The Rise and fall of the United States as world peacekeeper 1898-1930

For a majority of years between 1898 and 1930, the United States took on responsibility as the peacekeeper of the world. This status, though not the super power status of the United States, declined over the years until it ended in 1930. What factors led to this rise, and then fall, of the United States as a peacekeeper of the world?

The learners will examine the effects of the Spanish-American War, the ensuing era of overseas expansion, and World War I through pictures, articles, and videos, as well as resources that they find in their independent research in an effort to answer the question of "What factors led to this rise, and then fall, of the United States as a peacekeeper of the world?" and  "Could the United States go throught this again?", so as to meet the following Ohio Education Standards of American History:

"As a result of overseas expansion, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, the U.S. emerged as a super power."

"After World War I, the United States pursued effortrs to maintain peace in the world. However, as a result of the national debate over the Versailles Treaty ratification and the League of Nations, the U.S. moved away from the role of world peacekeeper and limited its involvement in international Affairs."

Furthermore, the following Knowledge standard from the NCSS's National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies is also met through the completion of this WebQuest:

Time, Continuity, And Change: High School learners will understand the importance of knowledge of the past to an understanding of the present and to informed decision-making about the future

To set the stage, the United States in 1898 had just won the Spanish-American War, which would launch the United States into a crescendo as it built momentum, ultimately resulting in its rise as a super power. While the Spanish-American War victory did indeed play a vital role-and thus will act as the starting point for your quest to find the answers to the question stated in the Introduction-there were other factors that impacted our ability to carry out world peace through enforcing our will on other nations in its rising times as well.

For day 1, we will watch a video on the Spanish-American War as a review of what was covered last unit.

Spanish-American War video

On day 2, you will be split into teams of 3-4 in order to deliver a briefing as a group to the class. Each of you will research one of the overall impacting forces: the Spanish-American War, Overseas Expansion, and World War I and develop a group briefing on the topic you covered. The information in the links provided in the webquest are to serve as a starting point for a broader research into your topic. In addition to the three links provided below, you should have at leat 2-4 additional resources that you found through your own research about the topic included in your briefing. You will be given an additional day for research.

Spanish-American War

A video was watched with the class, though more documentaries on the Spanish-American War can be found on youtube, teachertube, and a variety of other video streaming websites. Therefore, any videos aside from the first that you cite will count towards your additional resources.

Article

Pictures 

Overseas Expansion

Video

Pictures

Article

World War I

Video

Pictures

Article

On days 4 and 5, you will collaborate with your group and decide whether the situation of the United States having no choice but to step back from being a peacekeeping nation and answer the question as to whether the United States can be put in this position again, and answer the why and how of that question as well. Come to an agreement, and then prepare a presentation for the class on your findings. You will be allowed-but not required-to utilize multimedia for your presentation.

Following day 5, each group will have an opportunity to present their findings in a group presentation, with the other students listening and taking notes over each other group's presentation. We will then hold a mock congress and decide whether or not the United States, as it stands, risks losing its peacekeeper status.

Presentation

Utilizing the information you gained through the process step, create a presentation for the class in which you teach your fellow students about your findings, as well as the conclusion to the two questions that were mentioned in both the Introduction and Process steps. You will have a 10 minute time limit which you will need to utlize fully in order to convey all relevant information and state your case. After the class has heard from all of the groups, we will convene the classroom senate, and debate whether or not we as a nation are at risk of losing our status as world peacekeepers. Further, if it is decided that we are, we will as a class answer two questions: What, if anything, can be done to stop us from losing this status, and whether or not we should stop this loss of status.

If it is decided that we are not in danger of losing the ability and status of world peacekeeper, we will discuss how we should further use this status to further our goals of world peace.

Your group grade will be established through the use of the following rubric. An individual grade on active listening, as well as participation in the class senate, will also be developed and passed out for your information at a later time.

Total score: /100

Through the course of this webquest, and your own research, you have gained new insight into how the United States became a super power, how we lost the ability to maintain world peace, and hopefully came to a solid conclusion as to whether or not our country stands to lose this ability once more. The first time it happened, the result a short time later was a second World War, although there were several other factors included with this. However, one cannot help but wonder if Nazi Germany would have decided to attempt to conquer Europe had they seen that America's ability to maintain world peace still existed.