A number of factors influenced colonial economic development, social structures, and labor systems, causing variation by region. Students will examine the impacts of geographic factors on patterns of settlement and the development of colonial economic systems. Students will examine the factors influencing variations in colonial social structures and labor systems. Students will analyze slavery as a deeply established component of the colonial economic system and social structure, indentured servitude vs. slavery, the increased concentration of slaves in the South, and the development of slavery as a racial institution.
Failed attempts to mitigate the conflicts between the British government and the colonists led the colonists to declare independence, which they eventually won through the Revolutionary War, which affected individuals in different ways. Students will examine the purpose of and the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence and consider its long term impacts. Students will examine the impacts of the Revolutionary War on workers, African Americans, women, and Native Americans.
American nationalism was both strengthened and challenged by territorial expansion and economic growth. Students will examine how the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and the Monroe Doctrine strengthened nationalism. Students will examine the market revolution, including technological developments, the development of transportation networks, the growth of domestic industries, the increased demands for free and enslaved labor, the changing role of women, and the rise of political democracy. Students will examine Jackson's presidency, noting the ways it strengthened presidential power yet challenged constitutional principles in the case of Worcester v. Georgia (1832), including the controversy concerning the Indian Removal Act and its implementation.
Federal policies regarding westward expansion had positive effects on the national economy but negative consequences for Native Americans. Students will examine the economic effects of the Homestead Act (1862) and the Pacific Railway Act (1862) on westward expansion. Students will examine the effect of federal policies on Native Americans, including reservation policies, the Dawes Act (1887), and forced assimilation efforts (Carlisle Indian School).
Rapid industrialization and urbanization created significant challenges and societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts. Students will examine demographic trends associated with urbanization and immigration between 1840 and 1920, including push-pull factors regarding Irish immigration and immigration from southern and eastern Europe. Students will examine problems faced by farmers between 1870 and 1900 and examine the goals and achievements of the Grange Movement and the Populist Party. Students will examine the attempts of workers to unionize from 1870 to 1920 in response to industrial working conditions, including the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor, the American Railway Union, the International Ladies Garment Workers? Union, and the Industrial Workers of the World, considering actions taken by the unions and the responses to these actions. Students will examine Progressive Era reforms, such as the 16th and 17th amendments (1913) and the establishment of the Federal Reserve System (1913). Students will examine the efforts of the women's suffrage movement after 1900, leading to ratification of the 19th amendment (1920). Students will trace the temperance and prohibition movements leading to the ratification of the 18th amendment (1919). Students will trace reform efforts by individuals and the consequences of those efforts, including: Jane Addams and Hull House Jacob Riis? How the Other Half Lives New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt and the Tenement Reform Commission Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and the Meat Inspection Act Margaret Sanger and birth control Ida Tarbell's The History of the Standard Oil Company Ida Wells and her writings about lynching of African Americans Booker T. Washington's contributions to education, including the creation of Tuskegee Institute? W. E. B. Du Bois and the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the publication of The Crisis, and the Silent Protest (1917)
World War I had important social, political, and economic effects on American society. Students will investigate the effects of mobilization on the United States economy, including the role and contributions of women and African Americans in the war effort. Students will investigate the causes and effects of the Great Migration on American society. Students will examine the Supreme Court decision concerning civil liberties in Schenck v. United States (1919). Students will examine the relationship between postwar recession, fear of radicals, xenophobia, and the Red Scare (1919?1921).
For many Americans, the 1920s was a time of prosperity. However, underlying economic problems, reflected in the stock market crash of 1929, led to the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression increased the role of the federal government. Students will examine the reasons for economic prosperity during the 1920s. Students will examine the underlying weaknesses of the economy that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Students will compare and contrast the responses of Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Great Depression. Students will examine the human and environmental causes of the Dust Bowl and its effects. Students will evaluate President Roosevelt's leadership during the Depression, including key legislative initiatives of the New Deal, expansion of federal government power, and the constitutional challenge represented by his court packing effort.
After World War II, long-term demands for equality by African Americans led to the civil rights movement. The efforts of individuals, groups, and institutions helped to redefine African American civil rights, though numerous issues remain unresolved. Students will examine the roles and impact of individuals such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Malcolm X on the movement and their perspectives on change. Students will examine the role of groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the movement, their goals and strategies, and major contributions. Students will examine judicial actions and legislative achievements during the movement, such as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964) and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Students will analyze the significance of key events in the movement, including the Montgomery bus boycott, federal intervention at Little Rock, Arkansas; the Birmingham protest; and the March on Washington.
After World War II, ideological differences led to political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In an attempt to halt the spread of Soviet influence, the United States pursued a policy of containment. Students will trace key decisions made at wartime conferences as they applied to Poland, Eastern Europe, and postwar Germany, and note how continuing disagreements over these decisions helped bring about the start of the Cold War. Students will trace United States containment policies, including the Truman Doctrine (1947), the Marshall Plan (1948), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949), and actions taken during the Berlin blockade, and consider how they represent a shift in American foreign policy. Students will examine domestic concerns about the spread of communism and the rise of McCarthyism. Students will examine the consequences of Truman's decision to fight a limited war in defense of South Korea. Students will trace the United States involvement in Vietnam, including President Johnson's decision to escalate the fighting in Vietnam. Students will examine reasons for declining public confidence in government, including America's involvement in Vietnam, student protests, the growing anti war movement, and the Watergate affair. Students will examine the congressional effort to limit presidential power through the War Powers Act.
Individuals, diverse groups, and organizations have sought to bring about change in American society through a variety of methods. Students will trace the following efforts in terms of issues/goals, key individuals and groups, and successes/limitations: Modern women's movement (e.g., The Feminine Mystique [1963], National Organization for Women , Equal Pay Act and Title IX, Roe v. Wade) Native Americans (e.g., American Indian Movement, Russell Means, native identity, and land claims) Brown Power (Chicano) movement (e.g., Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers) People with disabilities (e.g. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [1975], Americans with Disabilities Act [1990] ) Rights of the accused (e.g., Mapp v. Ohio [1961], Gideon v. Wainwright [1963], Miranda v. Arizona [1966]) Immigration (e.g., Immigration Act of 1965, Immigration Act of 1986, continuing debates over immigration) Gay Rights and the LGBT movement (e.g., Stonewall Inn riots [1969], efforts for equal legal rights) Environment (e.g., Silent Spring [1962], Clean Air Act of 1970, Clean Water Act of 1972, Endangered Species Act of 1973, Environmental Protection Agency [1970], Reagan's policy) Student rights (e.g., Engel v. Vitale [1962], Tinker v. Des Moines School District [1969], New Jersey v. TLO [1985]) Students will thoroughly investigate at least one of the efforts above.
The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race that eventually led to agreements that limited the arms buildup and improved United States-Soviet relations. Students will trace the acceleration of the nuclear arms race, beginning with the detonation of an atomic bomb by the Soviet Union in 1949, through 1969, including the effects of Sputnik and the Space Race. Students will examine Soviet motives for placing missiles in Cuba and the impact of the Cuban missile crisis on Soviet-American relations, leading to the adoption of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Students will examine the policy of detente and its effect on the nuclear arms race.
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