Course Topics

We will start our course examining the founding documents and ideals of the nation. We will examine the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and Constitution. 

After striving to stay neutral in Europe's bloody war America joins the fight. We will look at how different groups of Americans contributed to both the fighting abroad and the homefront. Out of the darkness of war came a bright and brilliant decade- the roaring 20s. Baseball, moving pictures, jazz and new politics, the 20s were a thriving decade.  Unfortunately, the decade that followed was anything but bright. The Great Depression, prohibition and rumors of a war rumbling in Europe made the 30s a difficult decade.

America's involvement in World War II began long before the attack on Pearl Harbor. We'll examine US involvement in both the European and Pacific theaters, the impact the war had at home, the dawn of the nuclear age, and burgeoning conflict between the US and the Soviet Union.

POst War America

Elvis, Poodle Skirts, the suburbs and the new urban landscape. We'll examine what life was like for returning soldiers and their families with the GI bill, as well as early Cold War tensions. We'll also examine the origins of the Civil Rights movement and some of its most impactful participants and events.

 This era began with confidence and ended in confusion.  It opened with Kennedy's inspiring call to service.  Over the next decade the nation would endure assassinations and an unpopular war.  The brief age of Camelot and Johnson's Great Society will dominate the first part of this unit. Kennedy's Cold War encounters shook the nation.  Johnson's domestic policies changed how we look at the role of government.      We'll take an in depth look at the war in Vietnam and the impact it had on the men and women who served, as well as Americans back home.

These two decades were dominated by political scandal, energy shortages and tough talk to the Soviet Union.  Watergate and the first resignation of a president left the country distrustful of the government. The 70s also left us with Earth Day, disco, and the Pet Rock.  The country saw a shift to the right with the election of Ronald Reagan and an end to the Cold War.