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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The foreign and domestic policies of Lyndon B. Johnson

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders study and evaluate the successes and failures of LBJ's domestic and foreign policies. They formulate historical questions and defend findings based on inquiry and interpretation. Each student identifies, analyzes and...
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Unit Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Woodrow Wilson and Foreign Policy

For Students 9th - 10th
A thorough review of Woodrow Wilson's foreign policies in these four lessons offered by EDSITEment. Learn the origins of "Wilsonianism," Wilson's views on relations with countries in Latin America, Wilson's decision to enter World War I,...
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Primary
Mount Holyoke College

International Relations: William Howard Taft: Dollar Diplomacy

For Students 9th - 10th
President Taft's 1912 comments on his foreign policy that substituted "dollars for bullets."
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Primary
US Army Center

U.s. Army Center of Military History: Peace Becomes Cold War, 1945 1950

For Students 9th - 10th
A discussion of historical events that led to the Cold War from the perspective of the U.S. Army. Particular emphasis is placed on military leadership and policy.
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Website
Other

Overseas Security Advisory Council

For Students 9th - 10th
Everything you wanted to know about the Overseas Security Advisory Council - "an enormously succcessful joint venture for effective security cooperation. Topics include: Global News, What's New, Publications, and Site Search, among others.
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Handout
Other

New American Nation: Internationalism and Interwar Isolationism

For Students 9th - 10th
This essay by two foreign policy scholars gives background to the concept that the United States did not really become isolationist after World War I.
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Handout
Other

Encyclopedia of the New American Nation: Dollar Diplomacy

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive essay explains the goals of William Howard Taft's foreign policy during his presidency and how it reflected U.S. relations with countries in Latin America and with China. Comparisons are made with the goals of Taft's...
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Primary
Bartleby

Bartleby.com: Theodore Roosevelt: The Big Stick and the Square Deal

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the text from Roosevelt's autobiography, in which he writes candidly of the Big Stick Policy and the Square Deal.
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Article
Bartleby

Bartleby.com: Theodore Roosevelt: Military Preparedness and Unpreparedness

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this essay from Roosevelt's, "The Strenuous Life," in which he discusses U.S. military forces, primarily in terms of the Spanish-American War. Excellent primary source!
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Website
Other

Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress

For Students 9th - 10th
The Center for the Study of the Presidency is a non-partisan and non-profit corporation. Inspired by Dwight Eisenhower's 1969 call for programs on the American Presidency for 'students old and young.'
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Foreign Policy 1890 1914: Roosevelt's "Big Stick" Foreign Policy

For Students 11th - 12th
The 'Big Stick' foreign policy of Theodore Roosevelt is explained, and how it was used in the building of the Panama Canal and to maneuver an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
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Website
Other

Center for Strategic & International Studies

For Students 9th - 10th
"The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a public policy research institution dedicated to analysis and policy impact." Site gives student information and research on topics of national and international security.
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: American Foreign Policy 1890 1914: Taft's "Dollar Diplomacy"

For Students 11th - 12th
Examines how William Howard Taft replaced Roosevelt's 'Big Stick' policy with his own concept of 'dollar diplomacy' where he leveraged America's economic power against its imperialistic interests around the world.
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Website
Other

Foreign Policy Association

For Students 9th - 10th
The FPA is an "organization founded in 1918 to educate Americans about significant world issues that have an important impact on their lives." Gives students an opportunity to take part in activities through the Great Decisions program.
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Website
University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill: American Diplomacy

For Students 9th - 10th
An on-line magazine that provides "Commentary, Analysis, and Research on American Foreign Policy and Its Practice." Also contains articles from actual ambassadors and diplomats in the Foreign Service.
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Primary
Patrick McSherry

Spanish American War Centennial: Blessed Bunnies: Theodore Roosevelt Writes Home to His Children

For Students 9th - 10th
Letters from Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt to his children who he affectionately called his "blessed bunnies". Roosevelt writes from Tampa Florida during the Spanish-American War.
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Website
Other

The Henry L. Stimson Center: Homepage

For Students 9th - 10th
"The Henry L. Stimson Center is an independent, nonprofit, public policy institute committed to finding and promoting innovative solutions to the security challenges confronting the United States and other nations in the twenty-first...
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Handout
US Department of State

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: John Watson Foster (1836 1917)

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of John Foster, a statesman who rose through the ranks to become a Colonel in the Union Army and later appointed Secretary of State by Benjamin Harrison in 1892.
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Handout
US Department of State

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Walter Quintin Gresham (1832 1895)

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography on Walter Gresham who was nominated by Grover Cleveland to the office of Secretary of State where he served until his death in May, 1895.
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Handout
US Department of State

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Richard Olney (1835 1917)

For Students 9th - 10th
Short bio of Richard Olney who served as Secretary of State for approximately 2 years under President Grover Cleveland and ran for the Democratic presidential nominee in 1904.
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Handout
US Department of State

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Charles Evans Hughes (1862 1948)

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Charles Hughes provides a brief description of his life, rise to prominence and influence on American diplomacy.
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Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Grover Cleveland: Foreign Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
Grover Cleveland's foreign policies were similar in both of his terms as president, interrupted by a presidential term of Benjamin Harrison. Read about his use of the Monroe Doctrine and some of the successes he had.
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Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Warren G. Harding: Foreign Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the Harding presidency's approach to foreign policy through the ideas of Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, and Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Reaching to Asia

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about American entrance into the spheres of influence in Asia beginning as early as Commadore Perry and his opening of Japan. Find out about American policy in China, Theodore Roosevelt's Nobel Peace Prize, and U.S. relations with...