Debating American Foreign Policy

Should the United States intervene in other countries affairs around the

turn of the century?

Essential Questions

Activity Focus: Should the United States intervene in

other countries affairs around the

turn of the century?

Unit Focus: When should the United States go

to War?

Unit Focus: Did America’s

emergence as a world power move it close or further

away from its founding ideals?

Unit Focus: What considerations

should guide the development of

American foreign policy?

What are 3 claims for your viewpoint

about your region?

GOAL

Debate Preparation

1. Class is broken into 2 groups.– Imperialist or anti-imperialist

2. Students assigned a country/region to represent.3. Read and highlight/underline the handout.4. In your notebook, write notes about your

region/country using information from the textbook.

5. Fill out the debate organizer using the textbook, the handout, and other sources.

6. Look at rubric to see how the debate is scored.

Debate Terms

• Claim- The argument you are making.• Counterclaim- The argument your opponent is

making or the point you are trying to disprove.• Point of information- A request by a member

of one team to a person who is speaking to give some of her time to the other team to make a comment or ask a question about her speech.

• Heckling- An interruption of a speaker during her presentation.

Points of Information

• Also known as POI (pronounced “P-O-I”)• May be accepted or rejected• May not last longer than 15 seconds• Accept only 1 point at a time• Person making a POI may not – Interrupt the speaker’s answer to the point– Make a two-part question– Ask a follow-up question

Heckle

• Encouraged heckling– Applaud teammates and opponents after their

speeches• Done by:

– Pounding on a desktop with an open palm– Slapping one’s hand 3-4 times

• When to:– Supporting a partner’s particularly clever or winning

argument»May add a shout of “Hear! Hear!” to the pounding

– Disagree with an opponent• Shout “Shame!” but do not pound on the table

Heckle

• Illegal heckling– Disrupting the debate in any other manner than

those listed on the slide above– May result in losing points for your debate even if

you are not currently debating.

Debate Steps

• First Speaker, Proposition Team 2 minutes• First Speaker, Opposition Team 2

minutes• Second Speaker, Proposition Team 2

minutes• Second Speaker, Opposition Team 2

minutes• Rebuttal Speaker, Opposition Team 1

minute• Rebuttal Speaker, Proposition Team 1

minute

Opposition Rebuttal

• Summary speech for your team.• Focus on the 2-4 critical claims your team

made.• Do not start new arguments.

Proposition Rebuttal

• Summarize the entire debate. • Answer the critical claims brought up in the

Opposition Rebuttal. • Do not start new arguments.