From Watergate to the end of the Cold War

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to C on Watergate and what followed (the excerpt is exact; the summaries are in our words). Card A, "Ford's first remarks as President". Who made it: President Gerald R. Ford, in remarks after taking the oath of office. When: August 9, 1974. For whom: Congress and the American public. Why: to speak to the nation on his first day in office. Excerpt (Remarks on taking the oath of office, August 9, 1974): "I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government, but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad. In all my public and private acts as your President, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end. My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a Government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule." Card B, "Laws after Watergate". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Senate's history lists several laws that followed the Watergate investigation. A 1974 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act set limits on campaign expenses and contributions, made election committees file regular reports, and provided public money for presidential nominating conventions and primaries. The Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 opened federal agency meetings to the public. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 made officials in the executive and judicial branches report their finances. Card C, "Watergate, in brief". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In the early hours of June 17, 1972, five burglars entered the Democratic National Committee's offices in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. A guard called the police, who arrested them, and the FBI began an investigation. On February 7, 1973, the Senate voted 77 to 0 to create a special committee to look into the 1972 campaign. (The Senate has 100 members.) Its hearings began on May 17, 1973, and television showed them live. In 1974 the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment, on obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress. President Nixon told the nation on August 8, 1974, that he would resign. He said he had lost the support in Congress that he thought he needed, and that the interest of the nation must come before personal considerations. The full House had not voted.

2. 1.

   Congress passed laws on campaign money, open meetings and officials' finances in 1974, 1976 and 1978. Ari weighs why. Which judgment do the cards support?

   • The inquiry into campaign activity and secrecy was probably a main cause, since the laws target those subjects
   • The televised hearings alone explain the laws, and the break-in and the charges in 1974 played no part
   • The cards show that Watergate was the sole reason for the laws, so other causes can be ruled out entirely
   • Ford's promise of openness on his first day was the main cause, since the Sunshine Act of 1976 opened agency meetings
3. 2.

   Ford said, "Our Constitution works." Which detail on the cards best supports that claim of continuity for Bo?

   • Five burglars were arrested after a guard called the police to the Watergate offices in June 1972
   • A Senate committee and a House committee each acted within its own power before the change of Presidents
   • Nixon resigned before the full House voted, so the steps the Constitution sets out were skipped
   • The Senate hearings were shown live on television, so the public could watch the investigation as it happened in the Senate
4. 3.

   A classmate says, "The whole Senate backed the committee." Using the vote in Card C, how should Jun reply?

   • About 77 percent of senators backed it and about 23 percent opposed it, since 77 plus 23 is 100
   • The vote shows the full Senate of 100 backed it, since not one senator voted against the resolution in the chamber
   • No senator voted against it, but only 77 of 100 voted, so the card cannot show how the other 23 felt
   • The vote shows the Senate already doubted Nixon, since the hearings that followed went badly for the President

5. Use this

   Cards A to C on the Camp David summit (the excerpt is exact; the summaries are in our words). Card A, "The Camp David Framework for peace". Who made it: President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. When: September 17, 1978. For whom: the signing governments, their peoples and other nations. Why: to state the aim of a peace framework after the Camp David summit. Excerpt (A Framework for Peace in the Middle East Agreed at Camp David, September 17, 1978, preamble): "Taking these factors [the points listed above] into account, the parties are determined to reach a just, comprehensive, and durable settlement of the Middle East conflict through the conclusion of peace treaties based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 in all their parts. Their purpose is to achieve peace and good neighborly relations. They recognize that, for peace to endure, it must involve all those who have been most deeply affected by the conflict." Card B, "The summit and the treaty". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Camp David summit ran from September 5 to 17, 1978. President Jimmy Carter hosted President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. It ended with two framework agreements. On March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty. The treaty was between those two countries. Card C, "Two words and two resolutions". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A framework states the main points and aims that governments agree on and leaves details for later talks. A treaty is a binding agreement signed by governments. United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 was adopted in November 1967 and Resolution 338 in October 1973.

6. 4.

   Kira reads the preamble in Card A. Which claim does the preamble support by itself?

   • The signers stated an aim of a settlement of the conflict based on two Security Council resolutions
   • The signers had settled the Middle East conflict by the time these words were written and signed
   • The signers rejected the earlier Security Council resolutions and chose to start the talks anew
   • The signers agreed that the three governments at the summit were the whole group affected by the conflict
7. 5.

   The preamble aims at a "comprehensive" settlement. Card B says Egypt and Israel signed a treaty on March 26, 1979. How should Luz fit these together?

   • The treaty shows the aim was reached in full, since a treaty came after the summit ended
   • The two conflict, so a historian should throw out the one that was written first in time and keep the other
   • The treaty shows the signers did not mean their preamble, since the wider aim was not fully reached within a year, so the signers' words meant little
   • The treaty reached part of the aim, peace between two countries, so the summit was partly successful but not comprehensive
8. 6.

   The preamble relies on Resolutions 242 and 338. What does that show Milo about continuity?

   • The 1978 framework built on earlier international agreements instead of starting from nothing, with links to 1967 and 1973
   • The summit reversed earlier United Nations policy, since the resolutions date from years before 1978 and the talks began again
   • Both resolutions were adopted at the Camp David summit in September 1978 along with the framework
   • The three leaders at the summit knew the numbers of the resolutions and the order they were passed

9. Use this

   Cards A to C on how the Soviet Union ended (all three are summaries in our words, not quotations). Card A, "Gorbachev and Eastern Europe, 1985 to 1990". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet leader in March 1985. In 1989 Poland and Hungary moved toward elected governments, and on November 9, 1989, East Germany announced that its borders were open. By summer 1990 the countries of Eastern Europe had elected governments, and Germany was whole again. Card B, "August 1991". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In August 1991 hard-line Communists tried to take power from Gorbachev, and the coup failed. In the months after it, several of the Soviet Union's republics declared themselves independent. Card C, "December 1991". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In early December 1991 the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met in Belarus and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States, which in effect ended the Soviet Union. Gorbachev resigned as the Soviet president on December 25, 1991, and the Soviet flag came down from the Kremlin for the last time.

10. 7.

    Noah weighs the causes of the Soviet Union's end in December 1991. Which judgment do Cards A to C best support?

    • The cards show several developments, changes in Eastern Europe, a failed coup and the republics' steps, with none ranked first
    • The opening of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 was meant to end the Soviet Union two years later, by leaders' plan
    • The failed coup of August 1991 was the sole cause, since the end came within months of the coup and its failure in August of that year
    • Gorbachev's resignation caused the Soviet Union to end, so the republics' own choices were minor
11. 8.

    Pia sorts events into long-run conditions and immediate steps toward the Soviet end. Which sorting fits the dates on the cards?

    • Gorbachev's rule from 1985 and the changes of 1989 as long-run conditions; the Belarus meeting and the resignation as immediate steps
    • The resignation on December 25 as the single immediate step, with the Belarus meeting as a long-run condition
    • The Belarus meeting and the resignation as long-run conditions; Gorbachev's rule from 1985 as the one immediate step toward the end of the Union
    • The opening of the Wall and the failed coup as immediate steps; the Belarus meeting as a long-run condition
12. 9.

    One writer dates the end of the Soviet Union to early December 1991 and another to December 25. Why might Tala accept that both have a case?

    • The Belarus meeting in early December formed a body that in effect ended the Union, while the Soviet presidency ended on December 25
    • Both dates are fixed by the Soviet flag coming down, so the early-December date is a later writer's mistake
    • One writer counts the republics' independence and the other the Soviet state, so the two dates cannot be compared
    • The Belarus meeting ended the Soviet presidency in early December, and the Commonwealth was formed when Gorbachev resigned on December 25
13. 10.

    A classmate says, "The Cold War ended on November 9, 1989." How should Zee reply, using the dates on the cards?

    • Right, since after November 9, 1989 the division of Germany was over, and with it the center of the Cold War
    • Right, since the cards show the end of the Soviet Union followed from the Wall's opening, making it the decisive date
    • The Wall's opening was a major step, but the Soviet Union lasted until December 1991, so it depends on what "ended" means
    • Wrong, since the Cold War ended in 1985 when Gorbachev took power and began to change the Soviet Union