SEVENTH or EIGHTH GRADE

SOCIAL STUDIES

U. S. HISTORY

1850-Present

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.

 

 

GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP

 

Standard A.  A student should know and understand how societies

                        define authority, rights, and responsibilities through a

                        governmental process.

Standard B.  A student should understand the constitutional

                        foundations of the American political system and the

                        democratic ideals of this nation.

Standard C.  A student should understand the character of government

                        of the state.

Standard D.  A student should understand the role of the United States in international affairs.

Standard E.  A student should have the knowledge and skills necessary

                        to participate effectively as an informed and responsible

                        citizen.

Standard F.  A student should understand the economies of the United

                        States and the state and their relationships to the global

                        economy.

Standard G.  A student should understand the impact of economic

                        choices and participate effectively in the local, state,

                        national, and global economies.

 

 

          GEOGRAPHY

 

Standard A.  A student should be able to make and use maps, globes,

                        and graphs to gather, analyze, and report spatial

                        (geographic) information.

Standard B.  A student should be able to utilize, analyze, and explain

                        information about the human and physical features of

                        places and regions.

Standard C.  Student should understand the dynamic and interactive

                        natural forces that shape the earth’s environments.

Standard D.  A student should understand and be able to interpret

                        spatial (geographic) characteristics of human systems,

                        including migration, movement, interactions of cultures,

                        economic activities, settlement patterns, and political units

                        in the state, nation, and world.

Standard E.  A student should understand and be able to evaluate how

                        humans and physical environments interact.

Standard F.  A student should be able to use geography to understand

                        the world by interpreting the past, knowing the present,

                        and preparing for the future.

 

 

COURSE CONTENT

A Nation is Born

·        Explain the origins of the first immigrants to the Americas and discuss the differences among the Native American cultures of the region

·        Identify the major domestic issues and conflicts experienced by the nation during the Federalist Period

·        Analyze the political freedoms available to the following groups prior to 1820: women, wage earners, landless farmers, American Indians, African Americans, and other ethnic groups

·        Assess commercial and diplomatic relationships with Britain, France and other nations

·        Discuss the impact of the Industrial Revolution on American life

·        Explain how industrialization contributed to wider acceptance of slavery in the South

·        Identify areas of sectional conflict

·        Identify social reform movements that were widespread during the early 1800’s

·        Discuss the new values and beliefs that influenced educators, artists and writers

 

 

Civil War and Reconstruction 1846-1896

·        Identify key leaders of the Union and the Confederacy (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee)

·        Examine the major events of the Civil War (e.g., the battles of Fort Sumter, Bull Run/Manassas, and Gettysburg; Union naval blockades of Southern ports; the Emancipation Proclamation; and Lee’s surrender at Appomattox)

·        Describe the development and implementation of post-war Reconstruction policies (e.g., the significance of Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, and the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution)

·        Investigate the impact of Reconstruction policies on the South (e.g., the role of carpetbaggers and scalawags; the passage of Black Codes, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan; and the significance of the presidential election of 1876)

Reshaping the Nation 1858-1914

·        Identify and explain the factors that encouraged industrial growth

·        Discuss the railroad’s role in the growth of industry

·        Discuss the methods big business used to become successful

·        Compare the methods used by Carnegie and Rockefeller to achieve success

·        Explain social Darwinism

·        Explain the obstacles faced by labor unions during this period

·        Identify the reasons that immigrants came to the United States

·        Identify the factors that led to the growth of cities during the late 1800s

·        List the problems resulting from an increase in urban population

Reform, Expansion, and War 1865-1920

·        Analyze the effects of territorial expansion and the admission of new states to the Union

·        Describe how the growth of nationalism and sectionalism were reflected in art, language, and literature

·        Distinguish between the economic and social issues that led to sectionalism and nationalism

·        Assess political events, issues, and personalities that contributed to sectionalism and nationalism

·        Identify the major reform movements and evaluate their effectiveness

·        Evaluate the role of religion in the debate over slavery and other social movements and issues

·        Discuss the emergence of the United States from isolationism

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

·        Identify the causes of World War I

·        Explain why the United States had difficulty remaining neutral during the was

·        Explain how the World War I was financed

·        Describe the role of the United States in helping the Allies to achieve victory over the Central Powers

·        Identify the domestic problems that arose after World War I

Turbulent Decades 1919-1945

·        Identify what features characterized the music and literature of the Jazz Age

·        Summarize the changes in women’s personal and economic status during the 1920s

·        Discuss the changes to industry Henry Ford introduced

·        Describe the attitude of many Americans toward foreigners and radicals after World War I

·        Explain the major causes of the Great Depression

·        Describe the change in policy toward Latin America under Hoover

·        Describe how Roosevelt gained ideas and support for his New Deal

·        Identify the events that led to the end of the New Deal

·        Discuss how the Depression influenced American foreign policy

·        Explain the war’s impact on women, African Americans, and Japanese Americans

Turning Points 1945-1975

·        Describe the changes in Eastern Europe and the factors that made communism strong after World War II

·        Explain how the United States became a world power after World War II

·        Explain why the United Nations waged a limited war in Korea

·        Describe President Eisenhower’s style of leadership and his economic policies

·        Describe major events in the early civil rights movement

·        Describe advances made in civil rights during the Kennedy-Johnson administrations

·        Describe the gains made by women and minorities

·        Explain how the Gulf of Tonkin incident led to the escalation of the war in Vietnam

·        List reasons for opposition to the Vietnam War

·        List and describe the steps that President Nixon took to end American Involvement in Vietnam

Modern America 1968-Present

·        Describe the impact of Kennedy’s death on the nation

·        Discuss Johnson’s efforts to fight poverty

·        Explain how the constitutional process solved the Watergate crisis

·        Explain the conservative shift in American’s political convictions in the late 1970s and early 1980s

·        Discuss the reasons for discord between the legislative and executive branches of government under Bush

·        Discuss why criticism of the Clinton administration led to Republican control of Congress

·        Explain the key role the United States played in bringing about major breakthroughs between old enemies

·        Identify the challenges facing the United States at the present

               

 

Textbook:
ISBN#:
Publisher:
The American Journey 0-07-825877-4 Glencoe