Dear Student,

Welcome to U.S. History or Government. I hope you find this course interesting and relevant. We are living in challenging times, and one of the main goals of this class is to discover how the dilemmas and decisions of the past, and present will help us navigate our future. We will be spending time searching for answers to questions such as these:

Are we indeed learning from history, or just repeating our mistakes?

Are we a nation, or a union of states?

What do we really mean by that phrase in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal”?

What is the role of the U.S. in the world today, and who decides?

What impact do you want to have on our world in your future?