What does Module 5 of the US History and Government Regents cover?

Module 5 covers the period from 1929 to the early Cold War: the Great Depression (its causes and human impact); the New Deal (relief, recovery, and reform, Social Security, and the expansion of federal power); World War II (Pearl Harbor, the home front, women and minorities in the workforce, Japanese American internment and Korematsu v. United States, and the rise to superpower status); the Cold War and containment (the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO, and conflicts like the Berlin Airlift, Korea, and the Cuban Missile Crisis); and McCarthyism and the second Red Scare. It also covers the Part III Civic Literacy Essay.

What caused the Great Depression?

The Depression had several structural causes: overproduction (more goods than people could buy), an uneven distribution of wealth, reckless stock speculation and buying on margin (a bubble that burst in the 1929 crash), and a weak, unregulated banking system that collapsed in waves of bank failures. The crash of October 1929 triggered and exposed these weaknesses. The human impact was severe: unemployment reached about 25 percent by 1933, banks and businesses failed, the Dust Bowl devastated the Great Plains, and homeless families built Hoovervilles.

How did the New Deal change the role of government?

The New Deal greatly and permanently expanded the federal government's role in the economy and society. Through the three Rs, relief (jobs programs like the CCC and WPA), recovery, and reform (the FDIC, the SEC, and Social Security), the government took direct responsibility for jobs, regulation of banks and the stock market, and a permanent social safety net. This was a decisive break from laissez-faire and the foundation of the modern American state, though it remained controversial and prompted the failed court-packing plan.

Why is Korematsu v. United States significant?

Korematsu v. United States (1944) upheld the forced relocation of about 120,000 Japanese Americans, most of them citizens, to internment camps as a wartime necessity. It is the exam's strongest example of the Enduring Issue of national security versus civil liberties: the rights of citizens were sacrificed to wartime fear based on their ancestry. It is now widely condemned as a grave injustice, and the government later apologized and paid reparations in 1988.

How do you write the Civic Literacy Essay?

The Civic Literacy Essay (Part III B) uses the 6 documents plus your knowledge to address a constitutional or civic issue. It has three tasks: describe the historical circumstances that produced the issue; explain efforts by individuals, groups, and/or government to address it; and discuss either the extent of success or the impact. It is essentially an Enduring Issue argument. A strong essay states a clear position, weaves in several documents with outside evidence (people, laws, cases), and stays focused on the issue. It is scored 0 to 5 and weighted heavily.

New YorkUS History

NY Regents US History and Government Module 5: a complete overview of the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, and the Cold War

A deep-dive guide to Module 5 of the New York US History and Government Regents: the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II and the home front (Korematsu), the Cold War and containment, McCarthyism and the Red Scare, and how to write the Part III Civic Literacy Essay.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.818 min read11.7-11.8Updated 2026-06-02

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

Jump to a section

What Module 5 actually demands
The Great Depression
The New Deal
World War II
The Cold War
McCarthyism
The Civic Literacy Essay
Check your knowledge

What Module 5 actually demands

Module 5 covers the defining crises of the mid-twentieth century. Two big threads dominate. First, the Enduring Issue of power and the role of government: the Depression and New Deal permanently expanded what Americans expect the federal government to do. Second, the recurring tension between national security and civil liberties, which peaks here with Japanese internment (Korematsu) and McCarthyism. The module ends with the exam-skill that ties everything together, the Civic Literacy Essay, where these constitutional issues become the argument.

This guide ties together the matching dot-point pages, each with its own worked questions: the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War Two and the home front, the Cold War and containment, McCarthyism and the Red Scare, and the Civic Literacy Essay.

The Great Depression

The 1929 crash triggered the Depression, whose causes were structural: overproduction, uneven wealth, speculation, and weak banking. The human cost was severe: about 25 percent unemployment by 1933, bank failures, the Dust Bowl, and Hoovervilles.

The New Deal

FDR's New Deal used the three Rs, relief (CCC, WPA), recovery, and reform (FDIC, SEC, Social Security), to fight the Depression. It was controversial (the failed court-packing plan) but permanently expanded the federal government's role and created a lasting safety net.

World War II

The United States entered after Pearl Harbor (1941). The home front saw full mobilization (ending the Depression), women and minorities in the workforce, and the grave injustice of Japanese internment, upheld in Korematsu v. United States (1944). Victory and the atomic bomb left the United States a superpower.

The Cold War

The Cold War pitted the United States against the Soviet Union. The strategy of containment took form in the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and NATO, and produced crises: the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).

McCarthyism

Cold War fear at home produced the second Red Scare and McCarthyism: loyalty oaths, HUAC, blacklisting, and Senator McCarthy's evidence-free accusations, threatening civil liberties in peacetime.

The Civic Literacy Essay

Use the 6 documents plus your knowledge to address a constitutional or civic issue: describe the circumstances, explain the efforts, and discuss success or impact. It is an Enduring Issue argument, scored 0 to 5 and weighted heavily.

Module 5 of the US History and Government Regents covers the Great Depression (causes: overproduction, uneven wealth, speculation, weak banking; impact: 25 percent unemployment, the Dust Bowl, Hoovervilles); the New Deal (the three Rs, Social Security, the court-packing controversy, and the permanent expansion of federal power); World War II (Pearl Harbor, the home front with women and minorities at work, Japanese internment and Korematsu v. United States, and the rise to superpower status); the Cold War and containment (the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO, the Berlin Airlift, Korea, and the Cuban Missile Crisis); and McCarthyism and the second Red Scare. It also covers the Part III Civic Literacy Essay (describe circumstances, explain efforts, discuss success or impact). The recurring Enduring Issues are the role of government (power) and national security versus civil liberties.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and application questions covering Module 5. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

State two causes of the Great Depression. (2 marks)
Describe two ways the Depression affected ordinary Americans. (2 marks)
State what each of the three Rs of the New Deal aimed to do. (3 marks)
Explain how the New Deal changed the role of the federal government. (2 marks)
State the event that brought the United States into World War II. (1 mark)
Explain why Korematsu v. United States is an example of the security-versus-liberty conflict. (2 marks)
Define containment and name two actions that carried it out. (3 marks)
Define McCarthyism. (2 marks)
State the three required tasks of the Civic Literacy Essay. (3 marks)

Solutions

Q1: Any two of: overproduction, uneven distribution of wealth, stock speculation and buying on margin, a weak unregulated banking system.
Q2: Any two of: mass unemployment (about 25 percent by 1933); bank and business failures; the Dust Bowl; homelessness and Hoovervilles.
Q3: Relief: immediate help for the unemployed and poor; recovery: restarting the economy; reform: changes to prevent another depression.
Q4: It permanently expanded the government's role, taking responsibility for jobs, relief, regulation of banks and the stock market, and a lasting social safety net (Social Security).
Q5: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Q6: The Court upheld the internment of Japanese American citizens as a wartime necessity, sacrificing their civil liberties to security fears based on ancestry.
Q7: Containment was the policy of preventing the spread of communism; actions include the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO, and the Korean War (any two).
Q8: The practice, named for Senator Joseph McCarthy, of making reckless, unsupported accusations of communism or disloyalty to intimidate opponents.
Q9: Describe the historical circumstances of a constitutional or civic issue; explain efforts by individuals, groups, or government to address it; and discuss the extent of success OR the impact.

Sources & how we know this

New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework (Grade 11) — New York State Education Department (2016)
United States History and Government (Framework) — New York State Education Department (2024)