Unit  10  

 

Additional study material and review games are available at www.jonathanfeicht.com. Copyright 2015. For single classroom use only. All rights reserved.  

5th  Grade  Social  Studies                              Recent  History—Trouble  in  the  

Middle  East  Study  Guide  

Unit 10—Recent History & Trouble in the Middle East Study Guide Name: ________________________________

Unit 10—Recent History and Trouble in the Middle East Study Guide For more 5th grade resources to support this unit visit www.jonathanfeicht.com

Copyright 2015. For single classroom use only. All rights reserved.

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SS5H9 The student will trace important developments in American since 1975. a. Describe U.S. involvement in world events; include efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Persian Gulf War and the War on Terrorism in response to September 11, 2001. b. Explain the impact the development of the personal computer and Internet has had on American life. SS5E1e Describe how trade promotes economic activities. SS5E1f Give examples of technological advancements and their impact on business productivity during the continuing development of the United States (such as the development of the personal computer and the Internet).

Vocabulary Resign

To resign means to quit ones job. Richard Nixon became the first president to resign. Some people working to help get Nixon reelected were caught breaking into the Democratic headquarters. Nixon was tried to cover up that he had any knowledge of the break-in, but the truth came out and he resigned.

Coalition

A coalition is a group of allies that work together to achieve a goal. In 1990-91 a coalition led by the United States stopped Iraq from taking over Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

NAFTA was an agreement that Mexico, the United States and Canada could trade with each other without paying many taxes. NAFTA was signed in 1994. This agreement allowed for voluntary exchange, which meant they could trade freely without added cost. The NAFTA agreement was designed to help more trade take place, which would help the economy in all three countries. The increased business greatly increased the amount of money made by all the countries.

Trade Normally when kids hear the word trade, they think of giving up one thing to get something else. In economics, trade usually means that to groups sell things to each other. They aren’t actually trading. For example, the U.S. may sell corn to companies in Mexico and Mexico may sell bananas to companies in the U.S. This is considered trade between the two countries.

Terrorism

Terrorism is when someone uses violence against innocent people to try to achieve a political goal. The September 11, terrorist attacks were one of the most infamous terrorist attacks in history, because more than 2,000 people died.

SS5H9 The student will trace important developments in America since 1975.

a. Describe U.S. involvement in world events; include efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Persian Gulf War, and the War on Terrorism in response to September 11, 2001.

Middle East Peace Efforts The U.S. has been very involved in the Middle East. Our strong alliance with the country of Israel has often made our country unpopular in the Middle East (The country of Israel was created for the Jews after the Holocaust in WWII, but was very unpopular with Muslims in the Middle East, because their land was just given to the Jewish people). President Carter successfully helped make an agreement between Israel and Egypt in 1978. The two countries had been enemies for years. The U.S. also got involved in several wars in the Middle East including preventing Iraq from taking over the country of Kuwait in 1991. The U.S. got involved in Iraq again in 2003, and after taking out the leader Saddam Hussein, ended up serving as peace keeper in the country for the next 8 years, because a Civil War started between the Iraqi people.

Unit 10—Recent History & Trouble in the Middle East Study Guide Name: ________________________________

Unit 10—Recent History and Trouble in the Middle East Study Guide For more 5th grade resources to support this unit visit www.jonathanfeicht.com

Copyright 2015. For single classroom use only. All rights reserved.

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Collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1990-91, causing the Cold War to come to an end. Many protests broke out in parts of the Soviet controlled countries. The Berlin Wall was torn down and many countries declared their independence from the Soviet Union soon after. The Soviet Union fell apart and many new independent countries were formed. Persian Gulf War (1991) The country of Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, tried to take over Kuwait, which was a neighboring country. The U.N. said that Iraq needed to stop or military force would be used against them. Hussein refused to pull out, so the U.N. and the U.S. led a coalition of troops into Kuwait and Iraq to stop him. The war only lasted a few months and Hussein was removed from Kuwait, but kept his spot as dictator of Iraq. The 1st Iraq War is known by several names including: Desert Storm, Persian Gulf War and the Gulf War. The war ended very quickly because the U.S. had many new technologies, which gave them a huge advantage over Iraq. September 11, 2001 September 11, 2001, also known as 9/11, was the largest terrorist attack in American History. Several large airplanes were hi-jacked by terrorists and flown into buildings in the U.S. Two jets crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, one jet crashed into the Pentagon (National Defense Headquarters) and a fourth jet crash-landed in a field in Pennsylvania. A terrorist group known as Al Qaeda, which was led by Osama Bin Laden, carried out the attacks. War on Terrorism (2001-Present) The United States responded to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 by declaring a War on Terrorism. Unlike other wars in our countries history, this war was not fought against a particular country but was fought against terrorists wherever they lived. The main portion of Al Qaeda’s terrorist group was headquartered in Afghanistan, so most people think of the war in Afghanistan as being the War on Terrorism. In reality we were NOT fighting against Afghanistan, but the Afghan government partnered with our military to help take out the terrorist groups that were hiding out in their country. The War on Terrorism has had mixed results. It took 10 years, but Osama bin Laden was finally found and killed in 2011. Many other terrorist leaders have been captured or killed. The downside of the war has been that many terrorist leaders have been taken out by drones or laser guided missiles, which kill the terrorist leaders, but have also killed nearby civilians. These civilian deaths have caused some to dislike the U.S. even more. In 2014, ISIS became a well-known terrorist organization in Iraq and Syria. Many in the U.S. government have debated whether or not the U.S. should continue to be involved in Iraq and fight against ISIS. The war on terror is still continuing to this day. Iraq War (2003-2011) In 2003, the U.S. suspected Iraq of trying to develop weapons of mass destruction (nuclear), so they invaded Iraq. With all their new technology, the U.S. military easily defeated Iraq. Then Iraq turned to Civil War, with two different groups trying to gain power after Saddam Hussein, the leader was removed. It was for this reason that the U.S. had to stay and play the role of peacekeeper for 8 more years, trying to help establish a new government. The U.S. never did find nuclear weapons, but they did find that Hussein had done many terrible things to the people in his own country. The U.S. withdrew its last troops in 2011. Since that time the terrorist group ISIS has taken control of part of the country sending Iraq back into civil war.

Unit 10—Recent History & Trouble in the Middle East Study Guide Name: ________________________________

Unit 10—Recent History and Trouble in the Middle East Study Guide For more 5th grade resources to support this unit visit www.jonathanfeicht.com

Copyright 2015. For single classroom use only. All rights reserved.

4 | P a g e

SS5H9b. Explain the impact the development of the personal computer and Internet has had on American life. The development of the personal computer and the Internet has changed every aspect of life. Business can now be conducted with businesses all around the world in a matter of minutes. The success of technology companies has caused our country’s economy to do incredibly well. Many businesses can make products much quicker because they are run by computers rather than having to manually do the work. In addition, personal lives have forever been changed by the invention of smart phones in 2007. People now have access to all the information they could ever want by typing in a few words on a phone.

People to know: Saddam Hussein-The U.S. actually helped Hussein gain power in Iraq in 1983 during the Iraq/Iran war. Hussein then tried to take over Kuwait in 1990-91, but was stopped by the U.S. and their coalition. Then in 2003, the U.S. suspected him of trying to develop weapons of mass destruction, so they invaded Iraq. With all of the new technology the U.S. military had, they easily defeated Iraq, but then the country turned to Civil War, with two different groups trying to gain power after Hussein was removed. It was for this reason that the U.S. had to stay and play the role of peacekeeper for 8 more years, trying to help establish a new government. Hussein was captured and tried in an Iraqi court and found guilty of many crimes against his own people. He was executed in 2006.

Ronald Reagan-Reagan is known for many things, but in this unit he is most well known for challenging Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, to tear down the Berlin Wall in 1987. Within a few years the Soviet Union had collapsed and more than 15 new countries gained independence.

Mikhail Gorbachev-Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union when it collapsed in 1991. The communist system was simply not successful enough to maintain control of the entire Soviet Union.

Osama Bin Laden-Bin Laden was the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He was also the leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist network. After avoiding capture for 10 years he was finally found and killed in his secret home in Pakistan in 2011.