LEAP US History Module 6 The Modern Age: a complete overview of the conservative resurgence, the end of the Cold War, globalization, September 11, and the contemporary United States

What Module 6 actually demands

Module 6 covers the Modern Age (roughly the 1970s to 2008), which is Standard 6. It brings the course to the present, tracing the conservative turn in politics, the dramatic end of the Cold War, the transformation of the economy by technology and globalization, the shock of September 11, and the shape of the contemporary United States. Above all, this module rewards synthesis: connecting the eras through the enduring themes of American history, exactly the skill the LEAP extended-response task demands. The work remains source based: read an economic graph, a Berlin Wall photograph, or a homeland-security document, and use it as evidence.

This guide ties together the matching dot-point pages, each with its own practice questions: the conservative resurgence under Reagan, the end of the Cold War, a changing economy and globalization, September 11 and the war on terror, and the United States in the modern age.

The conservative resurgence

A conservative movement rose in the 1970s, fueled by a backlash against the Great Society and the 1960s, the stagflation of the 1970s, distrust of government after Vietnam and Watergate, and the New Right (including the religious right). Ronald Reagan won in 1980 and pursued Reaganomics (tax cuts, deregulation, supply-side economics) and a military buildup, shifting American politics toward smaller government.

The end of the Cold War

The Cold War ended between 1989 and 1991. Soviet economic strain, American pressure under Reagan, Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost and perestroika), and demands for freedom in Eastern Europe brought the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991). The United States emerged as the world's sole superpower.

A changing economy and globalization

The economy shifted from manufacturing to services and information, transformed by the computer and internet revolution. Globalization and free-trade agreements such as NAFTA brought lower prices and larger markets but moved many manufacturing jobs overseas, fueling a lasting debate over free trade.

September 11 and the war on terror

On September 11, 2001, the terrorist group al-Qaeda attacked the United States, killing nearly 3,000 people. The United States launched a war on terror, invading Afghanistan and later Iraq, and created homeland security measures such as the Patriot Act, raising a debate between security and civil liberties.

The contemporary United States

Since 1965, immigration has come increasingly from Latin America and Asia, making the nation more diverse. Modern debates over government, rights, security and liberty, and immigration continue arguments running through the whole course, and the United States acts as a global power. The enduring themes, the expansion of rights, the role of government, security versus liberty, and the nation as a land of immigrants, connect all the eras.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and application questions covering Module 6. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

1. Define the conservative resurgence and name two factors that fueled it. (3 marks)
2. Define Reaganomics and supply-side economics. (2 marks)
3. Define stagflation and explain why it discredited government activism. (2 marks)
4. Identify two factors that contributed to the end of the Cold War. (2 marks)
5. Explain the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. (2 marks)
6. Explain the position of the United States in the world after the Soviet collapse. (2 marks)
7. Explain the shift from a manufacturing economy to a service and information economy. (2 marks)
8. Define globalization and give one benefit and one criticism. (3 marks)
9. Describe the American response to the September 11 attacks. (2 marks)
10. Explain the debate over security and civil liberties after September 11. (2 marks)
11. Describe how immigration changed after 1965. (2 marks)
12. Identify one enduring theme of American history and trace it across two eras. (2 marks)