Unit 12: The 1960s, Kennedy/Johnson Administrations, and the
Vietnam War
Chapters:
29-31
Essential Questions
1) How does the government respond to social and foreign challenges?
2) How did anti-Communist beliefs affect United States involvement in conflicts around the world?
3) What was the domestic impact of United States involvement in Vietnam?
4) How did the baby-boom generation and the growing counterculture movement change American society?
President Kennedy
Concepts
New Frontier
Topics
-Election of 1960: Candidates,
Events, and Outcome
-Role of Television in the Election
of 1960
-Kennedy: Biographical
Information
-The New Frontier: Aspects of the
Plan
-The Space Program
-Kennedy’s Assassination
-The Warren Commission:
Investigation and Decision
-Bay of Pigs Invasion:
Explanation and Significance
-Cuban Missile Crisis:
Explanation and Significance
-Peace Corps: Explanation
People
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Jacqueline Kennedy
Lee Harvey Oswald
Jack Ruby
Fidel Castro
Nikita Krushchev
President Johnson
Concepts
Great Society
Medicare
Medicaid
Topics
-Johnson: Biographical
Information
-The Great Society: Aspects of the
Plan
-Effects of the Great Society
-Criticisms of the Great Society
-War on Poverty
-Immigration Act of 1965
-Johnson’s Foreign Policy
People
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Era of Activism
Concepts
Feminism
Counterculture
Topics
-National Organization for
Women (NOW)
-Feminism: Ideology and Strategy
-The Feminine Mystique
-Equal Rights Amendment
-Impact of Feminist Movement
-Opposition to the Women’s
Rights Movement
-United Farm Workers
-JACL
-AIM
-Ethnic Minorities Fight for
Rights: Events, Organizations,
and Impact
-Emergence of Counterculture:
Causes and Effects
-The Mood of the 1960s
-Woodstock Festival: Role of
Music in the Counterculture
-Environmental Projection:
Events, Organizations, and
Impact
People
Betty Friedan
Gloria Steinem
Cesar Chavez
The Vietnam War
Concepts
Domino theory
Vietminh
Viet Cong
National Liberation Front
Land mine
Agent Orange
Napalm
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Topics
-Background of the War
-Dividing Vietnam: 17th Parallel
-Kennedy’s Vietnam Policy
-Early Communist Advances
-Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:
Explanation and Significance
-Battlefield Conditions and
Challenges
-The Draft: Mobilizing Forces
-Effects of Guerilla Warfare
-Use of Agent Orange and
Napalm
-Tet Offensive: Turning Point
(Explanation)
-Timeline of the War
-Vietnamization
-Legacy of the War
People
John F. Kennedy
Robert McNamara
Ho Chi Minh
Richard Nixon
Unrest at Home
Concepts
Generation gap
Teach-in
Conscientious objectors
Deferment
Topics
-Student Activism: Causes and
Effects
-Students for a Democratic
Society: Goals and Strategies
-Free Speech Movement:
Significance
-Conscientious Objectors:
Justification
-Draft Resistance: Examples
-Debate Over Deferments:
Fairness of the System
-President Johnson Decides Not
to Run: Explanation
-Assassination of Robert Kennedy
-Democratic National Convention
(1968)
-Election of 1968: Candidates,
Outcome, Events
-Kent State
People
Tom Hayden
Abbie Hoffman
Robert Kennedy
Richard Nixon
“I Can” Statements: Over the course of the unit, place a check mark next to the statements that are true for you. This will allow you to
better prepare for unit assessments.
I Can:
_____ Identify the major goals and programs of Kennedy’s New Frontier and Johnson’s Great Society. (16.B.5a)
_____ Analyze the candidates, platforms, and policy agenda associated with the election of 1960. (16.B.4)
_____ Discuss the role of television and the media in the election of 1960. (16.A.4b)
_____ Understand the circumstances that surrounded Kennedy’s assassination. (16.A.4b)
_____ Explain how the Cuban Missile Crisis reflected America’s anti-communist positions during the Cold War. (16.B.4)
_____ Understand the goals and outcome of the Bay of Pigs invasion. (16.A.4a)
_____ Explain Kennedy’s purpose for creating the Peace Corps. (16.D.5)
_____ Describe foreign policy in the Johnson administration. (16.B.5a)
_____ Compare and contrast the policies of Kennedy and Johnson. (16.B.5a)
_____ Describe the impact of feminism in American society. (16.D.5)
_____ Discuss how ethnic minorities sought equality. (16.D.5)
_____ Identify and discuss the social changes that were promoted by the counterculture. (16.D.5)
_____ Explain the legacy of the “era of activism.” (16.D.5)
_____ Describe the events that led to the war between North and South Vietnam. (16.B.5b)W
_____ Explain how President Johnson changed the course of the war in Vietnam. (16.A.4a)
_____ Explain how the battlefield conditions in Vietnam affected American soldiers. (16.D.5)
_____ Trace the major events of the Vietnam War from 1965-1975. (16.A.4a)
_____ Describe why the Tet Offensive was a turning point in the war. (16.A.4a)
_____ Understand the role played by students in the protest movements of the 1960s. (16.D.5)
_____ Identify specific examples of unrest in the United States (Kent State, Democratic National Convention, etc.) and explain
the significance of the events. (16.D.5)
_____ Explain why President Johnson chose not to seek reelection. (16.B.5b)
_____ Describe how President Nixon’s policies led to American withdrawal from Vietnam. (16.B.5b)
_____ Describe the legacy of the Vietnam War. (16.B.5b)W
Common Core 9-10 Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (RH)
Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to
such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later
ones or simply preceded them.
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary
describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5 Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics,
including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in
print or digital text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text
complexity band independently and proficiently.
Common Core 9-10 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (WHST)
Text Types and Purposes
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates
the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument
presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific
procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2a Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important
connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2c Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic
and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2e Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
Common Core 9-10 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies Continued… (WHST)
Production and Distribution of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a
new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared
writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and
dynamically.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the
text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Note
Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The Standards require that students be able to incorporate narrative
elements effectively into arguments and informative/explanatory texts. In history/social studies, students must be able to incorporate
narrative accounts into their analyses of individuals or events of historical import. In science and technical subjects, students must be
able to write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step procedures they use in their investigations or technical work that others
can replicate them and (possibly) reach the same results.