AP US History Reading and Writing Workshop
This workshop completes the scaffold writing process by providing 6 documents for the DBQ along with an SAQ Stimulus. Group work provides differentiation and peer support.
Unit 8 — Cold War and Civil Rights (1945–1980)
Structure
Session 1 – SAQ Practice
SAQ 1 (No Document)
Answer all parts using your knowledge of U.S. history from 1945–1980.
a) Identify and explain ONE cause of U.S. Cold War foreign policy in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
b) Identify and explain ONE way civil rights activists challenged racial segregation during this period.
c) Identify and explain ONE way the federal government responded to demands for equality in this period.
SAQ 2 (Stimulus-Based)
Stimulus:
Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” Speech (August 28, 1963)
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’… I have a dream that one day… little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
Prompt:
a) Identify and explain ONE way King’s vision reflected broader goals of the Civil Rights Movement.
b) Identify and explain ONE challenge civil rights activists faced in achieving these goals.
c) Identify and explain ONE historical development from 1945–1980 that illustrates progress toward King’s vision.
Session 2 – LEQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which Cold War tensions and the Civil Rights Movement reshaped American politics and society between 1945 and 1980.
Rubric Alignment (6 pts):
Session 3 – DBQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the United States addressed domestic and international challenges between 1945 and 1980.
Documents Provided (6)Document 1 — George Kennan, “Long Telegram” (1946)
“We have here a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus vivendi… it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
🔗 https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/coldwar/documents/episode-1/kennan.htm
Document 2 — NSC-68 (1950)
“The issues that face us are momentous, involving the fulfillment or destruction not only of this Republic but of civilization itself. The issues that face us are momentous, involving the fulfillment or destruction not only of this Republic but of civilization itself. We must make ourselves strong… to frustrate the Kremlin design.”
🔗 https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/nsc-hst/nsc-68.htm
Document 3 — Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
🔗 https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Document 4 — Civil Rights Act of 1964
“No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
🔗 https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=97&page=transcript
Document 5 — Chart: U.S. Defense Spending, 1945–1975
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/218.html
Document 6 — Photograph: March on Washington, 1963
🔗 https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.04257/
DBQ Rubric Alignment (7 pts)
Group Roles
Structure
- Session 1: SAQ Practice (two prompts; one with stimulus)
- Session 2: LEQ Practice (rubric aligned)
- Session 3: DBQ Practice (rubric aligned, six documents provided)
- Group Roles: Content Expert, Connector, Writer, Reviewer
Session 1 – SAQ Practice
SAQ 1 (No Document)
Answer all parts using your knowledge of U.S. history from 1945–1980.
a) Identify and explain ONE cause of U.S. Cold War foreign policy in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
b) Identify and explain ONE way civil rights activists challenged racial segregation during this period.
c) Identify and explain ONE way the federal government responded to demands for equality in this period.
SAQ 2 (Stimulus-Based)
Stimulus:
Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” Speech (August 28, 1963)
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’… I have a dream that one day… little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
Prompt:
a) Identify and explain ONE way King’s vision reflected broader goals of the Civil Rights Movement.
b) Identify and explain ONE challenge civil rights activists faced in achieving these goals.
c) Identify and explain ONE historical development from 1945–1980 that illustrates progress toward King’s vision.
Session 2 – LEQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which Cold War tensions and the Civil Rights Movement reshaped American politics and society between 1945 and 1980.
Rubric Alignment (6 pts):
- Thesis/Claim (1)
- Contextualization (1)
- Evidence (2)
- Analysis & Reasoning (2)
- Contextualization: Place post-WWII America in context of global rivalry, nuclear arms race, decolonization, and rising domestic movements.
- Thesis: Defensible claim with “extent” phrasing (e.g., “To a significant extent, the Cold War redefined U.S. foreign and domestic policy while the Civil Rights Movement transformed democracy, though both faced strong resistance.”).
- Evidence: Containment, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Korean and Vietnam Wars, Brown v. Board, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Black Power movement.
- Analysis: Balance shifts (expanded rights, global leadership) with limitations (McCarthyism, persistent racism, Vietnam protests, backlash).
Session 3 – DBQ Practice
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the United States addressed domestic and international challenges between 1945 and 1980.
Documents Provided (6)Document 1 — George Kennan, “Long Telegram” (1946)
“We have here a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus vivendi… it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
🔗 https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/coldwar/documents/episode-1/kennan.htm
Document 2 — NSC-68 (1950)
“The issues that face us are momentous, involving the fulfillment or destruction not only of this Republic but of civilization itself. The issues that face us are momentous, involving the fulfillment or destruction not only of this Republic but of civilization itself. We must make ourselves strong… to frustrate the Kremlin design.”
🔗 https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/nsc-hst/nsc-68.htm
Document 3 — Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
🔗 https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Document 4 — Civil Rights Act of 1964
“No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
🔗 https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=97&page=transcript
Document 5 — Chart: U.S. Defense Spending, 1945–1975
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/218.html
Document 6 — Photograph: March on Washington, 1963
🔗 https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.04257/
DBQ Rubric Alignment (7 pts)
- Thesis/Claim (1): Defensible argument on how U.S. addressed Cold War and Civil Rights challenges.
- Contextualization (1): Situate in WWII aftermath, decolonization, nuclear competition, and civil rights struggles.
- Evidence from Documents (2): Use all 6 documents.
- Evidence beyond Documents (1): Add outside evidence (Vietnam War, Great Society, Women’s Rights Movement, Black Panthers, détente).
- Sourcing (1): Analyze POV, purpose, audience, or context for at least 2 docs (e.g., Kennan shaping policy, King justifying civil disobedience).
- Complexity (1): Recognize both successes (civil rights legislation, containment) and contradictions (Vietnam failures, continuing inequality).
- Assign each student a document to source and analyze.
- Group documents thematically: Cold War strategy (Kennan, NSC-68, Defense Spending), Civil Rights (King, Civil Rights Act, March on Washington).
- Write thesis and outline with outside evidence.
- Add complexity: containment abroad vs. freedom struggles at home.
Group Roles
- Content Expert: Provides Cold War and Civil Rights factual evidence.
- Connector: Links evidence to APUSH themes (WOR, POL, SOC, CUL).
- Writer: Drafts thesis, outline, and evidence notes.
- Reviewer: Ensures rubric completion (context, sourcing, complexity, outside evidence).