25 Important People U.S. History symposium

Directions You have in your groups 2-3 descriptions of important Americans. Take a few minutes to read why they’re important. I will then project a picture of them and you will take turns explaining to the session why they’re important. Each group member must speak.

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller

Henry Ford

William Jennings Bryan

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Teddy Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson

Depression Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Josef Stalin

Joseph McCarthy/The Rosenbergs

Harry S. Truman

Jackie Robinson

Dwight D. Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Malcolm X

Cesar Chavez

Betty Friedan

John Glenn/Neil Armstrong

Richard Nixon

Ronald Reagan

Bill Clinton

George W. Bush

Osama Bin Laden

Let’s Play a game! I will project a description of one of these important people and your group will write on your dry erase boards who you think it’s describing. For every right answer your group gets a point. The top 3 groups get a prize. Let’s go!

1. Invented the internal combustion engine and the Model-T. More importantly, his creation of the Assembly Line led to mass production techniques and affordable automobiles

2. Following the footsteps of MLK, he used peaceful protest tactics like marches, boycotts, and fasting to advocate for Chicano rights, specifically farm workers. Along with Dolores Huerta, he founded the United Farm Workers labor union.

3. Led America to a safer, more peaceful Cold War by establishing “détente” with the Soviets. Opened the door to trading with Communist China, which would make China less communist. The Watergate Scandal would ruin his reputation and make American distrust their politicians.

4. A black Muslim, he advocated the opposite of MLK, saying that African Americans should stand up for themselves if American society was going to be violent toward them. Inspired other protest groups like the Black Panthers.

5. Dictator of the Soviet Union. His aggression and desire to spread Communism set the stage of the Cold War and ignited the Arms Race.

6. These “Captains of Industry” or “Robber Barons” built up American industry. Built monopolies and practiced philanthropy toward the end of their lives.

7. Pushed for the Panama Canal. Focused on breaking up “bad trusts (monopolies)” that hurt the American economy. Set America up as a “global police force” with his “big stick policy” where he believed that America should “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

8. Decided to drop the Atomic Bombs. Desegregated the military. Stood up to Stalin during the Berlin Airlift. Fired General Macarthur

9. During World War Two he led U.S. and Allied troops to victory over the Nazis. Mastermind behind the D-Day invasion of June 6 th, Would support the desegregation of schools demanded by Brown v. the Board of Education. Would create the very important Interstate Highway System. Extended “containment doctrine” to the Middle East to keep Communism out of the rich oil fields of the region.

10. Wrote The Feminine Mystique Founded NOW (the National Organization for Women). Her book and her organization argued that women deserved equality and the opportunity to do what they wanted with their lives, not just be objects and housewives.

11. The first American to orbit the Earth, showing the the U.S was catching up to the Soviet Union in the Space Race. The first man to walk on the moon, showing that the U.S. had won the Space Race.

12. His presidency would see him aggressively try to end the Cold War by building up the military and threatening to create the famous “Star Wars Defense System” Supported by the religious and conservative “moral majority” and the National Rifle Association. The Iran-Contra Affair showed his government selling weapons and funding terrorism.

13. Leader of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Funded and was the mastermind behind the 9/ll attacks and other terrorist attacks in America and around the world. Changed the course of American History and your lives.

14. Shifted the Democratic party to look after the wants and needs of the common man. Along with Samuel Gompers, he would champion the creation of labor unions to protect the working man’s rights.

15. Tried to keep the U.S. out of World War I. Ultimately led the U.S. through WWI and tried to create a lasting peace after through the “League of Nations.” Created the National Parks and the Federal Reserve which regulates banking around the U.S.

16. These three men’s Laissez Faire policies and belief in “rugged individualism” led them to do nothing to stop the corruption that led to the Great Depression. Name one of the three.

17. Broke to color line in major professional sports when he became the first African American baseball player. Opened the door for other African Americans and other minorities in major sports.

18. Another president, another scandal, though his is more personal and less harmful to the American Public. As first president after the Cold War he focused on fixing the national debt and was mostly successful. Had to deal with the growing terrorist threat.

19. McCarthy led the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) on witch hunts of the RED SCARE after World War Two.

20. Narrowly won the election of 2000 Immediately, his presidency effected by 9/11 and then Hurricane Katrina. Would see America go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

21. Major leader of the African American Civil Rights movement who advocated peaceful protest to demand equality. His “I Have A Dream” is one of the most important speeches in U.S. History

22. His book “The Importance of Sea Power Upon History” influenced Teddy Roosevelt and other Americans to build a strong Navy and Military, leading to the U.S. becoming a world power militarily.

23. Led America through the Great Depression and World War Two. New Deal policies led to Relief, Recovery, and Reform for the Depression. Leadership in WWII led to U.S. becoming a superpower.

24. Elected president in Symbolized the hope and youth of the era. Had some rough times with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion but had some shining moments with avoiding nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis and encouraging American space exploration. His assassination of JFK marked a downturn in the youthful hope of the early 1960s.

25. His presidency saw the passing of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which helped African Americans gain equality. Created Great Society programs designed to help the poor like Medicare/Medicaid, Job Corps, and the War on Poverty. His Great Society programs and his reputation dwindled because he got the U.S. involved in Vietnam.