How did the Cold War end?

The Cold War ended around 1989 to 1991 through a combination of external pressure and internal Soviet weakness. President Reagan took a hard line and increased military spending, straining the Soviet economy. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring), which loosened control. Combined with the costs of the arms race and the war in Afghanistan, this led to the fall of communist governments across Eastern Europe, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, German reunification, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, leaving the United States as the sole superpower.

What was the conservative turn, and what is supply-side economics?

By 1980, frustration with inflation, high taxes, and 1960s and 1970s liberalism produced a conservative turn, symbolized by Reagan's election. Modern conservatism favored a smaller federal government, lower taxes, less regulation, a strong defense, and traditional values. Supply-side economics (Reaganomics) held that cutting taxes and regulations would spur investment and growth. The turn revived the central debate over how large and active the federal government should be, a debate running from the Progressive Era through the New Deal and Great Society.

How did the digital revolution and globalization change America?

The digital revolution, the rapid spread of computers, the internet, and mobile communication from the 1970s, transformed work, communication, and daily life and shifted the economy toward services and information. Globalization, the growing interconnection of economies through trade, investment, and technology (with agreements like NAFTA and global supply chains), brought benefits (cheaper goods, larger markets, new technology) and costs (lost manufacturing jobs and economic disruption), a debate still central to American politics.

Why does the course emphasize Tennessee connections?

The Tennessee standards weave the state into the national story, applying geographic and economic reasoning. Tennessee has three grand divisions (East, Middle, and West), an economy transformed by the TVA, and a central role in national events: the Scopes Trial in Dayton, Oak Ridge and the atomic bomb, and the civil rights movement (the Nashville sit-ins, the Highlander Folk School, Clinton, and Dr. King's assassination in Memphis). Tennessee's music (Memphis blues and rock and roll, Nashville country) also shaped American culture, so expect items pairing Tennessee places with national developments.

TennesseeUS History

Tennessee US History EOC Module 6 (The Modern United States): a complete overview of the end of the Cold War, the conservative turn, globalization, and contemporary America

Q: What does Module 6 of the Tennessee US History EOC cover?

Module 6 covers the late twentieth century to the present (US.47 to US.61): the end of the Cold War (Reagan's pressure, Gorbachev's reforms, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet collapse); the conservative turn (the Reagan Revolution, supply-side economics, and the role-of-government debate); social and cultural change (the 1965 immigration reform and a more diverse population, and the continuing struggle for equal rights); the digital revolution and globalization; the war on terror after September 11 and the major developments of contemporary America (including the Great Recession and the first Black president); and Tennessee's geography, economy, and connections to national history.

A deep-dive guide to Module 6 of the Tennessee US History and Geography EOC: the end of the Cold War, the conservative turn and supply-side economics, late-twentieth-century social change, the digital revolution and globalization, the war on terror and contemporary America, and Tennessee's place in the national story, with the item types the EOC uses.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.816 min readUS.47-US.61Updated 2026-06-02

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

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What Module 6 actually demands
The end of the Cold War (US.47)
The conservative turn (US.48)
Social and cultural change (US.49)
The digital revolution and globalization (US.50)
The war on terror and contemporary America (US.51, US.60)
Tennessee in modern America (US.61)
Check your knowledge

What Module 6 actually demands

Module 6 brings the course to the present. The Cold War ends, a conservative era reshapes politics, immigration and rights make the nation more diverse, the digital revolution and globalization transform the economy, and 9/11 and its aftermath define a new century. It covers standards US.47 to US.61 and closes with a Tennessee capstone that gathers the state's role across the whole course. Because the content is recent, the EOC stresses big developments and themes over fine detail.

This guide ties together the matching dot-point pages, each with its own worked questions: the end of the Cold War, the conservative turn, social and cultural change, the digital revolution and globalization, the war on terror and contemporary America, and Tennessee in modern America.

The end of the Cold War (US.47)

After a period of détente, Reagan's military buildup pressured the USSR, while Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost and perestroika) loosened control. Communist governments fell across Eastern Europe, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, leaving the United States as the sole superpower.

The conservative turn (US.48)

Frustration with inflation and liberalism produced a conservative turn (Reagan, 1980). Conservatism favored smaller government, lower taxes, and less regulation; supply-side economics aimed to grow the economy by cutting taxes and rules. The turn revived the role-of-government debate.

The 1965 immigration reform ended the old quotas and brought more immigrants from Asia and Latin America, making the nation more diverse. The struggle for equal rights expanded to women, Latinos, Asian Americans, American Indians, people with disabilities (the ADA), and LGBTQ Americans.

The digital revolution and globalization (US.50)

The digital revolution (computers, the internet) reshaped work and life and shifted the economy toward services and information. Globalization (trade, NAFTA, global supply chains) brought cheaper goods and larger markets but also lost manufacturing jobs.

The war on terror and contemporary America (US.51, US.60)

September 11, 2001 led to the war on terror (Afghanistan, the PATRIOT Act, Iraq), reviving the security-versus-liberty debate. The era also brought the Great Recession (2008) and the election of Barack Obama as the first Black president.

Tennessee in modern America (US.61)

Tennessee has three grand divisions (East, Middle, West), an economy transformed by the TVA, and a central role in national events (Scopes Trial, Oak Ridge, the civil rights movement) and music (Memphis, Nashville).

Revision order

Start with how the Cold War ended (combine Reagan's pressure with Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, and anchor the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 1991 Soviet collapse). Then learn the conservative turn (supply-side economics and the role-of-government debate). Cover social change through the 1965 immigration law and the expanding struggle for equal rights. For the digital revolution and globalization, be ready to give both benefits and costs. Master 9/11 and the war on terror, and connect the PATRIOT Act to the recurring security-versus-liberty theme. Finish with the Tennessee capstone: the grand divisions, the TVA, and the place-to-event matches (Dayton, Oak Ridge, Memphis). The highest-value skills are matching causes and developments and reading recent data or quotations.

Module 6 of the Tennessee US History and Geography EOC covers the late twentieth century to the present (US.47 to US.61): the end of the Cold War (Reagan's pressure, Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the Soviet collapse in 1991, leaving the United States as the sole superpower); the conservative turn (the Reagan Revolution, supply-side economics, and the revived debate over the size of government); social and cultural change (the 1965 immigration reform and a more diverse population, and the expanding struggle for equal rights for women, Latinos, Asian Americans, American Indians, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ Americans); the digital revolution and globalization (computers and the internet, the shift to a service economy, free trade and global supply chains, and the benefits and costs of globalization); the war on terror after September 11 (Afghanistan, the PATRIOT Act, Iraq, and the security-versus-liberty debate) and contemporary developments like the Great Recession and the first Black president; and Tennessee's geography (the three grand divisions), economy (the TVA and modern industry), and central role in national events (the Scopes Trial, Oak Ridge, and the civil rights movement) and music.

Check your knowledge

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

Explain the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. (2 marks)
What did glasnost and perestroika mean? (2 marks)
Define supply-side economics. (2 marks)
State the central debate the conservative turn raised. (1 mark)
How did the 1965 immigration law change America? (2 marks)
Name two groups (besides African Americans) that sought equal rights after the 1960s. (2 marks)
Define globalization and give one benefit and one cost. (3 marks)
What did September 11, 2001, lead to? (2 marks)
Name Tennessee's three grand divisions. (3 marks)
Match Dayton, Oak Ridge, and Memphis to a national connection each. (3 marks)

Solutions

Q1: It symbolized the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe and signaled the end of the Cold War; Germany was soon reunified.
Q2: Glasnost was openness and greater freedom of expression; perestroika was economic restructuring. Together they weakened the Soviet system.
Q3: The idea that cutting taxes and regulations encourages investment and economic growth (associated with Reagan).
Q4: The debate over how large and active the federal government should be.
Q5: The 1965 immigration law ended the national-origins quotas and opened immigration to more people from Asia and Latin America, making the population more diverse.
Q6: Any two of: women, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians, people with disabilities, LGBTQ Americans.
Q7: Globalization is the growing interconnection of the world's economies through trade and technology. Benefit: cheaper goods or larger markets. Cost: lost manufacturing jobs or economic disruption.
Q8: The war on terror, including the war in Afghanistan, new homeland-security measures (the PATRIOT Act), and later the Iraq War.
Q9: East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee.
Q10: Dayton (the Scopes Trial), Oak Ridge (the atomic bomb / Manhattan Project), Memphis (the civil rights movement and the 1968 sanitation strike, and blues and rock and roll music).

Sources & how we know this

Social Studies Standards — Tennessee Department of Education (2019)
Overview of Testing in Tennessee — Tennessee Department of Education (2024)