Welcome back for our final week of Quarter 1. We'll have "regular" lessons today and tomorrow. Wednesday will be our Unit #6 "Two-Minute Reviews," and we'll wrap up with the Unit #6 Exam on Thursday and Friday. (Thursday is the Identification Exam, and the Objective Exam is Friday. You need to turn in the Unit #6 Essay Exam no later than your arrival for class on Friday.) More information below on this.
Homework for tomorrow - Tuesday, October 21st:
Unit #6 "Two-Minute Review": We'll set up our review activity that will take place on Wednesday.
Current Events #2: Your final batch of Current Events for the quarter are due today. We will spend some time talking about them here at the top.
The United States in Latin America: Even a casual reading of the assignment for today should make it clear that the United States has a long record of intervention in Latin America. I have not checked all examples on this site for accuracy or anything, but here is a long list of United States interventions in Latin America.
We'll have you look at some editorial cartoons on US foreign policy towards Latin America here as well.
Specifics of which you should be aware:
- Monroe Doctrine (1823)
- Roosevelt Corollary (1904)
- Spanish-American War
- Panama Canal (Google map) (Panama Canal Museum)
Discussion: United States Foreign Policy - Then and Now
We've talked, directly and indirectly, about a number of events in the history of American foreign policy over the last couple of weeks. Some of them were quite noble and well-intentioned, others were less so. Here's your chance to talk about events from both then and now.
First, let's focus on "then."
- Was the United States being imperialistic when it issued the Monroe Doctrine? Why or why not?
- Was "manifest destiny" justified? Why or why not?
- Did the US act appropriately in the Mexican-American War? Why or why not?
- Were US actions in Spanish-American War justified? Why or why not?
- Were US actions in securing land for and building the Panama Canal appropriate? Why or why not?
- Was the Roosevelt Corollary justified? Why or why not?
Second, let's turn to the "now."
- What "limits" should there be on United States' foreign policy? What tools, tactics and strategies are appropriate? Which should not be considered?
- What external factors should influence our foreign policy decisions? Why?
- Are we imperialistic? Should we be?
- What sort of relationship should we pursue with the nations of Latin America?
- Is it time to end our economic embargo on Cuba?
- Should we grant Puerto Rico independence? Statehood?
- Were we correct to turn the Panama Canal Zone over to Panama's control in 1977?
Finish your reading for the quarter in Chapter 28 with Section 4, "Turmoil and Change in Mexico." (pp. 822 - 827) The quiz format will be true/false.
Your Unit #6 "Two-Minute Review" will be due on Wednesday, October 22nd.
The Unit #6 Exam will take place on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, you must complete the Identifications portion of the exam. On Friday, you must complete the Objective Exam. Your Unit #6 Essay is due (printed out and double-spaced) no later than your arrival to class on Friday. More information on the exam is available here.
