← US History syllabus

TennesseeUS History

United States History and Geography: Post-Reconstruction to the Present (US.35 to US.61)

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How was the Cold War fought through conflicts around the world?

Explain the major Cold War conflicts and crises, including the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the arms and space races, and the Vietnam War (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.36 and US.42).
A standard-level answer on Cold War conflicts for the Tennessee US History EOC: the Korean War, the arms race and the space race, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War, including escalation, the antiwar movement, and Vietnamization.
14 min answer →

What drove the postwar boom, and how did it reshape American life?

Explain the causes and effects of postwar economic prosperity, including the GI Bill, suburbanization, the baby boom, consumer culture, and the geographic shift to the Sunbelt (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.38).
A standard-level answer on the postwar boom for the Tennessee US History EOC: the GI Bill, the baby boom, suburbanization and the interstate highways, the rise of consumer culture and television, and the population shift to the Sunbelt.
13 min answer →

How did the civil rights movement end legal segregation, and what was Tennessee's role?

Analyze the goals, strategies, key events, and leaders of the civil rights movement, including Brown v. Board of Education, nonviolent protest, the major laws it won, and Tennessee's role (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.44 and US.45).
A standard-level answer on the civil rights movement for the Tennessee US History EOC: Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, nonviolent protest and Martin Luther King Jr., the Nashville sit-ins and Freedom Rides, the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, and the Memphis sanitation strike.
15 min answer →

How did the federal government try to fight poverty and expand rights in the 1960s?

Explain the Great Society programs and the social movements of the 1960s, including the War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, and the women's, environmental, and other rights movements (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.46).
A standard-level answer on the Great Society and 1960s movements for the Tennessee US History EOC: Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, the expansion of the federal role, and the women's, environmental, and other rights movements of the decade.
13 min answer →

How did the Cold War begin, and what was the policy of containment?

Explain the origins of the Cold War, the policy of containment, and early measures such as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.35).
A standard-level answer on the origins of the Cold War for the Tennessee US History EOC: the clash of superpowers and ideologies, the iron curtain, containment, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, and the formation of NATO.
14 min answer →

How did the Cold War shape American life and politics at home?

Explain the effects of the Cold War on American society, including the second Red Scare and McCarthyism, the fear of nuclear war, and the impact on civil liberties (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.37).
A standard-level answer on the Cold War at home for the Tennessee US History EOC: the second Red Scare, McCarthyism and HUAC, loyalty programs, the fear of nuclear war and civil-defense culture, and the tension between security and civil liberties.
13 min answer →