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.
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What this topic is asking
Standards VUS.13 and VUS.14 close the course with the modern era: the United States since the end of the Cold War. The exam wants economic globalization and the technological revolution, the September 11 attacks and the war on terror, changing demographics, and, in VUS.14, how the nation's founding constitutional principles still shape today's debates, connecting the whole course back to its beginning.
Economic globalization
In recent decades, globalization deepened through expanded trade and agreements, the spread of multinational businesses, and global supply chains. It brought cheaper goods and new markets but also debates over jobs, competition, and inequality, a modern face of the Enduring Issue of interconnectedness.
The technological revolution
The technological revolution reshaped American life. The personal computer and then the internet transformed how people work, communicate, shop, and access information, fueling new industries and accelerating globalization. The pace of innovation (mobile devices, digital media) continued to change the economy and society into the 21st century.
September 11 and the war on terror
Changing demographics
American society continued to change through shifting demographics and ongoing immigration, making the population larger and more diverse and reshaping politics, culture, and the economy, a continuation of the immigration themes that run through the whole course.
Founding principles in modern America (VUS.14)
Standard VUS.14 ties the course together by asking how the founding constitutional principles still shape current debates:
- Federalism: ongoing arguments over the balance of power between the national government and the states.
- Separation of powers and checks and balances: disputes among the branches over authority.
- Individual rights: debates over free speech, privacy, and equal protection under the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.
- The rule of law: the principle that government and citizens alike are bound by law.
The point the test rewards is continuity: the questions the framers wrestled with, how to balance power and protect liberty, remain the questions of American public life today.
Try this
Q1. State what the September 11, 2001, attacks led to most directly. [1]
- Cue. A "war on terror," including new security measures at home and military action abroad (Afghanistan and Iraq).
Q2. Give one example of how a founding constitutional principle appears in a contemporary issue. [2]
- Cue. Federalism (federal versus state power), individual rights (free speech, privacy), or the balance between security and civil liberties.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
VA VUS SOL (released item style)1 marksThe September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks led most directly to
(A) the start of the Cold War.
(B) a "war on terror," including increased security measures and military action abroad.
(C) the end of slavery.
(D) the Great Depression.
Show worked answer →
A single-select item on recent history (VUS.13).
Correct answer: (B). The September 11 attacks led to a war on terror, including new security measures at home and military action abroad (in Afghanistan and later Iraq).
A, C, and D are far earlier and unrelated. The test rewards linking 9/11 to the war on terror.
VA VUS SOL (released item style)2 marksFounding constitutional principles still shape modern debates.
(a) Give one example of how a founding principle (such as federalism or individual rights) appears in a contemporary issue. (b) Explain how the technological revolution changed American life.
Show worked answer →
A two-part constructed response (VUS.13, VUS.14), 2 points (1 per part).
(a) 1 point: any valid example, such as debates over federal versus state power (federalism), free speech or privacy (the Bill of Rights), or the balance between security and civil liberties.
(b) 1 point: the technological revolution (the personal computer and the internet) transformed work, communication, and the economy, speeding globalization and changing daily life.
Markers reward a real link between a founding principle and a modern issue, and an account of the tech revolution's impact.
Related dot points
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Explain the principles of the Constitution (federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, popular sovereignty, limited government), the ratification debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and how the Virginia Declaration of Rights and Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom shaped the Bill of Rights (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.5).
A SOL-level answer on the Constitution for the VUS exam: the five principles (federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, popular sovereignty, limited government), the Federalist versus Anti-Federalist ratification debate, and how George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights and Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom shaped the Bill of Rights.
Sources & how we know this
- Standards of Learning Documents for History and Social Science, Adopted 2015 — Virginia Department of Education (2015)
- SOL Practice Items (All Subjects) — Virginia Department of Education (2024)