CHANGES IN AMERICA

Mrs. Bryant’s 5th Grade

Social Studies

Georgia Standards

GEORGIA STANDARDS SS5H8c. Describe the impact on America society of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

ASSASSINATIONS The 1960s were a time of great unrest and change in America. Many people did not like what was happening in the civil rights movement. Others did not agree with political leaders on different issues.

ASSASSINATIONS Unfortunately, three important American leaders were assassinated in the 1960s. These events made a lasting impact on American society. They took away some of America’s optimism for a while. They also led to increased protection of political leaders. Another reason that the assassinations made such an impact is that they were covered by a relatively new medium – television. People could see what was going on.

JOHN F. KENNEDY President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas in 1963. He was riding in a parade in a convertible car with the top down. A man named Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with shooting him from a tall building along the parade route. Americans and people around the world cried. Kennedy had been a very popular president.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Two other leaders were killed in 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot as he stood on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots broke out across the country. Racial tensions that had been under the surface exploded!

ROBERT F. KENNEDY Robert F. Kennedy was shot at a hotel in Los Angeles. This younger brother of President Kennedy was running for the Democratic nomination for president. Americans found it hard to believe that another Kennedy family member had been killed!

GEORGIA STANDARDS SS5H8d. Discuss the significance of the new technologies of television and space exploration.

TV RULES The new technology of television began to make an impact on American society in the 1950s. Only 10 percent of Americans owned a television in 1950. By 1960 90 percent of homes owned a television. Today, about 99 percent of American households have a least one television set.

TV RULES The impact of TV was significant because it changed American life in so many ways. Before, Americans got their news from newspapers and radio – now there is TV! Before, Americans went to the movies for entertainment – now there is TV! Americans can now experience events all over the world because TV brings the world right into our homes.

EXPLORING OUTER SPACE Americans began exploring space in the 1960s. Space exploration was significant because it demonstrated American’s great scientific talents and reminded people that we all live in one interconnected world.

EXPLORING OUTER SPACE Russia was getting ahead of the United States in space exploration. Russia launched the first satellite in 1957, and then sent the first man into space in April 1961. Americans did not like that. The U.S. had always prided itself on its leadership in the area of science and technology.

EXPLORING OUTER SPACE President Kennedy announced a goal

to put an American on the moon before 1970. The space race was on! In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to be launched into space. His ride was followed by many other manned missions – all leading up to Apollo 11. On that mission, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon! The U.S. had won the ultimate prize in the space race.

EXPLORING OUTER SPACE Space exploration has added many benefits to our lives. Satellites brought great advances in areas like communications (TV, for example), navigation, and weather forecasting. Space research has led to hundreds of useful products, including smoke detectors, invisible braces, cordless tools, and the joysticks kids like to use to play video games.

QUOTE“I believe that this nation

should commit itself to achieving the goal, before

this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and

returning him safely to the Earth.”

-President John F. KennedyMay 25, 1961

HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDINGS

SS5H9 Trace important developments in America since 1975.

GEORGIA STANDARDS SS5H9a. Describe U.S. involvement in world events including efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Persian Gulf War, and the War on Terrorism in response to September 11, 2001.

WORKING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

One major conflict in the Middle East centers around control of an area called Palestine. Arabs and Jews have lived in this strip of land on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years. It has been under the control of many different rulers.

WORKING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

In 1947, the United Nations divided Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted the decision and established the state of Israel. The Arab countries rejected the land division plan and attacked Israel in 1948. Israel won the war and took over much of the land in the Arab state. Since then, there has been continual conflict in the Middle East.

WORKING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The United States government has made several efforts to bring peace to the Middle East;

WORKING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

1978: President Jimmy Carter, from Plains, Georgia; Israeli Prime Minister Begin, and Egyptian President Sadat met at Camp David in Maryland. This meeting led to a 1979 peace treaty signed at the White House.

L to R: Sadat, Carter and Begin

WORKING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

1993: President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin, and Palestinian leader Arafat met at the White House. A peace accord was signed.

WORKING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

2000: President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Barak and Palestinian leader Arafat met at Camp David. They never reached a final agreement.

SOVIET UNION BREAKS APART

Communism in the Soviet Union was struggling in the late 1980s. The communist countries in Western Europe had serious economic problems and restless citizens. They did not have free speech, free press, or freedom of religion.

SOVIET UNION BREAKS APART

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev decided to make some changes. He allowed freedom of speech for the first time. He also tried to build up the economy but his plans didn’t work. Now they could speak out, citizens demanded independence for their countries. (Remember, the Soviet Union was made up of 15 different republics.)

THE WALL COMES DOWN Other countries under Communist control began

to revolt, including Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Then, something incredible happened in Germany. The East German government opened the border between East and West Berlin! People celebrated in the streets, climbing on the Berlin Wall and breaking it apart with hammers and chisels. The Iron Curtain had come down! By January 1992, the Soviet Union had collapsed.

WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

The United States became involved in the Persian Gulf War in 199. Troops under Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq, invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait, Hussein wanted to control Kuwait’s many oil fields. The United Nations told Hussein to withdraw his forces, but he refused.

WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

The United States military led a group of other nations (called a coalition) to recapture Kuwait in “Operation Desert Storm.” American aircraft pounded Iraq while ground forces quickly forced Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. The conflict was over in six weeks.

TERRORISTS STRIKE AMERICA

On the morning of September 11, 2001, our world changed. Terrorists hijacked four airplanes. They flew two of them into two of the world’s tallest buildings at the World Trade Center in New York City. Another plane smashed into the Pentagon building in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Passengers on the fourth plane fought with the terrorists, and it crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Thousands of people died that day. It was a very sad day in America.

TERRORISTS STRIKE AMERICA

TERRORISTS STRIKE AMERICA

TERRORISTS STRIKE AMERICA

TERRORISTS STRIKE AMERICA

President George Bush decided that America would fight back. He committed to a War on Terrorism in response to the events of September 11. Besides finding the people responsible for attacking America, he wanted to prevent terrorist activities all over the world. The War on Terrorism will be different from other wars and will last a long time. It will include:

TERRORISTS STRIKE AMERICA

Increasing America’s security Searching for terrorists Destroying camps where terrorists are

trained Forming alliances with other countries to

fight terrorism Dealing with countries that let terrorists

live there Finding out who gives terrorists money Putting America’s military into position

for military action

WHO IS THE ENEMY America’s first step was to try to find

Osama bin Laden, a terrorist believed to have planned the September 11 attack. The United States military moved into Afghanistan to look for him and for members of his terrorist group Al-Qa’eda. The military destroyed many terrorist camps there but did not capture bin Laden.

WHO IS THE ENEMY Then, the War on Terrorism moved

into Iraq. The Iraq dictator, Saddam Hussein, was suspected of helping terrorists. He also refused to fully cooperate with the United Nations when they wanted to send inspectors to Iraq to look for powerful weapons. The U.S. government was afraid he would give those weapons to terrorists.

WHO IS THE ENEMY Troops from the U.S. and other

nations entered Iraq in March 2003. The Iraq government fell quickly, and Hussein was captured in December 2003. Iraq was now free from a brutal dictator. Many soldiers remained in Iraq to help establish a new democratic government.

GEORGIA STANDARDSSS5H9b. Explain the impact the development of the personal computer and Internet has had on American life.

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER You may find this hard to believe, but there was a time when people did not have personal computers at home and at work. You are very fortunate to have the benefits of such technology at your fingertips.

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER The development of the personal computer and the Internet has had an incredible impact on American life. Personal computers were first sold in the late 1970s. They helped businesses be more productive. Personal computers were first used in offices but then people started buying them to use at home.

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER The Internet lets users of personal computers get information from thousands of sources. It also helps users communicate with people all over the world. Here’s a list of just a few ways the personal computer and Internet have impacted Americans:

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER People can work at home and spend more

time with their families. People can research information for work,

school, or for fun. Businesses can exchange information

quickly. Students can take college courses online. Families living apart can stay close

through e-mail. People can save time and purchase

products online.

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER Too Much of a Good Thing; Computers can be unhealthy when

people spend too much time on them. Some adults who work at home work too much. They need to take a break. Some very shy people use the Internet for their social life because it’s hard for them to make friends. That’s not good…it’s always better for people to be around others.

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER Kids and adults can spend hours on

the computer and not get any exercise. That’s not good…the human body needs to be used to stay healthy.

YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER Not everything on the Internet is

good for you to see or read. Your parents should decide what you can see on the Internet. And, not everything you read on the Internet is true. You need to compare resources when you do research.