a-g US History Gorman Learning Center (052344) Basic Course Information Title: a-g US History Transcript abbreviations: a-g U.S. History A / 3E1002, a-g U.S. History B / 3E9002 Length of course: Full Year Subject area: History / Social Science ("a") / U.S. History UC honors designation? No Prerequisites: None Co-requisites: None Integrated (Academics / CTE)? No Grade levels: 10th, 11th, 12th Course learning environment: Classroom Based Course Description Course overview: The primary focus of this course is to explore the major events, personalities, and social, cultural, political, economic, and technological changes that have shaped United States history. The course begins with a review of American history from the Colonial Era to the Gilded Age, with an emphasis on the following themes: the nation s beginnings, the origins of democratic government, the rise of sectionalism and the industrial transformation of the United States. The course continues with an intensive study of the history of the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The major historical units will include: the Progressive Era, World War I, the Roaring 20 s, the Great Depression and the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War and the 1950 s, the 1960 s, the 1970 s, and contemporary America. Students will develop a sense of historical connection and an appreciation of historical time. Students will trace the significant changes the country has undergone while recognizing the continuity and development of America s unique national identity; analyze how the American ideological institutions of democracy, freedom, personal rights, and opportunity have impacted
the course of political debate and decision, economic success and struggle, and social custom of the country. Students will develop a historical context with which they can evaluate the merits and consequences of past events. Students will relate modern America to its historical beginnings and appreciate the wisdom that is gained from deep consideration of our country s successes and failures. Emphasis is placed on students developing intellectual and academic skills, including: effective analysis of primary sources (documents, maps, statistics, and pictorial and graphic evidence), clear and precise written expression, and presentation of supported arguments. The course outline is meant to be a guide that indicates the course s breadth and depth, but does not include all activities students will complete. Two sections of this course will be offered, Traditional and Project Based. While the content covered in both sections will be the same, the key assignments will be different and are listed separately. This course was written based on The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century by McDougal Littell, but was written to align with any standards based modern history textbook. Course content: Unit 1: Foundations of Early America Students completing this unit will evaluate the significant events in the founding of the nation and its attempts to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration of Independence. They will understand the complex series of events and influences leading to America s unique national identity, drive for independence, and governmental structure. Students will review key Enlightenment ideas and will specifically cite the inclusion of the theories of Natural Rights, Social Contract, and Popular Sovereignty in the Declaration of Independence. Students will then take an in-depth look at the Declaration of Independence, specifically determining its purpose and identifying the examples of political, economic, and military repression given by the writers as evidence justifying separation from Britain. Students will then focus on the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the resulting compromises, including the debates over representation for the large and small states leading to the Great Compromise; the counting of slaves as part of a state s population resulting in the Three-Fifths Compromise; and the size and scope of the federal government between the Federalists and Antifederalists resulting in a strong federal government in exchange for the Bill of Rights. Students will also look at the Constitution as a whole, noting the goals outlined in the Preamble, and then the purposes of the Articles that follow. Students will analyze the system of checks and balances and also articulate how the Constitution shares power between the states and the federal government. Finally, in this first unit, students will understand the issues (including slavery and federal versus state authority) that divided the nation and how opinions varied depending on geographic region and the characteristics of those regions.
Answering the question: For what reasons did the writers of the Declaration of Independence blame King George III for causing the colonies to break free from Britain? Students will categorize the accusations from the Declaration by themes: political, economic, and military-related and write a two to three page essay with a clearly defined thesis and carefully selected evidence to support each claim. Students will create and record a courtroom dramatization in which a colonist accused of treason is defended using ideas and phrases from the Declaration of Independence. Unit 2: Industrialization Students completing this unit will examine the effects of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Industrial Revolution, including demographic shifts and the emergence in the late nineteenth century of the United States as a world power. They will examine the effects of rapid industrialization on the living and working conditions of everyday citizens and the large number of immigrants coming to America at this time as well as the effect industrialization had on the landscape of the nation (including the growth of cities linked by industry and trade and the development of cities divided according to race, ethnicity, and class). Students will examine ideologies and movements of the era, including an analysis of the similarities and differences between the ideologies of Social Darwinism and Social Gospel and the effect of political programs and activities of Populists and Progressives. Furthermore, students will analyze the role religion played in the founding of America, its lasting moral, social, and political impacts and issues regarding religious liberty. They will describe the contributions of various religious groups to American civic principles and social reform movements (e.g., civil and human rights, individual responsibility and the work ethic, antimonarchy and self-rule, worker protection, family-centered communities) and describe the great religious revival and the leaders involved in them, including the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, the Civil War revivals, the Social Gospel Movement, the rise of Christian liberal theology in the nineteenth century, the impact of the Second Vatican council, and the rise of Christian fundamentalism in current times. As well as reflect on the principles of religious liberty found in the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment, including the debate on the issue of separation of church and state. Students will answer the following essay question with a three page analytical essay: How were Industrialization, Immigration, and Urbanization intertwined between 1870 and 1920?
Students will give examples from the unit showing evidence of the connections between these three major forces. Students will read Upton Sinclair s The Jungle and communicate a description of labor conditions that existed in factories in the late 1800 s early 1900 s and their impact on various groups (e.g. meat packing industry), explain how these labor conditions were a result of industrial growth, and describe the actions taken by one reformer (Upton Sinclair) to promote change. And Using a chart created by the National Archives, students will analyze five political cartoons that represent multiple perspectives of Industrialization. Unit 3: Rise of the United States as a World Power and World War I Students completing this unit will trace the rise of the United States to its role as a world power in the twentieth century. Students will look at the themes of neutrality and isolationism that existed throughout the US and then determine the purpose and effect of policies such as the Open Door Policy, Theodore Roosevelt s Big Stick Diplomacy, William Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson s Moral Diplomacy, including the US s role in the Spanish-American War, Panama Revolution, expansion in the South Pacific and eventual involvement in World War I. Students will explain the events and underlying causes that lead to the United States joining allied forces and the role taken in brokering peace across Europe. Students will understand the ramifications of The Treaty of Versailles and the formatting of League of Nations. And they will understand the United States emergence on the world stage as it developed favorable trading relationships, acquired overseas territory, and displayed its military. Students will create a series of newspaper articles that demonstrates knowledge of the term yellow journalism. Selecting one historical event, they will write the stories and headlines, and explain how the newspaper reflects this concept. Unit 4: The Twenties Students completing this unit will analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s. Students begin the unit with an examination of the political themes of the twenties, including the scandal-plagued presidency of Warren G. Harding, and the hands-off principles of Calvin
Coolidge and Herbert Hoover and the impact of these presidents policies had on the nation. Students will also examine the deep-seated conflicts embedded in American society during the 1920s, analyzing events, interests and philosophies that prompted attacks on civil liberties, including the Palmer Raids, Marcus Garvey s back-to-africa movement, the Ku Klux Klan, and immigration quotas along with the responses of social/political organizations to those attacks. In addition, students will understand the impact the passage of the 19th Amendment had on the changing role of women in this era. Finally, students will review other developments of the 1920 s such as new trends in art and literature, the growth of radio and movies, the development of mass production techniques, and the new technologies and determine the effect these had on the prosperity and rise of consumer culture within the US. Students will answer the following Document Based Question in a two page essay: How did new consumer goods, the introduction of mass-marketing, and the expansion of credit impact Americans in the 1920s? Students will locate three newspaper advertisements from the 1920s for modern conveniences such as a refrigerator, washing machine, or automobile and a variety of quotations from which to pull evidence to support their own thesis. Students will write a series of editorial articles (or video record a series of at least three editorial newscasts) discussing major social, political, economic events of the time. Each should be written from the 1920s perspective with an opinion and solution structure. For example, students may write about prohibition, women s suffrage, the bull market, or other major topic of the 1920 s. Unit 5: The Great Depression and the New Deal Students completing this unit will analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government. Students will examine the monetary issues of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that gave rise to the establishment of the Federal Reserve and led to the Great Depression. Students will understand the causes of the Great Depression and the steps taken by the Federal Reserve, Congress and Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat the economic crisis, determining the successes and failure of each including the expanded role of the federal government in society, the economy since the 1930 s, and the development of program such as Social Security, farm programs, etc. In addition, students trace the advances and retreats of organized labor, from the creation of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress Of Industrial ganizations to current issues of a postindustrial, multinational economy
Finally, students will analyze the human toll of the Depression, natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practice of the era and their effects on the depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left and right, with particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees and their social and economic impacts in California. Students will answer the following question in a two to three page essay after listening to a broadcast of Franklin D. Roosevelt s first fireside chat on the banking crisis from 1933 and analyzing certain key quotes from the speech: In his first fireside chat, how did FDR describe the role of the government in response to the bank crisis. And Using a Photo Analysis worksheet from the National Archives students will examine nine photographs taken during the Great Depression. Based on observations of the photographs and the information presented in the text and additional research, complete a presentation in which the impact the Great Depression had on the lives of Americans is fully described. Students will read The Grapes of Wrath (or other period novel) and write a 4 page report analyzing at least three of the following five themes, citing examples from the novel: 1) The nature of Big Business in the closing years of the Great Depression (who/what is Big Business, how does it operate, did its treatment of the tenant farmers bring the country out of depression); 2) Man, technology and nature (by the 1930s, what obvious technology has entered mainstream American life, did the increased dependency on mechanization help the country with its problems, what factors caused by humans helped bring about the Dust Bowl) 3) Class conflict and relations (how do divisions of "wealth" among the lower classes affect their behavior and fates and what role has social class played generally in U.S. history) 4) Solidarity and progress (what is the role of the individual and of the group in the novel and how have solidarity, organization and revolution been inter-related and demonstrated historically) and 5) Women (what are the duties, powers, positions of the women within the story, is their place in history accurately depicted in the novel, and has their position been greatly altered in society). Unit 6: World War II Students completing this unit will analyze America s participation in World War II, including motivation for participation, Allied wartime strategy, major battles, and sacrifices of individual American soldiers including special fighting forces. Students will also analyze Roosevelt s foreign policy during World War II and the constitutional issues and impact of events occurring in America during the war including the internment of Japanese Americans and the restrictions on German and Italian resident aliens, administration s response to Hitler s atrocities, the changing roles of women, and the decision to drop atomic bombs. In addition students will describe the major developments in aviation, weaponry,
communication, and medicine and the war's impact on the location of American industry and use of resources. Finally, in this unit, students will analyze the effect of massive aid given to Western Europe under the Marshall Plan to rebuild itself after the war and the importance of a rebuilt Europe to the U.S. economy as well as the increased powers of the presidency in response to the Great Depression and World War II. Students will write a position paper on the United States decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan. Using the evidence presented for this task take a stand either agreeing or disagreeing with Truman s decision. Students will create an interactive art walk timeline of events between 1939 and 1960. Topics will include: Pearl Harbor, Battle of Midway, Normandy landing, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Battle of the Bulge, Tuskegee Airman, Japanese internment camps, the role of women, atomic bombs, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Arms race, United Nations, and the election of 1960. Unit 7: Economics and Foreign Policy Since World War II Students completing this unit will analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post World War II America and U.S. foreign policy since World War II. Students will trace the growth of service sector, white collar, and professional sector jobs in business as well as the impact Mexican immigration had on the agricultural. In addition, students will consider how the diverse environmental regions of North America impact local economies and the environmental problems each region faces. On the political front, students will examine Truman s labor policy and congressional reaction to it, new federal spending on defense, welfare, and education as well as concern over the national debt. Students will understand the importance of the establishment of the United Nations and international Declaration of Human Rights, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in shaping modern Europe and maintaining peace and international order. Military alliances, including, NATO and SEATO, and their role in deterring communist aggression and maintaining security during the Cold War will be recognized. Students will trace the origins and geopolitical consequences of the Cold War and containment policy including the era of McCarthyism, instances of domestic Communism (e.g., Alger Hiss) and blacklisting; the Truman Doctrine; the Berlin Blockade; the Korean War; The Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis; Atomic testing in the American West, the mutual assured destruction doctrine, and disarmament policies; the Vietnam War and Latin American policy. Furthermore, students will examine the effects of foreign policy on domestic policies and vice versa the Reagan administration played in ending Cold War, events leading up to and during the Gulf War,
and relations with Mexico (including key economic, political, immigration, and environmental issues). Students will also describe the effects of technological developments since 1945, including the computer revolution, changes in communication, advances in medicine, and improvements in agricultural technology. Finally, students will examine forms of popular culture, with emphasis on their origins and geographic diffusion (e.g., jazz and other forms of popular music, professional sports, architectural and artistic styles). Students will present and support a thesis (either as a written essay, video documentary, or recorded media presentation) regarding How the Cold War shaped American culture and politics. Students will draw from multiple conflicts, events, and themes of the Cold War in a comprehensive analysis of this era of change and tension. Students will be expected to carefully construct a thesis that can be defended with evidence from the text and additional research. Students will create a life size timeline of the events during the Cold War with an accompanying oral presentation (recorded). The timeline should include major events of the era with a written description, a temperature graph/thermometer to indicate the events hotness or coldness, a picture of each president during the event, and a primary source picture of each event. Unit 8: The Civil Rights Movement Students completing this unit will analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights. In examining the Civil Rights Movements, students will analyze the key events, policies, and court cases in the evolution of civil rights, including Dred Scott, Plessy vs. Ferguson, Brown vs. the Board of Education, Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke and California Proposition 209 and the collaboration between African American and white civil rights lawyers to end racial segregation in higher education. Students will also consider the role of civil rights advocates (e.g., A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, James Farmer, Rosa Parks), including the significance of Martin Luther King Jr. s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and "I Have a Dream speech. Students will also trace the diffusion of the civil rights movement of African Americans from the churches of the rural South and the urban North, including the resistance to racial desegregation in Little Rock and Birmingham, and how the advances influenced the agendas and effectiveness of the quests of American Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans for civil rights and equal opportunities. The passage and effects of civil rights and voting rights legislation (e.g., 1964 Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965) and the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, with an emphasis on equality of access to education and to the political process will also be analyzed.
Students will also examine further developments in the women s rights movement from the era of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the movement launched in the 1960 s including differing perspectives on the roles of women as reflected in the entry of more women into the labor force and the changing family structure. Photo Story of the Civil Rights Movement Students will create a photo story on the Civil Rights Movement. Selecting one court case or issue of interest students will find at least ten photographs that represent the main points of this topic. The photo story should include the photos, captions, music, and voice-over that will help teach this topic to an audience. Students will watch one of the listed movies based around the Civil Rights Movement. Using information from the text and further research, students will articulate, in a three-page essay, the controversial issues depicted in the film and the accuracy of the film in portraying the events and treatment of people and the impact of the Civil Rights Movement as evidenced in the movie and further research. Site resources used to make comparisons between film depiction and actual events. The Jackie Robinson Story Freedom Riders Lee Daniel s The Butler A Time For Joy To Kill a Mockingbird (Amazon Instant Video) The Help Rosa Parks Story Something the Lord Made A Lesson Before Dying Mississippi Burning Guess Who s Coming to Dinner
Selma And Students compare and contrast the I Have a Dream speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. to the God s Judgment of White America speech delivered by Malcolm X. Through a written essay, students demonstrate an understanding of the two most prominent voices of the Civil Rights Movement by noting the differences in strategy, tone, and message of each speech, inferring how individuals from various subgroups might have perceived the speeches, and explaining the ramifications of the strategies employed by the speakers Unit 9: Modern US Students completing this unit will analyze the major political and social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society. Students will examine the political events, military involvement, changing youth culture, and increasing technological innovation of the later part of the 1900s. The presidencies and policies of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton (e.g., with regard to education, civil rights, economic policy, environmental policy) will be analyzed. Research into the Watergate scandal, the Constitutional crisis that resulted, the legacy of Watergate on today s political landscape as well as arguments for and against President Ford s pardon of Richard Nixon will be conducted. Federal, state and local governments responses to demographic and social changes such as population shifts to the suburbs, racial concentration in the cities, migration, international migration, decline of family farms, increase in out-of- wedlock births and drug abuse will also be examined. Students view ten political advertisements from a variety of campaigns from 1950 to 2001. For each ad students will note the imagery, audio features, overt messages, and indirect messages, and determine if the ad fits more with the ideals of American Conservatism or American Liberalism. Students will identify any possible bias and explain the development of these ideologies over the last four decades. Students choose a political candidate from the unit who they would have supported and create a 10 page scrapbook that recounts experiences of the candidate on the campaign trail. Include an additional 5 pages reflecting the candidate s policies and major events in the candidate s presidency. Unit 10: Contemporary US
Students completing this unit will analyze the tough issues facing Americans in the early 21st century, including: terrorism, modern dictatorships, immigration, crime and public safety, education reform, communication revolution, health care, cycles of poverty, women in the workforce, and conservation controversies. Key question: What issue will have the greatest impact upon student s life and what are possible solutions? Students select an issue facing Americans in the 21st Century, complete thorough research on the topic and present on the topic of choice, background, causes, implications and possible solutions. Student can write a five-page essay, create a video broadcast report (20 minutes in length), or deliver an oral presentation on the topic (20 minutes in length). Students review five recent (no more than six months old) newspaper or magazine articles with topics related to concepts learned in this course and write an accompanying one-page synopsis of each of the five articles. Students complete a decade project in which they interview a family member and conduct serious research about a specific decade (i.e. the 1960s). The goal of this major research project is for students to compare and contrast their research to the experience of their relative, using relevant quotes from their interview. The project will require students to develop interview questions, conduct their interview, and conduct serious research in the library or through the Internet (students will be required to cite their sources and avoid plagiarism). The finished project will provide a complete picture of how the student s family member experienced the chosen decade, interweaving this story with the student s research on the political, social, and economic developments of the same time period. Additional Assignment: Students will complete an array of additional assignments/assessments throughout the course. These include, but are not limited to: Section and chapter assessments Midterm and final exams No less than 2 three page essays per semester on topics listed presenting a clear thesis and offering text based evidence in support Museum Visit with accompanying write-up Document Based Investigations, 4 per semester
al presentations Political Cartoon analysis and creation Read and analyze primary source documents Newspaper articles summary [review of three recent (no more than six months old) newspaper or magazine articles with topics related to concepts learned in this course with accompanying two page synopsis of the three articles using the provided format] Course Materials Textbooks United States History 2016 Reconstruction to Present Pearson Pearson United States History and Geography Glencoe Glencoe The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century McDougal Littel McDougal Littel