7th grade social studies is a continuation of American history from 6th grade. This year we inherit a divided nation on the verge of civil war, and will leave the country on its way to being a superpower.
The major units covered this year are:
- Causes of the Civil War
- What were the social, political and economic differences of the North and South? How did both sides feel about slavery?
- How did the issue of expanding slavery into the West lead to civil war?
- The Civil War
- What were the advantages and disadvantages of the Union and Confederacy at the start of the war?
- How did these factors influence how the war progressed?
- What were the reasons the North was able to achieve victory in the war?
- Reconstruction
- What were the different plans for bringing the Southern states back into the Union? (Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction)
- What were the steps taken by Republicans in the North to ensure former slaves and blacks gained civil rights?
- What measures did the South take to prevent former slaves from gaining civil rights? What were the long-term effects of these measures?
- Post-War Westward Expansion
- What is the purpose and importance of the Transcontinental Railroad?
- What is homesteading? What were the experiences of homesteaders? How did the Homestead Act lead to further westward expansion?
- What is the importance of the cattle industry in the American West?
- What were the causes of the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s? What were the outcomes of the wars for both the United States and the Native Americans?
- The Gilded Age
- What advances and inventions were made during the Second Industrial Revolution?
- What was life like for average Americans during this time period?
- How did issues such as child labor, poor working conditions and tenement life lead to reforms in the early 1900s?