma BombingColumbine High School massacreLewinsky scandalDemocratTRIVIAClinton accused of having affair with 22yr old Monica Lewinsky and faced impeachment.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiIP_KDQmXs

George W Bush (2001-2009)Key Events9/11 sparks War on TerrorPATRIOT Act, No Child Left Behind Act, and Partial Birth Abortion Ban ActHurricane KatrinaWars in Afghanistan and IraqGuantanamo Bay and interrogation/torture accusationsRepublicanTRIVIABush was once a cheerleader!

Barack Obama (2009-present)Key EventsObamacare, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay & American Recovery and Reinvestment ActBP Oil Spill Gulf of MexicoNew Start TreatyArab Spring and Libyan air strikesAssassinates Osama Bin Laden

DemocratTRIVIAReceived 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

HomeworkComplete the timeline 1989-2012You do not have a song to guide you as to what events to include.BOTH US political events and world events