US History Part 2--Reading and Writing Workshop
The Cold War and Civil Rights (1945–1968)
Unit Overview
This unit will explore the intersection of the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement in the United States, examining how the geopolitical struggle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union shaped domestic policies, including race relations and civil rights. Students will analyze primary sources such as speeches, court cases, and newspaper articles, honing their skills in argumentative writing and comparative analysis.
Essential Questions
Students work in rotating expert groups during each session:
Session 1: Origins of the Cold War (1945–1947)
Focus
Postwar tensions, ideology, and U.S. global leadership
Group Reading 1: Truman Doctrine (1947)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”
Source: Harry S. Truman, Address to Congress, March 12, 1947
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/46/truman-doctrine
Group Reading 2: George F. Kennan – The Long Telegram (1946)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“The political personality of Soviet power as we know it today is the product of ideology and circumstances… Soviet power is impervious to the logic of reason, yet highly sensitive to the logic of force.”
Source: National Archives
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28469-document-1-george-kennan-long-telegram
Group Writing Task
Focus
McCarthyism and internal repression
Group Reading 1: Senator Joseph McCarthy Speech (1950)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“I have here in my hand a list of 205 names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.”
Source: Wheeling, WV Speech
https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6456/
Group Reading 2: HUAC Statement (1947)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“Communism is not a political party. It is a way of life… It seeks to destroy democratic institutions.”
Source: House Un-American Activities Committee
https://digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3630
Group Writing Task
Focus
Legal challenges to segregation
Group Reading 1: Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
Source: Supreme Court Opinion
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/brown-v-board-of-education
Group Reading 2: NAACP Legal Strategy (Thurgood Marshall)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“We are determined to secure equality of opportunity for all Americans… The Constitution does not permit segregation.”
Source: NAACP Papers
https://www.loc.gov/item/mss859430155/
Group Writing Task
Focus
Mass movement and civil disobedience
Group Reading 1: Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Source: King Papers Project
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/letter-birmingham-jail
Group Reading 2: SNCC Statement of Purpose (1960)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“We affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of our purpose.”
Source: SNCC Founding Document
https://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc_purpose.pdf
Group Writing Task
Focus
International pressure and U.S. image
Group Reading 1: State Department Brief on Race and Foreign Policy (1950s)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“Racial discrimination furnishes grist for the Communist propaganda mills.”
Source: U.S. Department of State
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v07p2/d86
Group Reading 2: Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“America’s democracy is hypocrisy… We are not Americans. We are victims of Americanism.”
Source: Malcolm X Project
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1964-malcolm-x-ballot-or-bullet/
Group Writing Task
Focus
Federal action and continued struggle
Group Reading 1: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation.”
Source: National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act
Group Reading 2: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting shall be imposed… to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.”
Source: National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act
Group Writing Task
Prompt
How did the Cold War shape the goals, strategies, and outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement between 1945 and 1968?
Requirements
The Cold War and Civil Rights (1945–1968)
Unit Overview
This unit will explore the intersection of the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement in the United States, examining how the geopolitical struggle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union shaped domestic policies, including race relations and civil rights. Students will analyze primary sources such as speeches, court cases, and newspaper articles, honing their skills in argumentative writing and comparative analysis.
Essential Questions
- How did Cold War ideology shape U.S. domestic and foreign policy?
- How did Cold War fears influence civil liberties and social movements?
- What strategies did civil rights leaders use to pursue equality and justice?
- How did global politics and domestic activism shape one another?
Students work in rotating expert groups during each session:
- Context Group – historical background and cause/effect
- Text Analysis Group – close reading of primary sources
- Connections Group – Cold War ↔ Civil Rights links
- Writing Group – thesis building, evidence selection, synthesis
Session 1: Origins of the Cold War (1945–1947)
Focus
Postwar tensions, ideology, and U.S. global leadership
Group Reading 1: Truman Doctrine (1947)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”
Source: Harry S. Truman, Address to Congress, March 12, 1947
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/46/truman-doctrine
Group Reading 2: George F. Kennan – The Long Telegram (1946)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“The political personality of Soviet power as we know it today is the product of ideology and circumstances… Soviet power is impervious to the logic of reason, yet highly sensitive to the logic of force.”
Source: National Archives
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28469-document-1-george-kennan-long-telegram
Group Writing Task
- Context Group: Explain containment in 3–4 sentences.
- Writing Group: Draft a working thesis explaining why the U.S. feared Soviet expansion.
Focus
McCarthyism and internal repression
Group Reading 1: Senator Joseph McCarthy Speech (1950)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“I have here in my hand a list of 205 names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.”
Source: Wheeling, WV Speech
https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6456/
Group Reading 2: HUAC Statement (1947)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“Communism is not a political party. It is a way of life… It seeks to destroy democratic institutions.”
Source: House Un-American Activities Committee
https://digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3630
Group Writing Task
- Text Analysis Group: Identify fear-based language
- Connections Group: Explain how Cold War fear limited civil liberties
Focus
Legal challenges to segregation
Group Reading 1: Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
Source: Supreme Court Opinion
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/brown-v-board-of-education
Group Reading 2: NAACP Legal Strategy (Thurgood Marshall)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“We are determined to secure equality of opportunity for all Americans… The Constitution does not permit segregation.”
Source: NAACP Papers
https://www.loc.gov/item/mss859430155/
Group Writing Task
- Writing Group: Paragraph explaining why the courts became a battleground
- Evidence must include Brown v. Board
Focus
Mass movement and civil disobedience
Group Reading 1: Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Source: King Papers Project
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/letter-birmingham-jail
Group Reading 2: SNCC Statement of Purpose (1960)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“We affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of our purpose.”
Source: SNCC Founding Document
https://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc_purpose.pdf
Group Writing Task
- Connections Group: How did nonviolence challenge Cold War narratives about democracy?
- Writing Group: Claim + evidence paragraph
Focus
International pressure and U.S. image
Group Reading 1: State Department Brief on Race and Foreign Policy (1950s)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“Racial discrimination furnishes grist for the Communist propaganda mills.”
Source: U.S. Department of State
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v07p2/d86
Group Reading 2: Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964)
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“America’s democracy is hypocrisy… We are not Americans. We are victims of Americanism.”
Source: Malcolm X Project
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1964-malcolm-x-ballot-or-bullet/
Group Writing Task
- Text Analysis Group: Compare King vs. Malcolm X strategies
- Writing Group: Analytical paragraph using both voices
Focus
Federal action and continued struggle
Group Reading 1: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation.”
Source: National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act
Group Reading 2: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Excerpt (Public Domain)
“No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting shall be imposed… to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.”
Source: National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act
Group Writing Task
- Context Group: Explain why federal action was necessary
- Writing Group: Evidence-based paragraph on limits of legislation
Prompt
How did the Cold War shape the goals, strategies, and outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement between 1945 and 1968?
Requirements
- Clear thesis
- At least 4 primary sources from the workshop
- One Cold War document and one civil rights document must be directly connected
- Historical context and analysis