U. S. History

                                                                                                           

Textbook: The Americans Grade Level: 10-12
ISBN#: Length of Course: Year
Publisher: McDougal Littell Credit: 1
Prerequisite: None

                                                                                                 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

United States History is a survey class covering the Colonial Origins of the United States, the Revolution, frontier, slavery, Civil War, Industrial Revolution, Native Americans, imperialism, Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and Viet Nam up to the present era.  This class provides students with a framework for studying political, social, economic, and cultural issues, and for analyzing the impact these issues have on American society.

 

Alaska Content Standards

 

HISTORY

 

Standard A.  A student should understand that history is a record of

                        human experiences that links the past to the present and

                        future.

Standard B.  A student should understand historical themes through

                        factual knowledge of time, places, ideas, institutions,

                        cultures, people, and events.

Standard C.  A student should develop the skills and processes of

                        historical inquiry.

Standard D.  A student should be able to integrate historical

                        knowledge with historical skill to effectively participate

                        as a citizen and as a lifelong learner.

 

COURSE CONTENT

1850-Present

 

Effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction

·        Examine the economic and philosophical differences between the North and South as exemplified by such persons as Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun

·        Trace the events leading to secession and war

·        Identify leaders on both sides of the war (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, and William Lloyd Garrison)

·        Interpret the importance of critical developments in the war, such as major battles, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Lee’s surrender at Appomattox

·        Describe life on the battlefield and on the homefront

·        Relate the basic provisions and postwar impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution

·        Recognize the impact of Reconstruction policies on the South, and Southern reaction during the Reconstruction era (e.g., Black Codes, Ku Klux Klan, and Jim Crow laws)

Impact of Immigration on American Society

·        Detail the contributions of various immigrant, cultural, and ethnic groups (e.g., Irish, Chinese, Italians, and Scandinavians)

·        Discuss the institution of slavery, and the impact of immigration on Native American groups

·        Examine ethnic conflict and discrimination

·        Investigate changes in the domestic policies of the United States relating to immigration

Industrial Revolution in the United States

·        Discuss the impact of new inventions and industrial production methods, and new technologies in transportation and communication

·        Evaluate the significance of immigration on the labor supply and the movement to organize workers

·        Describe the effects of the “muckrakers” and reform movements (e.g., women’s suffrage, temperance, and organized labor) that resulted in government policies affecting child labor, wages, working conditions, trade, monopolies, taxation, and the money supply

·        Assess the impact of industrialization, the expansion of international markets, urbanization, and immigration on the economy

·        Evaluate the rise of the Progressive Movement in relation to political changes at the national and state levels

United States in world affairs between 1889-1930

·        Examine the factors that led to the United States taking an increasingly active role in world affairs

·        Identify the areas of United States military, economic, and political involvement and influence

·        Describe how the policies and actions of the United States government impacted the affairs of other countries

·        Explain the conditions that led to the rise of Progressivism

·        List the events that led to the United States involvement in the Spanish-American War

·        Explain why the Philippine Islands were difficult to govern

·        Give examples of Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” diplomacy

·        Discuss the goals and results of the “Open Door” policy in China

·        Describe the outcome of the Versailles peace conference

Events of the 1920s and 1930s

·        Evaluate literature, music, dance, and entertainment

·        Harlem Renaissance

·        Impact of the automobile

·        Urban and rural electrification

·        Increase in racial tensions and labor strife

·        Examine the growing disparity in the wealth of corporate leaders and the incomes of small business owners, industrial workers, and farmers

·        Examine the increasing reliance on installment buying

·        Examine a greater willingness to speculate and buy on margin in the stock market

·        Examine government reluctance to interfere in the economy

The Great Depression

·        Examine changes in business cycles, weaknesses in key sectors of the economy, and United States government economic policies in the late 1920s

·        Analyze the causes and effects of the Stock Market Crash

·        Evaluate the impact of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the New Deal economic policies on business and agriculture, and on the American people, their culture and political behavior

·        Identify the contributions of key individuals and leaders of the period, such as Will Rogers, Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, and Woody Guthrie

·        Assess the impact of the expanded role of government in the economy since the 1930s

World War II

·        Relate the rise and aggression of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan, to the rise of fascism, Nazism, and communism in the 1930s and 1940s, and the response of the United States

·        Investigate appeasement, isolationism, and the war debates in Europe and the United States prior to the outbreak of war

·        Evaluate the impact of mobilization for war, at home and abroad

·        Detail major battles, military turning points, and key strategic decisions in both the European and Pacific theaters

·        Analyze public and political reactions to reports of the Holocaust and its impact

·        Examine the reshaping of the United States’ role in world affairs, and the major political changes in Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asian, and Africa following the war

United States foreign policy since World War II

·        Identify the origins of the Cold War and its foreign and domestic consequences

·        Confrontations with the Soviet Union in Berlin and Cuba

·        The proliferation of nuclear weapons and arms race

·        Military conflicts in Korea and Vietnam

·        McCarthyism and the fear of communist influence within the United States

·        Communist containment policies in Europe, Latin America, and Asia

·        The organization of NATO and other alliances, and the United States role in the United Nations

·        Examine the strategic and economic factors in Middle East policy, relations with South Africa and other African nations, and the foreign and domestic consequences of the United States involvement in Vietnam

·        Relate the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War to new challenges to the United States’ leadership role in the world

Economic, social, and political transformation of the United States since

World War II

·        Describe de jure and de facto segregation, desegregation, integration, and the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on society

·        Assess the significance of the women’s liberation movement and the changing roles of women on society

·        Examine the technology revolution and its impact on communication, transportation, and new industries

·        Assess the impact of increases in violent crime, and illegal drug use and trafficking

·        Explain the effects of increased immigration, of political refugees and undocumented aliens

·        Identify political leaders of the period, trends in national elections, and differences between the two major political parties, as well as significant individuals and leaders, such as United States presidents, civil rights leaders, and political activists

·        Examine the post-war rise in the standard of living in the United States, the great inflation of the 1970s, and the federal budget deficit problems of the 1980s and 1990s

·        Evaluate the impact of political scandal (e.g., Watergate and Iran-Contra) on federal law, national policies, and political behavior

Domestic Policy

·        Compare conservative and liberal economic strategies, and the positions of political parties and interest groups on major issues

·        Examine changing patterns of Supreme Court decisions and evaluate their impact

United States Constitution

·        Examine all the constitutional amendments (including the Bill of Rights), the conflicts or situations they addressed, and the reasons for their adoption

·        Analyze landmark Supreme Court decisions and executive order which have addressed basic freedoms (e.g., religion, speech, press, search and seizure, trial by jury, and protection against cruel and unusual punishments), due process, equal protection of the law, and government powers

·        Assess the impact of wars and national emergencies (e.g., the Great Depression and launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union) on doctrines of federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances