Table of Contents

Unit 1: European Exploration and Colonization

Unit 2: Revolution and Independence

Unit 3: Independence and a New Republic (Constitutions)

Unit 4: The Early Republic and Statehood

Unit 4.5/6: Territorial and Economic growth

Unit 5: The Civil War and Reconstruction

Unit 6/7: The Progressive Era 

Unit 8: World Wars, New Deal, Great Depression

Units 9/10: Modern Era

Welcome to Mr Gibson's history class. In this class, and history in general, it's important to understand how humans count or measure time. The time that humans have been able to count, measure, or otherwise record is known as "recorded history," meaning that there is a record, or sources that give us clues at what happened in the past. How humans through time have interacted with their geography , or location, helps define different cultures and civilizations. Fortunately, this class will focus on a specific geography and society for a relatively short (in comparison) time period between 1492 and today. History is a broad subject, and includes many categories of study. Some good words to know before beginning your journey through historical time are listed below:

• Civilization and society - words used to describe the human-made environments

• geography - the study of locations and environments on Earth, usually using maps

• environment - geography, habitat, biome - large land areas described by the natural landscape - sometimes split into regions

• region - describes environments with similar characteristics, features, or traits (example: mountains, plains, swamp; each has different climate and natural resources)

• natural resources - naturally occurring plants, animals, and rocks that can be used, bought, and sold by humans - the building blocks or foundation of an economy

• economy - the trade, exchange, and flow of goods (like natural resources), services, and money 

• agriculture - farming; the growing of plants as crops,  and the raising of animals for consumption (aka husbandry)

• government - human-made organization that controls regions and regulates economies by making laws. Governments also engage in trade and commerce with foreign nations, etc.

The above vocabulary terms are very broad terms, and can include a variety of different information. We call these words "umbrella terms", as there are many topics that are "covered" by the "umbrella." Explore the drop-down menu at the top of the page to further explore the terms. Use the Table of Contents below to explore how we use these "umbrella terms" to describe history. We will begin our exploration through history in 1492 with Christopher Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic, beginning a period of Colonization - or when one country conquers territories and establishes new borders - that would last until the countries of the North and South American continents - or the "New World" - gain their independence from European countries such as Spain, France, and Great Britain. 

See also: