Key questions are asked and answered by the Cuba War and Peace Powerpoint lecture units I and II.

Students understand the key geopolitical, historical, social and internal dynamics of U.S-Cuba relations, 1895-1952. Learners evaluate the role of geography, imperialism, slavery, island ethnicity, resources and power, which have shaped Cuba’s culture over time. Students consider the causes and consequences of the conditions independence movement leading up to the Cuban Revolution.

Particular attention is paid to the Eisenhower, Castro, Khrushchev and Kennedy administrations, including the Bay of Pigs incident, Cuban Missile Crisis and the Trading with the Enemy Act that has criminalized travel to Cuba since 1960.Consideration is given to the political dynamics affecting Cuban people on both sides of the Florida straits.

Analyzing the news events using primary and secondary historical sources — textual facts, still photography and film footage — students weigh the merits and detriments of publicizing dramatic war scenes through mass media. After placing the imagery in context with major turning points of the Vietnam War, students consider independent journalism’s impact on policy-makers, military strategists and public opinion.

Content Advisory: Some images depict graphic scenes of violence from the Vietnam War. Teachers are asked to exercise caution when adapting lessons for younger grades.

6″We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds.”06

“…I was convinced that the military course we were pursuing was not only endless, but hopeless. A further substantial increase in American forces could only increase the devastation and the Americanization of the war, and thus leave us even further from our goal of a peace that would permit the people of South Vietnam to fashion their own political and economic institutions.”

“We have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.”

Dylan states the song is about personal perception and the dynamism of a culture in constant evolution, a concept which resonated with the “hippies” of the 1960’s.

“With America’s sons in the fields far away, with America’s future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world’s hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office — the Presidency of your country.”

Unit goals and learning outcomes are rephrased as questions in the Unit V worksheet for easy assessment of knowledge acquisition.

12Unit V teaches students (9-12 and college) to understand the key geopolitical, domestic and internal dynamics shaping the Vietnam War 1968-1969. Experiential learning activity engages students in an analysis of the iconic photography from the War. Students analyze primary source documents and apply factual data to inquiry-based activities.

“Pacification” “Quagmire” “Stalemate” are among the vocabulary which provide a functional literacy of the strategic planning and public vernacular of Vietnam War.

Each slide asks and answers the Student Essential Questions through compelling imagery, quotes and expert summary. Unit vocabulary is highlighted and italicized for easy identification and correspondence with student vocabulary worksheet. Key concepts are reinforced throughout the presentation, allowing sufficient opportunity for students to connect the Vietnam War to the citizen activism of the counter-culture era within the United States.

They are asked to account for the progress of the Vietnam War and the evident U.S. strategic failures reported to the public during the Tet Offensive, 1968.

A document from the North Vietnamese internal Lao Dong Communist party training document reports “Great and unprecedented successes recorded in all fields during the first-month phase of the General Offensive and General Uprising” against the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces during the Tet Offensive, 1968.