Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to a convention whose purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation but instead resulted in the writing of a new Constitution. The ratification debate over the proposed Constitution led the Federalists to agree to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. Students will examine the weaknesses and successes of government under the Articles of Confederation. Students will explore the development of the Constitution, including the major debates and their resolutions, which included compromises over representation, taxation, and slavery. Students will examine the structure, power, and function of the federal government as created by the Constitution, including key constitutional principles such as the division of power between federal and state government, the separation of powers at the federal level, the creation of checks and balances, the sovereignty of the people, and judicial independence. Students will examine the key points of debate expressed in the Federalist Papers and the Anti Federalist Papers, focusing on the protection of individual rights and the proper size for a republic. Students will examine the rights and protections provided by the Bill of Rights and to whom they initially applied.
Under the new Constitution, the young nation sought to achieve national security and political stability as the three branches of government established their relationships with each other and the states.
Students will identify presidential actions and precedents established by George
Washington, including those articulated in his Farewell Address.
Students will examine Hamilton’s economic plan, the debate surrounding the plan,
and its impacts on the development of political parties.
Students will examine the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power established in
the presidential election of 1800 and compare it to the presidential election of 2000,
focusing on the roles of the Electoral College and Congress in 1800 and the Electoral
College and the Supreme Court in 2000.
Students will examine Supreme Court cases, including Marbury v. Madison,
McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden, and analyze how these decisions
strengthened the powers of the federal government.
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.
Long-standing disputes over States rights and slavery and the secession of Southern states from the Union, sparked by the election of Abraham Lincoln, led to the Civil War. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves became a major Union goal. The Civil War resulted in tremendous human loss and physical destruction. Students will compare the relative strengths of the Union and the Confederacy in terms of industrial capacity, transportation facilities, and military leadership, and evaluate the reasons why the North prevailed over the South and the impacts of the war. Students will examine the expansion of executive and federal power as they relate to the suspension of habeas corpus within the Union and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Students will analyze the ideas expressed in the Gettysburg Address, considering its long-term effects.
Between 1865 and 1900, constitutional rights were extended to African Americans. However, their ability to exercise these rights was undermined by individuals, groups, and government institutions. Students will examine the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and consider the role of Radical Republicans in Reconstruction. Students will investigate the ways individuals, groups, and government institutions limited the rights of African Americans, including the use of Black Codes, the passage of Jim Crow laws, the Ku Klux Klan, restrictions on voting rights, and Supreme Court cases including the Civil Rights Cases (1883) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Students will examine the ways in which freedmen attempted to build independent lives, including the activities of the Freedmen's Bureau, the creation of educational institutions, and political participation. Students will examine the impacts of the election of 1876 and the compromise of 1877 on African Americans.
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)
In the late 1800s, various strategic and economic factors led to a greater focus on foreign affairs and debates over the United States? role in the world. Students will examine factors such as the economic and strategic interests that led the United States to seek foreign markets, resources, and coaling stations, including interest in Hawaii. Students will investigate the causes and effects of the Spanish-American War, evaluating Spanish, Cuban, and United States interests and actions. Students will examine debates between anti-imperialists and imperialists surrounding ratification of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and annexation of the Philippines. Students will investigate expanding American influence in the Caribbean and Latin America through the creation of the Panama Canal and the Roosevelt Corollary.
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).
African Americans continued to struggle for social and economic equality while expanding their own thriving and unique culture. African American cultural achievements were increasingly integrated into national culture. Students will examine literary and artistic contributions associated with the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on national culture. Students will examine the rise of African American racial pride and Black Nationalism, including the role of Marcus Garvey.
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.
As situations overseas deteriorated, President Roosevelt's leadership helped to move the nation from a policy of neutrality to a pro-Allied position and, ultimately, direct involvement in the war. Students will examine reasons for the passage of the Neutrality Acts (1935?1937) and consider the national debate as a shift to pro-Allied policies, includingcash and carry? and Lend-Lease. Students will trace ongoing negotiations with Japan and United States efforts to stop Japanese aggression without resorting to war and without appeasing Japanese demands. Students will examine the impact of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Students will examine President Roosevelt's leadership during World War II, including his role as commander in chief and his diplomatic efforts to maintain the Grand Alliance. Students will examine how technological advancements altered the nature of war and the extent of its devastation, including the use of air power over civilian targets and President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
United States entry into World War II had a significant impact on American society. Students will examine United States mobilization efforts and wartime production and their effects on unemployment rates. Students will examine the reasons for President Roosevelt's executive order for Japanese removal, the impact of removal on Japanese people living in the United States, and the Supreme Court's decision in Korematsu v. United States (1944). Students will examine the contributions of women, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican workers, and Mexican Americans to the war effort, as well as the discrimination that they experienced in the military and workforce.
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.
American strategic interests in the Middle East grew with the Cold War, the creation of the State of Israel, and the increased United States dependence on Middle Eastern oil. The continuing nature of the Arab-Israeli dispute has helped to define the contours of American policy in the Middle East. Students will examine United States foreign policy toward the Middle East, including the recognition of and support for the State of Israel, the Camp David Accords, and the interaction with radical groups in the region.
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.
Track each student's skills and progress in your Mastery dashboards
