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Cold War and Decolonization

Driving Question: How did people and governments try to reshape the global order after the Second World War?

World War II may have ended, but global struggles over power and freedom continued. In this lesson you’ll step into a world divided by ideology and energized by revolution.

Learning Objectives

  1. Use evidence to evaluate how the Cold War and decolonization are intertwined in the history of this period.
  2. Use the historical thinking practice of continuity and change over time to analyze communities, networks, and production and distribution after the Second World War.

Vocab Terms:

  • apartheid
  • decolonization
  • empire
  • ideological
  • protest
  • superpower
  • union
STEP 1

Opener: Cold War and Decolonization

Coming soon

STEP 2

Looking Ahead

The end of World War II left the world at a crossroads. Start exploring how independence movements and global rivalries emerged together, reshaping the balance of power across continents.

STEP 3

New Global Conflicts

After the Second World War, global empires crumbled and new tensions rose. Learn how independence movements, superpower rivalries, and shifting alliances created a new and often unstable global landscape.

Unit 8 Overview External link

The end of the Second World War produced new alliances and new tensions. As the United States and Soviet Union faced off, the dream of global unity dimmed.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 4

Cold War Frames

The Cold War and decolonization were massive, complex conflicts In this step, you’ll practice using the frames of communities, networks, and production and distribution to make sense of how they unfolded and connected to each other.

Frames in Unit 8 External link

As decolonization movements created new nation-states, the Soviet Union and the United States sought to establish networks that would extend their ideologies and influence.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 5

Closer: Cold War and Decolonization

Coming soon!

Extension Materials
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