Did Joe McCarthy go too far?
Introduction
It is 1954. The Cold War between the
Stalin and the
Task
Your
task is to investigate the events during the McCarthy era. You will be prosecutor,
defense attorney, and jury. As you look through several events of the 1950s,
you will see what evidence supports the prosecution, what evidence supports the
defense. After you have accumulated the evidence, you will then evaluate it and
come up with an innocent or guilty verdict. You must than write a one page
essay justify your decision.
Process
This is the process that you should use to get information on
Joseph McCarthy and Communism at the time. Gather evidence for both sides. The
defense can look to the
1.
Identify the
Problem- What is Joseph McCarthy on trial for? Identify problem
2.
Gather Evidence- What information do the
websites give you on life under Joseph Stalin? What were the results of some of
McCarthy’s hearings? How were lives affected? Gather evidence
3.
Determine the
causal factors behind the issues. What
were anti-Communists in the
4.
Evaluate the
Policy- What should be done to Joseph McCarthy, in light of this information?
Is he a defender of
5.
Comparative
Analysis- How does this compare with my expectations and the expectations of my
peers? How does this compare with what I’ve learned about Joseph McCarthy,
Communism, and the Bill of Rights from other sources? Comparative
analysis
Resources
General background:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/mccarthyism.html
For the defense:
http://www.trussel.com/hf/stalin.htm
http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/stalin.htm
A pro-McCarthy site: http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1996/vo12no18/vo12no18_mccarthy.htm
For the prosecution:
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schrecker-age.html
Here are some citations from
the above site that are particularly useful:
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/congcomms.html
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schrecker-blacklist.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthyism.htm
Evaluation
Category |
Worksheets |
Evidence Used |
Verdict and Explanation |
Excellent 5 |
Shows clear understanding of social problem, its causes, and public policy that arose from it. |
Uses multiple pieces of evidence based on documents, website links, other sources |
Has correct format, stated and analyzed the problem, created and considered possible solutions and evaluated historical situation |
Good 4 |
Shows a good understanding, with few errors |
Uses little evidence from each side. |
Has few errors in format. Missing depth in solutions or historical evaluation. |
Satisfactory 3 |
Shows little understanding, with many errors. |
Uses evidence from only one side. |
Has several errors in format. Missing analysis of solutions or historical evaluation. |
Needs Improvement 2 |
Lacks understanding. Large segments of worksheet are incomplete. |
Uses little evidence from only one side. |
Incorrect format, Missing |
Unsatisfactory 1 |
Incomplete/ Not turned in. |
No Evidence from research used. |
Incomplete / Not turned in. |
Your grade will be determined
as follows:
Grade of A, you need a total of 13-15 points.
Grade of B, you need a total of 11-12 points.
Grade of C, you need a total of 9-10 points.
Grade of D, you need a total of 7-8 points.
Grade of F, is less than 7 points.
Standards
Social Studies: Standard
2
·
The
student will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding
of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in world history,
and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
Social Studies: Standard
3
·
The
student will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live-
local, national, and global- including the distribution of people, places, and
environments over the Earth’s surface.
English Language Arts:
Standard 1
·
Students will read,
write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
English Language Arts:
Standard 4
·
Students will read,
write, listen, and speak for social interaction.