Back to Standards Index: National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework

Standards Index: D2.His.1.9-12.

Find lessons and videos that align with D2.His.1.9-12.

Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

Image from 9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest Attack on U.S. Soil

9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest Attack on U.S. Soil

Students will learn about Sept. 11, 2001, and specifically about the experience of some of the more than 2,000 New York City emergency workers who sped toward lower Manhattan.
Image from How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan

How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan

Students will learn how the U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks led to decades of war and a chaotic ending."
Image from The War on Terror and the Debate Over Torture

The War on Terror and the Debate Over Torture

Students will learn about the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and the ensuing calls for accountability.
Image from Aftermath of the War on Terror

Aftermath of the War on Terror

Students will learn how the climate of fear and panic following the 9/11 attacks resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of innocent Arab immigrants.
Image from 1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party

1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party

Students will learn how former President Theodore Roosevelt used the newly created direct primary system to challenge incumbent President William Howard Taft for the Republican Party’s nomination in 1912.
Image from Conspiracy Theories: From JFK’s Assassination to Today

Conspiracy Theories: From JFK’s Assassination to Today

Students will learn about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, including surrounding conspiracy theories, to explore the deeply ingrained American tendency to mistrust government – a characteristic of our national political culture that is as old as the Revolution.
Image from Coronavirus: Lessons From Past Epidemics

Coronavirus: Lessons From Past Epidemics

Students will learn lessons from history for dealing with the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic by understanding the connections to previous global public health campaigns to eradicate smallpox and polio.
Image from Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats

Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats

Students will learn how the issue of slavery caused a split in the Democratic Party that led to the Civil War and paved the way for 50 years of Republican dominance in national politics.
Image from Extremism, ISIS and the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s

Extremism, ISIS and the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s

Students will learn how the wave of extreme cults that swept the U.S. in the 1970s holds surprising lessons for confronting 21st century international terrorism.
Image from How Watergate and Citizens United Shaped Campaign Finance Law

How Watergate and Citizens United Shaped Campaign Finance Law

Students will learn how the Watergate break-in and the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon changed the way political campaigns were funded, and what that means for today.
Image from Jimmy Carter and the Rise of Evangelical Voters

Jimmy Carter and the Rise of Evangelical Voters

Students will learn how the cultural and political trends of the 1960s and 1970s led to heightened political engagement among evangelical Christians and the emergence of a powerful new conservative movement.
Image from Protests For Racial Justice: A Long History

Protests For Racial Justice: A Long History

Students will learn how current protests against police violence and racial inequality are connected to the past, and about the White House commission that released a report in the aftermath of the major urban disorders of 1967.
Image from Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)

Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)

Students will learn how President Reagan’s administration, trying to stop Soviet communist influence around the world, supported authoritarian regimes, and the impact that had in El Salvador and in the U.S. then and now.
Image from The Civil Rights Movement Expands: Busing

The Civil Rights Movement Expands: Busing

Students will learn what happened in 1971 when the U.S. Supreme Court authorized the use of cross-town busing to desegregate schools, and why much of the integration achieved through busing has unraveled in the last two decades.
Image from The Civil Rights Movement: Black Power and Sports

The Civil Rights Movement: Black Power and Sports

Students will learn about protests in the 1960s among black athletes including Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and members of the 1968 U.S. Olympics team, and how their actions relate to modern protestors like Colin Kaepernick.
Image from The Clinton Presidency: “Zero Tolerance”

The Clinton Presidency: “Zero Tolerance”

Students will learn the social and political forces that led schools to adopt “zero tolerance” discipline policies in the 1980s and 1990s, and the racially unequal consequences of these policies today.
Image from The Cold War and the Nuclear Weapons Threat

The Cold War and the Nuclear Weapons Threat

Students will learn about the Cold War-era nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, and its connection to the threat of nuclear conflict today.
Image from The End of the Cold War: Nuclear Winter

The End of the Cold War: Nuclear Winter

Students will learn how a scientific theory of “nuclear winter” shifted the debate over nuclear weapons in the 1980s, and how that hypothesis connects to the 21st century challenge of climate change.
Image from The Space Race: The Challenger Tragedy

The Space Race: The Challenger Tragedy

Students will learn about the development of the nation’s space program, including a seminal event during Ronald Reagan’s presidency: the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and its lasting aftermath.
Image from Vietnam War: Agent Orange

Vietnam War: Agent Orange

Students will learn why the U.S. military decided to spray a defoliant chemical called Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and the lingering effects of that decision decades later.
Image from Watts Uprising and the Militarization of Policing

Watts Uprising and the Militarization of Policing

Students will learn how racial discontent in the 1960s led to the creation of the nation’s first SWAT team, how the War on Drugs of the 1980s caused SWAT teams to be repurposed for drug raids, and how, in recent years, the SWAT approach to policing has fueled a nationwide trend: the militarization of local police departments.