MERLOT - Multimedia Education Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
Home Communities Learning Materials Member Directory My Profile About Us

Learning Exercise

Become a Member | Log In

Material: Exploring Constitutional Law
Submitted by: William Paquette on Aug 04, 2009
Date Last Modified: Aug 04, 2009
Title: The Alger Hiss Trials
Description: Alger Hiss worked for the State Department. He was arrested for spying for the Soviet Union during the Truman pesidency. This site examines Hiss' guilt.
Type of Task: Individual, Student-centered, Supplemental Activity, Unsupervised
Time Required 3-4 hours.
Topics: Alger Hiss; Richard Nixon; Anti-Communism; The Cold War.
Course: U.S. History
Audience: College General Ed, College Lower Division, High School
Categories:
Prerequisites Skills: None.
Learning Objectives: To evaulate whether or not Alger Hiss was guilty of spying for the Soviet Union during the outbreak of the Cold War.
Technical Notes: None.
Text of Learning Exercise: Instructions: CLICK "go to material." SCROLL down to the bottom of the page. Click "Famous Trials." CLICK "Alger Hiss." READ "The Alger Hiss Trials: An Account. Answer the following questions: 1. Who were Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers?, 2. What was HUAC?, 3. What were the charges against Hiss?, 4. What were the Pumpkin Papers?, 5. What role in Richard Nixon play in the Hiss trials?, 6. Summarize Hiss' defense, 7. Summarize the prosecution's position, 8. How many times was Hiss tried and for what?, 9. Was Hiss convicted of spying? 10. If not, what was he convicted of?, 11. What were the Venora files and what was their importance to the case?, 12. What was Hiss' fate?, 13. How did the trial affect Richard Nixon's career?, 14. Did Hiss get a fair trial?, 15. What does the trial tell us about the United States at the beginning of the Cold War?
Assessment: Paper.
Back
Bookmark and Share
--%>