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El Salvador Foreign Policy Lesson

Funding El Salvador’s Civil War: the clash of U.S. Executive and Legislative Branches

The lesson introduces students to a crucial moment in late twentieth-century American foreign diplomacy when the federal executive and legislative branches debated U.S. interests in El Salvador during the 1980s and ‘90s. The activity engages students in close textual analysis and synthesis of selected historical sources.

Teachers Version: pdf , Word

Student Version: pdf , Word

Target Audience: ideal for undergraduate students in 100- and 200-level courses.

Time needed: 15 minutes in class 1, and 75 minutes in class 2

Learning Goals

1. Identify the positions taken by the executive and legislative branches positions on U.S. interests in El Salvador during the 1980s and 1990s

2. Understand that public policymaking is contested

3. Evaluate both the information and its sources