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VirginiaUS History

Reporting Category 4: Virginia and United States History, 1945 to Present

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

How did movements and government programs reshape American society after 1945?

Describe the social and political changes of the postwar era, including the Great Society, the expansion of rights for women and other groups, the antiwar movement, and the changing role of government (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.12, VUS.13).
A SOL-level answer on postwar social change for the VUS exam: Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty, the women's movement and the push for equal rights, movements by other groups, the Vietnam-era antiwar protests and counterculture, and the debate over the role of government.
12 min answer →

How did the civil rights movement dismantle legal segregation?

Explain the goals, leaders, methods, and achievements of the civil rights movement, including Brown v. Board of Education, nonviolent protest, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Virginia's Massive Resistance (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.12).
A SOL-level answer on the civil rights movement for the VUS exam: Brown v. Board of Education, the nonviolent methods and leaders (Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks), the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Virginia's Massive Resistance to school desegregation.
13 min answer →

How did the Cold War begin, and how did the United States try to contain communism?

Explain the origins of the Cold War, the policy of containment, and key early events including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO, and the Berlin crises (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.11).
A SOL-level answer on the early Cold War for the VUS exam: the origins of the United States-Soviet rivalry, the policy of containment, and the key early responses including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO, and the Berlin Airlift.
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How did the Cold War play out in wars abroad and fear at home?

Describe the major Cold War conflicts and crises (the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War), the arms race and the space race, and the domestic Red Scare and McCarthyism (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.11).
A SOL-level answer on Cold War conflicts for the VUS exam: the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War as applications of containment, the nuclear arms race and the space race, and the domestic Red Scare and McCarthyism.
13 min answer →

How did the Cold War end, and what was the conservative resurgence?

Describe the conservative resurgence of the late 20th century, Reagan's policies, and the events that ended the Cold War, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.13).
A SOL-level answer on the end of the Cold War for the VUS exam: the conservative resurgence and Reagan's policies, the pressure on the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 that ended the Cold War and left the United States the sole superpower.
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How have globalization, technology, terrorism, and enduring constitutional questions shaped recent America?

Describe the United States since the end of the Cold War, including economic globalization and the technological revolution, the September 11 attacks and the war on terror, changing demographics, and the continuing relevance of founding constitutional principles (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.13, VUS.14).
A SOL-level answer on the modern era for the VUS exam: economic globalization and the technological revolution (the personal computer and the internet), the September 11 attacks and the war on terror, changing demographics and immigration, and how founding constitutional principles still shape contemporary debates.
12 min answer →