Name: _______________________

Authentic Assessment: A letter to the President

“Those who do not learn history, are bound to repeat it.”

-George Santayana

Using the knowledge that you have gained from learning about the many aspects of the Cold War, write
a letter to President Trump’s administration, explaining how you propose he handles the current
situation between the US and North Korea. Consider how it relates to the history of the Cold War which
we have studied this unit. What is the best plan of action that he can take, as the President of the
American people?

These letters will be sent to Washington D.C and will address the President. It needs to be written in
proper format, be grammatically correct, professional and appropriate. In order to show me, as well as
the President, that you understand the history of this situation, you need to clearly state your proposal
in a precise thesis statement and draw on at least three historical facts that we learned this unit, as part
of your reasoning. This might also include using the skill of addressing an opposing argument and
disputing it (explain why a different option is not the best option).

I will use the following rubric to assess your letter, before sending it off to Washington D.C.

Does Not Meet

Exemplary Meets Standard Standard/Needs Your
Revision scores:
The thesis is clear and The thesis is vague Does not have a
Thesis efficiently argues and does not express thesis statement
your proposal an exact position /7
The letter includes at The letter includes 2 The project includes
Historical least 3 pieces of pieces of historical 1 piece of historical
historical evidence to evidence to support evidence to support
Knowledge
support the argument the argument the argument /7
The letter is void of The letter has few The letter has many
Grammar/ grammatical errors grammatical errors grammatical errors
and is written in and is written in a and is not written in
Professionalism
proper format & with mostly professional a professional or
a professional voice voice & proper proper format /6
format

Total: /20
Outline of what you know:
o Truman o Eisenhower
o Policy of Containment o Arms Race
o Chinese Civil War o Brinkmanship
o Korean War o Massive Retaliation
o Berlin Airlift o More Containment Policies
o Domestic Red Scare o Kennedy
o Johnson o Cuban Missile Crisis
o Vietnam War o More Containment Policies
o Flexible Response

Possible Extra Research Material:

A Timeline and Explanation of where we are now: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-u-s-and-north-korea-
on-the-brink-a-timeline/

Video Timeline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd_oas0qlD4

Here’s Why Trump Meeting Kim is a Huge Deal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTXFc53CBdM

What is Trump Risking by Meeting with Kim Jong Un? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-iAqzo1Xd8

A Threat to Peace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIAF7kBbGKk

China and Russia Train for War with US if Trump invades N. Korea: http://www.newsweek.com/china-could-fight-
us-war-north-korea-breaks-out-751779

Military Comparison of N. Korea vs. U.S. (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c25iUHcD1uc

Who would win the war between N. Korea and U.S: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w10dgthpDqY

What war would look like with N. Korea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYDTjkTi-2o

North Korea willing to talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTM-iekD5fo

Regular things that are illegal in N. Korea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_z5V3ycN8

Organization of your paper:

1st P: Introduction and your thesis statement.

2nd P: Explain how your proposed policy/action would work.

o What components would this policy include? Who would if effect?

3rd P: Explain why you think it would be the best option.

o What have you learned from the Cold War that tells you this is the best option? When did you
see a policy similar to this go well, when did you see a different policy turn out poorly?
Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement from: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

 An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific
evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect
statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience
that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

“High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering
college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.”

The paper that follows this thesis should:

 Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue
community projects before entering college. (In your paper: Give evidence to support why your
policy proposal is the best option)

Your Thesis Statement: ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

My Evidence: My Reasoning: