8th Grade

 Units of Study

Our Colonial Heritage

• America was settled long before Europeans arrived. 

• European influence on the Americas had a lasting impact caused by the oppression of Native Americans and enslavement of African Americans

• Life in the Colonies

Revolution in the Colonies

• People tend to justify their actions based on ideals and principles.

• New ideas can lead to conflict and change.

• Individuals and groups have struggled to attain equality.

• Life in the colonies and events leading to the American Revolution

• Factors and events that led to the outcome of the American Revolution

• History and analysis of the Declaration of Independence

Forming a New Nation

• Throughout history groups of people in the United States have faced challenges to enjoy all the freedoms outlined in the Declaration of Independence and U.S Constitution.

• It is important to understand the rights and restrictions granted by the  amendments of the Bill of Rights

• Compromise during the forming of the Constitution

• The 3 branches of government and check and balances

• The rights and restrictions granted by the Bill of rights

2nd Semester

An Expanding Nation

• Some people believe in their own ideas so deeply that they refuse to compromise, or see how their own actions affect other people.

• Americans felt it was their god given right to settle western lands and this idea was used to justify their actions.

• The Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark expedition

• Native American removal (Trail of Tears)

• Manifest Destiny and the acquisition of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and other territorial acquisitions

Americans in the Mid 1800’s

• People who live in different locations may have different values, goals, and lifestyles.

• Abolitionists and women’s suffrage movements

• The differences between the North and the South

The Union Challenged

• The issue of slavery divided the nation and led to a civil war.

• People tend to justify their actions based on ideals and principles.

• Decisions in the past influence the present.

• Events leading to the Civil War

• Factors and events that led to the outcome of the Civil war.

Reconstruction 

• The Reconstruction era revealed deep divisions in the nation regarding the return of the former Confederate states to the Union 

• Reconstruction greatly redefined the place of African Americans in American society 

• African Americans made limited political gains throughout the era of Reconstruction 

• Changes brought about by Reconstruction led to formation of several Southern white supremacist groups, most notably the Ku Klux Klan 

• Analyze the lasting consequences of Reconstruction. 

• Effects of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen,   including racial segregation and “Jim Crow” laws.

• Understand the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution and analyze their connection to Reconstruction.

Migration and Industry

• European settlers in the West and the impact of Native Americans, Mexicans, and Chinese.

• New innovations & technology change society but sometimes these changes happen at the cost of the workers. 

• Everyone in the United States is either an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants.

• Public attitudes and the political landscape in the United States have often reflected negative reactions toward new groups of immigrants.

• The development of American towns, cities, and infrastructure owe a great deal to immigrant labor.

• Many of the social services and labor laws we enjoy today began as responses to poor living and working conditions for immigrants.

• Immigration continues to be a major force in the United States economy and in political discussions.