Era 13: Postwar United States: Civil Rights and Social Change (1945 to early 1970s)

Summary: As part of President Harry Truman’s Fair Deal, the Housing Act of 1949 provided millions of dollars to demolish outdated, unsafe buildings and to create affordable housing in American cities. This lesson uses Newark, New Jersey, as a case study to consider the effectiveness of this effort. Students examine five documents to answer this question: Was the development of public housing in Newark after World War II a success?

Overarching questions:

CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty,...

Summary: Primary document set from the National Archives with analysis questions exploring the popularity of comic books and the manifestation of fear that culminated in Senate hearings in 1954. Though 80 to 100 million comic books were sold every week in the late 1940s and early 1950s, many Americans saw comics as a threat to youth and not unlike communism. Boycott campaigns, book burnings and local ordinances limiting sales grew to a national movement and Senate investigation confronting...

Summary: Two compatible lessons focus on women in the workforce starting during World War II. The Foundation for Economic Education activity focuses on the opportunity cost for women to stay at home. Students assume the roles of married women in the 1930s and 1940s in the United States. As they play their roles, they confront and learn to identify the opportunity costs involved in choosing whether to stay home or go to work. Successive rounds of the activity incorporate changing societal...

Summary: In response to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, the NAACP selected nine African American students to attempt to integrate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. After the students were prevented from attending the school by the governor and mobs of segregationists, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne to escort the students into campus. But what was school like for students once they arrived? In this lesson, students examine five...

Summary: Voting rights are largely governed by states and citizenship status. American Indians were not universally granted citizenship until 1924, and states interpreted voting rights differently. Some states didn't extend suffrage to American Indians until well into the 20th century. In this activity, you will see documents from the 1830s through the 1970s. Students will first review and note what you think each document is saying and why it's important. Students will then place the...

Summary: President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society aimed to end poverty and racial injustice. The effectiveness of the program is the subject of ongoing debate. In this lesson, students consider the impact of Great Society programs by comparing a speech delivered by Johnson in 1964 with two recent commentaries.

Overarching Questions:

CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty, justice and/or equality changed during the time period? If so, how and what has been the impact? CIVICS: How well does the...

Summary: This lesson examines race segregation in New Jersey and the impact of restrictive covenants and redlining utilized under the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC). Students will explain the difference between the de jure and de facto discrimination and debate which type of discrimination is most difficult to remove. Students will also explain why race riots took place in many of New Jersey’s cities and compare those conditions underlying present-day race riots in the United States....