Alabama Social Studies SS24.US2.13

SS24.US2.13 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• SS24.US2.13a

  Assess the effectiveness of John F. Kennedy’s foreign policy toward Cuba, including the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

• SS24.US2.13b

  Investigate and explain the effects of the domino theory and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on United States involvement in the Vietnam conflict.

• SS24.US2.13c

  Describe how significant events in the Vietnam War resulted in a decline of public support for American involvement in the conflict.

• SS24.US2.13d

  Evaluate the relationship between domestic social movements, including the New Left and counterculture movements, and America’s war in Vietnam and explain how t...

01

What Students Need to Do

Students trace how U.S. efforts to contain communism moved from Cuba to a large war in Vietnam. They judge Kennedy’s decisions in Cuba and explain how domino theory and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution led to more U.S. troops in Vietnam. They connect events in the war, the draft, and protests to changing public opinion.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can explain why the Bay of Pigs failed and how the Cuban Missile Crisis ended without war, while noting the risk of nuclear conflict. They can link domino theory and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to troop increases, then use Tet or My Lai to explain falling support. They can show how the war drew some young people into New Left and counterculture protests, and how those protests changed views of both the war and protesters.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may combine the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis into one event. They may think the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution declared war, or that Tet was a U.S. battlefield defeat. Some assume everyone in the counterculture opposed the war.

04

How to Assess It

Exit ticket: How did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution increase U.S. involvement, and why did the Tet Offensive weaken support for the war? Answer in two sentences.

1. 01

   Give pairs dated cards for the Bay of Pigs, Cuban missiles, Tonkin, Tet, and My Lai; have them chart policy and public reaction.

2. 02

   Ask students to write: Did Kennedy’s handling of Cuba make the United States safer? Cite one result from each Cuba crisis.

3. 03

   Run a cause-and-effect card match linking domino theory, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, troop increases, Tet, and falling public support.

4. 04

   Hand out a sample Vietnam draft notice and a 1969 antiwar flyer; ask how the draft could change a young person’s view of the war.

• SS24.5.14

  Describe how the United States’ involvement in the Cold War influenced domestic and international events.

• SS24.US2.16a

  Analyze how America’s foreign policy decisions in the Vietnam War shaped Cold War actions in the 1970s, including détente and increased concern for human rights...

• SS24.US2.9

  Outline the foreign policy changes that led the United States into the Cold War and contributed to its emergence as a superpower.

• SS24.US2.9b

  Compare the application of the United States’ policy of containment to various areas of the world outside the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and 1950s.