14 – The Contemporary United States
1. Explain an example from one of the assigned primary sources that demonstrates either how the Bush administration responded to the 9/11 attacks or why the Bush administration advocated for the invasion of Iraq.
2. Explain an example from one of the assigned primary sources that demonstrates the challenges/tensions that followed the invasion of Iraq. (To answer this question, it will be necessary to utilize one of the supplementary primary sources assigned in module 14.)
3. Explain an example from one of the assigned primary sources that demonstrates the increasing acceptance of homosexuality in American society during the early 21st century.
4. Explain an example from one of the assigned primary sources that demonstrates race-related tensions in American society during the 21st century. (To answer this question, it will be necessary to utilize one of the supplementary primary sources assigned in module 14.)
5. The authors of The American Promise describe in chapter 31 the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. Referring to The American Promise and assigned primary source evidence, what prompted the 9/11 terrorist attacks? How did Americans, including both ordinary citizens and President George W. Bush, respond to the attacks? What impacts did the attacks have on American society?
6. Following the 9/11 the Bush administration ordered the United States military into Afghanistan to root out the terrorist network responsible for the attacks. Over the course of the next eighteen months, the Bush administration also built the case for an invasion of Iraq. Utilizing The American Promise and assigned primary source evidence, for what reasons did the Bush administration advocate for an invasion of Iraq? What examples from the primary sources demonstrate the doctrine of preemption? To what extent was the decision to invade Iraq supported or opposed?
