Our course is aligned with the Ohio Department of Education's model curriculum for American History and with our district's course of study. This will help ensure students are prepared for state-mandated standardized tests as well as ensure that the building blocks for future learning have been established.
The course has an overall theme.This is the framework for the entire year. From there it is broken down into nine topics. We will cover roughly two topics per quarter. Topics are broken down more specifically into Content Statements, or statements.
Study of a statement can range from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the detail involved and the amount of background information necessary to fully understand the concept.
When checking your student's grades, you won't see assignments listed such as "Chapter 6 test". Instead, the topic will be listed. "Imperialism Test" is more likely to be listed. Sometimes, an entry such as "Statement 31 Quiz" may be entered. The course is not designed around a text book but rather around the state content framework. This streamlined approach allows parents, teachers and students to all understand the content of each assignment.
So, what will we be learning? Here is the Course Syllabus:
Course Syllabus: American History
Theme: This course examines the history of the United States of America from 1877 to the present. The federal republic has withstood challenges to its national security and expanded the rights and roles of its citizens. The episodes of its past have shaped the nature of the country today and prepared it to attend to the challenges of tomorrow. Understanding how these events came to pass and their meaning for today’s citizens is the purpose of this course. The concepts of historical thinking introduced in earlier grades continue to build with students locating and analyzing primary and secondary sources from multiple perspectives to draw conclusions.
TOPIC: HISTORICAL THINKING AND SKILLS
Students apply skills by utilizing a variety of resources to construct theses and support or refute contentions made by others. Alternative explanations of historical events are analyzed and questions of historical inevitability are explored.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
1. The use of primary and secondary sources of information includes an examination of the credibility of each source.
2. Historians develop theses and use evidence to support or refute positions.
3. Historians analyze cause, effect, sequence and correlation in historical events, including multiple causation and long- and short-term causal relations.
TOPIC: HISTORIC DOCUMENTS
Some documents in American history have considerable importance for the development of the nation. Students use historical thinking to examine key documents which form the basis for the United States of America.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
4. The Declaration of Independence elaborates on the rights and role of the people in building the foundations of the American nation through the principles of unalienable rights and consent of the people.
5. The Northwest Ordinance elaborates on the rights and role of the people in building the foundations of the American nation through its establishment of natural rights and setting up educational institutions.
6. The U.S. Constitution established the foundations of the American nation and the relationship between the people and their government.
7. The debate presented by the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers over protections for individuals and limits on government power resulted in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights provides constitutional protections for individual liberties and limits on governmental power.
TOPIC: INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PROGRESSIVISM (1877-1920)
Ignited by post-Civil War demand and fueled by technological advancements, large-scale industrialization began in the United States during the late 1800s. Growing industries enticed foreign immigration, fostered urbanization, gave rise to the American labor movement and developed the infrastructure that facilitated the settling of the West. A period of progressive reform emerged in response to political corruption and practices of big business.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
8. The rise of corporations, heavy industry, mechanized farming and technological innovations transformed the American economy from an agrarian to an increasingly urban industrial society.
9. The rise of industrialization led to a rapidly expanding workforce. Labor organizations grew amidst unregulated working conditions, laissez-faire policies toward big business, and violence toward supporters of organized labor.
10. Immigration, internal migration and urbanization transformed American life.
11. Continued settlement by Americans in the West intensified conflict with American Indians and reinforced the policy of the reservation system.
12. Following Reconstruction, old political and social structures reemerged and racial discrimination was institutionalized.
13. The Progressive era was an effort to address the ills of American society stemming from industrial capitalism, urbanization, and political corruption.
TOPIC: FOREIGN AFFAIRS FROM IMPERIALISM TO POST-WORLD WAR I (1898-1930)
The industrial and territorial growth of the United States fostered expansion overseas. Greater involvement in the world set the stage for American participation in World War I and attempts to preserve post-war peace.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
14. As a result of overseas expansion, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, the United States emerged as a world power.
15. After World War I, the United States pursued efforts to maintain peace in the world. However, as a result of the national debate over the Versailles Treaty ratification and the League of Nations, the United States moved away from the role of world peacekeeper and limited its involvement in international affairs.
TOPIC: PROSPERITY, DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL (1919-1941)
The post-World War I period was characterized by economic, social and political turmoil. Post- war prosperity brought about changes to American popular culture. However, economic disruptions growing out the war years led to worldwide depression. The United States attempted to deal with the Great Depression through economic programs created by the federal government.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
16. Racial intolerance, anti-immigrant attitudes, and the Red Scare contributed to social unrest after World War I.
17. An improved standard of living for many, combined with technological innovations in communication, transportation, and industry resulted in social and cultural changes and tensions.
18. Movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, African-American migration, women’s suffrage, and Prohibition all contributed to social change.
19. The Great Depression was caused, in part, by the federal government’s monetary policies, stock market speculation, and increasing consumer debt. The role of the federal government expanded as a result of the Great Depression.
TOPIC: FROM ISOLATION TO WORLD WAR (1930-1945)
The isolationist approach to foreign policy meant U.S. leadership in world affairs diminished after World War I. Overseas, certain nations saw the growth of tyrannical governments which reasserted their power through aggression and created conditions leading to the Second World War. After Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II, which changed the country’s focus from isolationism to international involvement.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
20. During the 1930s, the U.S. government attempted to distance the country from earlier interventionist policies in the Western Hemisphere as well as retain an isolationist approach to events in Europe and Asia until the beginning of World War II.
21. United States policy and mobilization of its economic and military resources during World War II affected American society. Despite mistreatment, marginalized groups played important roles in the war effort while continuing to protest unfair treatment.
TOPIC: THE COLD WAR (1945-1991)
The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) emerged as the two strongest powers in international affairs. Ideologically opposed, they challenged one another in a series of confrontations known as the Cold War. The costs of this prolonged contest weakened the U.S.S.R. so that it collapsed due to internal upheavals as well as American pressure. The Cold War had social and political implications in the United States.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
22. Use of atomic weapons changed the nature of war, altered the balance of power, and began the nuclear age.
23. The United States followed a policy of containment during the Cold War in response to the spread of communism.
24. The Second Red Scare and McCarthyism reflected Cold War fears in American society.
25. The Cold War and conflicts in Korea and Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics.
26. The collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R. brought an end to the Cold War.
TOPIC: SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES (1945-1994)
A period of post-war prosperity allowed the United States to undergo fundamental social change. Adding to this change was an emphasis on scientific inquiry, the shift from an industrial to a technological/service economy, the impact of mass media, the phenomenon of suburban and Sun Belt migrations, the increase in immigration and the expansion of civil rights.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
27. Following World War II, the United States experienced a struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of civil rights.
28. The postwar economic boom and advances in science and technology, produced changes in American life.
29. The continuing population flow from cities to suburbs, the internal migrations from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt, and the increase in immigration resulting from passage of the 1965 Immigration Act have had social and political effects.
30. Political debates focused on the extent of the role of government in the economy, environmental protection, social welfare, and national security.
TOPIC: UNITED STATES AND THE POST-COLD WAR WORLD (1991 TO PRESENT)
The United States emerged from the Cold War as a dominant leader in world affairs amidst a globalized economy, political terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
CONTENT STATEMENTS:
31. Improved global communications, international trade, transnational business organizations, overseas competition, and the shift from manufacturing to service industries have impacted the American economy.
32. Focusing on domestic policy, the United States faces ongoing social, political, national security, and economic challenges in the post-Cold War era and following the attacks on September 11, 2001.
33. Focusing on foreign policy, the United States faces ongoing economic, political, military, and social challenges in the post-Cold War era and following the attacks of September 11, 2001