History Updates
US History Semester 1
Standards:
SS.9-12.US.16. Interpret events from a variety of historical and cultural perspectives, including but not limited to: suffragettes, civil rights activists, nationalists, progressives, political activists, immigrant groups.
SS.9-12.US.15. Evaluate the factors that shaped group and national identity and how the American identity has evolved throughout U.S. History.
SS.9-12.US.12. Apply a range of deliberative and democratic strategies and procedures to make decisions and take action regarding contemporary issues at the local, regional, and global levels.
To evaluate how the arts and humanities of diverse cultures relate to the historical themes of the United States. [SS.9-12.US.28, SS.9-12.US.29, SS.9-12.US.30, SS.9-12.US.31
To trace the evolution of Nevada history as it relates to national and global events.
[SS.9-12.US.20, SS.9-12.US.21, SS.9-12.US.22]
To understand the concepts of social justice, consciousness, and action in application to diverse groups and the infringement of civil liberties. [SS.9-12.US.26, SS.9-12.US.27]
To examine the benefits and responsibilities of United States citizenship and how American identity has been shaped and impacted by founding documents, political institutions, and diverse cultural groups.
[SS.9-12.US.32, SS.9-12.US.33, SS.9-12.US.34, SS.9-12.US.35, SS.9-12.US.36,
SS.9-12.US.37, SS.9-12.US.38]
SS.9-12.US.14. Evaluate the impact of individuals and reform movements on the struggle for greater civil rights and liberties throughout U.S. History
SS.9.12.US.22. Trace the evolution of Nevada's economy as it relates to national and global issues.
Activism and Leadership:
After the election of the nation's first African American president, many speculated it would usher in a "post-racial" era. In fact, the outcome of the Trayvon Martin case, as well as a number of incidents involving unarmed African Americans being killed by police, led to renewed activism in support of racial justice. The Supreme Court decision of Obergefell v. Hodges struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage across the country, and marking the beginning of a national movement for the recognition of LBGTQ rights. Many of these movements have developed because of social media, which permits immediate sharing of messages and organizing, making their messages more pronounced and widespread.
Notes:
Vocabulary
Impetus: the primary impetus for the Women’s March was to protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Pronounced many of these movements have developed because of social media, which permits immediate sharing of messages and organizing, making their messages more pronounced and widespread
Ostracized those who felt powerless to confront abusers, ostracized by co-workers or were too afraid to take action began to speak up over the hashtag#MeToo by sharing their own experiences
Example: -States began to talk about passing sexual harassment laws, and company owners began to run sexual harassment awareness courses.
Disseminate increasing numbers of incidents of police misconduct were recorded on cell phones and posted to social media, where it rapidly disseminated around the world
Social Movements:
Social movements have helped influence and change American society, politics, and culture since the founding of the United States. Beginning in 2016, public accusations of sexual misconduct by powerful men, police shootings of unarmed black men, immigration issues, and school shootings have energized movements calling for change. A big impetus for current movements has been the response to the Trump election, and possibly, even more importantly, was his promise that he would appoint pro-life justices and ultimately remove abortion from America. Many of these movements have developed because of social media, which permits immediate sharing of messages and organizing.
The purpose of the march was to reaffirm the idea that women's rights are human rights. Participants held up signs, championed all manner of causes, from ending domestic violence to supporting women's right to choose, to LGBTQ+, immigrant rights, and so on.
These marches energized a whole new generation of women to become much more politically active as more women running for office at the national, state, and local level. The way that they organized, the way that they marched, the issues that were percolating out, all came out of this Women's March on Washington.
Review Questions:
The #MeToo Movement is best characterized as?
What were the outcomes of Black Lives Matter activism?
What was the primary reason Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem?
What events was the primary impetus for Black Lives Matter?
The primary impetus for the Women's March was?
Assignments:
Learn: Racial Justice
1. What led to the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement?
2. How did they advocate for change?
Learn: Youth Activism
1. What issues have been particularly relevant to today's youth activists?
2. What protest methods have they used to make their voices heard?
Because of the Confederate flag's controversial history, critics have advocated for its removal from public display, deeming it a racist symbol that is offensive to African Americans and other people of color. Others think the flag should be allowed to be flown because they view it as an important part of Southern history. The debate was revived on a national scale in August 2017, when white supremacists brandishing Confederate flags and chanting racist slogans descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the city's decision to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee—another symbol of the Confederacy—from a local park. The incident shone a spotlight on the Confederate flag, its history, its legacy, and its future place in U.S. memory and society.
Learn: Journal
Should public displays of the Confederate flag be banned?
LGBTQ+ Movement
While this inquiry does focus on the LGBTQ+ movement, you can also draw on other social movements in history with respect to organization, activism, and overall execution, including the Civil Rights Movement, women's suffrage, or rights movements.
Lessons:
Task 1: Read the article excerpt on Screaming Queens The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
Download Screaming Queens The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
Task 2: Read the newspaper article excerpt
Download newspaper article excerpt
in The Phyllis Schlafly Report newspaper
Task 3: Read Bayard Rustin, the
transcript of Bayard Rustin's speech from “From Montgomery to Stonewall”, 1986
newspaper article excerpt in “The Earth is Round,” Announcement of the APA decision.
Task 5: Read the transcript of
speech "Hope Speech" at San Francisco's Gay Freedom Day Parade, 1978.
Task 6: Review the various
impacting the LGBTQ+ community
Task 7: pdf newspaper article excerpt in “Playing Politics at the Military’s Expense,” by Carl Mundy from New York Times.
Task 8: Read the transcript of Lady Gaga's
Download transcript of Lady Gaga's
"The Prime Rib of America" at a rally in Maine, in 2010.
Task 9: Read the transcript
of Justice Kennedy, Majority Opinion from Romer v. Evans, 1996.
Task 10: Read the transcript
of the oral argument in Lawrence v. Texas, 2003.
Task 11: Read the transcript
of Justice Kennedy, Majority Opinion from the United States v. Windsor, 1996.
transcript of Majority and Dissenting Opinions from Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015.
Task 13: Read excerpts from Richard Socarides article
Download Richard Socarides article
“Coming Out to My Father,” The New Yorker, April 8, 2013
Task 14: Explore the Aids Quilt Website
and its history
. Look at several panels
Task 15: Read excerpts from Paul Goodman's article
Download Paul Goodman's article
, "Memoirs of an Ancient Activist", retitled "The Politics of Being Queer", November 15, 1969.
Task 16: Read excerpts from Cleve Jones's article
Download Cleve Jones's article
SS.9-12.US.31. Analyze the intellectual, cultural, religious, and artistic contributions of diverse individuals in the U.S. to the modern world.
Thomas Jefferson argued that "all men were created equal
" and that all men had equal entitlement to the rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These were rights Americans fought to secure from Great Britain during the War for Independence in 1776. The irony was, like many of the Founding Fathers, they were slaveholders
Assignments: Essay Planning
1. How is the LGBTQ+ Movement's progress affected by the public's reaction?
2. How have government leaders and policies impacted the movement?
3. How have the Supreme Court and precedence influenced the movement?
4. What role do people within the LGBTQ+ community play in the movement?
Essay prompts:
1. Describe the change brought about by the LGBTQ+ Movement 1-2 paragraphs
2. Discuss 2 accomplishments the LGBTQ+ Movement has had on the United States and/or on American society
3. Discuss 2 movers and shakers the LGBTQ+ Movement has had on the United States and/or on American society
4. In your own words, summary of how this applies for today
5. Insert 2 visual images that connect with your topic
Art, Society, and American Zeitgeist (from 20's to today's Zeitgeists)
Spirit of the Time
Zeitgeist is a word that comes straight form German--Zeit means "time" and Geist means "spirit," and "spirit of the time" is what's going on culturally, religiously, or intellectually during a certain period.
Assignment: Journal
Considering all the events that have occurred in the last few years, how do you think history will define the current American zeitgeist
Project:
Identify a social movement you would like to research. Discuss the importance of this issue in consideration of the multiple levels of government, as well as how to address social issue policies.
US History Semester 2
**S1 covered Civil Rights continued into S2
Standards:
SS.9-12.US.25. Analyze the reciprocal nature of international relations as the U.S. and other governments interact and influence one another.
SS.9-12.US.26. Examine how and why diverse groups have been denied equality and opportunity, both institutionally and informally.
SS.9-12.US.29. Investigate and apply the successful principles used by groups in U.S. history in order to create communities of respect, equity, and diversity at the school and local level.
SS.9-12.US.30. Discuss the contributions of racially and ethnically diverse leaders to the advancement of the U.S.
SS.9-12.US.31. Analyze the intellectual, cultural, religious, and artistic contributions of diverse individuals in the U.S. to the modern world.
Lesson Topics
1. Civil Rights
2. Latinx Rights
3. Women's Rights
4. Internet Revolution Inquiry
Lesson Goals
1. Examine the history of racial inequality throughout the U.S. History
2. Examine and analyze the contributions of racially and ethnically diverse leader across U.S. History throughout the Civil Rights Movement
3. Investigate the attempts by groups in U.S. History to create communities of equality and respect
Assignment: Journal
1. What types of yellow journalism exist in our media coverage today?
2. Do you think the war on terror might change if the American public were more aware of the costs of war?
Is the American Dream attainable?
The Chicano movement coincided with a formulation of cultural identity that emphasized a connection between Mexican Americans and Aztlán
, the mythical home of the Aztecs in northern Mexico before they migrated to the Valley of Mexico. Many Chicanos championed their American Indian roots, culture, and history, and they found a kinship with Native Americans in their struggles for justice and equal rights.
From Latino to LatinX
Known as Hispanics, Latinos, or Chicanos, people of Latino descent are typically defined as having ancestral roots in Mexico, Central America, or Latin America. Today, the two dominant labels in use are Hispanic and Latino, with origins in the 1970s and 1990s respectively. More recently, a new, gender-neutral, pan-ethnic label, Latinx, has emerged as an alternative that is used by some news and entertainment outlets, corporations, local governments, and universities to describe the nation’s Hispanic population. The emergence of Latinx
coincides with a global movement to introduce gender-neutral nouns and pronouns into many languages whose grammar has traditionally used male or female constructions.
While the shift to gender-neutral pronouns is only one step, issues that existed in the 1960s still exist today. The perceived impact of skin color in the lives of U.S. Latinos is broad. From impacting their ability to get ahead in the country to shape their daily life experiences to dealing with discrimination, skin color is seen by Latinos as an important factor affecting their lives and life chances. A majority (62%) of Hispanic adults say having a darker skin color hurts Hispanics’ ability to get ahead in the United States today at least a little. A similar share (59%) say having a lighter skin color helps Hispanics get ahead. And 57% say skin color shapes their daily life experiences a lot or some, with about half saying discrimination based on race or skin color is a “very big problem” in the U.S. today, according to Pew Research Center’s National Survey of Latinos
A bilingual, national survey of 3,375 Hispanic U.S. adults conducted in March 2021.
fund programs and enforce anti-discrimination laws. How do you identify your race and ethnicity, and how does that relate to your identity and your experience in your community?
Is America living up to the ideal of "all men are created equal"?
In 1966, a group of liberal feminists set out to form an official bureaucratic organization with the sole purpose being to achieve the same equality as men. The group, along with Betty Friedan, formed the National Organization of Women
, or NOW. Essentially the group fought for liberal objectives such as fair pay and equal job opportunities, as well as an end to violence against women and gay and lesbian rights. Radical feminists made up mostly younger housewives and college students that advocated to overthrow the traditional gender roles and adopt a more democratic, nonhierarchical structure of society.
Equality under the law was only part of the women's movement; cultural change continues to be an area of struggle that feminists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries—known as the third wave—fight for today.
Lesson: Real World Connection
There are parallels between the race struggles of Martin Luther King half a century ago and the Black Lives Matter movement of today. Consider how attention is being brought to the disparities between races in the United States, and how the message has changed from an aspirational tone to a commitment to truth-telling. Protesters in both struggles were working to transform America and focus on respect. What do you think it will take for America to fully recognize the dignity of black people?
Assignment: Question Prompt
1. What do you think it will take to have everyone in the United States achieve full recognition of the dignity of black people?
2. Is the American Dream attainable?
Vocabulary:
1. Disparity
2. Dignity
3. Entitlement
4. Constituent
5. Segregate
People of Latinx descent come from a variety of backgrounds and include long-standing histories as either immigrants or U.S.-born natives. They are the fastest-growing ethnic population in America and makeup about a quarter of the U.S. population. Since the late 19th century, Hispanic immigrants have continued to provide cheap labor while facing poor living conditions and discrimination. It wasn't until the 1960s that the Chicano Movement brought awareness and activism to people of Latinx descent.
Learn: Cesar Chavez
1. Why is Cesar Chavez considered a hero among Chicano activist?
2. How did he improve the lives of Hispanics?
Learn: Racial Segregation
1. Why do you think education was such a focus for Chicano activists?
2. According to the professor, how ere Hispanics allowed to be segregated?
Learn: Chicano Movement
1. What has the term "Chicano" come to represent?
2. How did the Chicano Movement sees similarities to disadvantaged Native Americans?
Learn: Latino to Latinx
1. Why is the discussion of using the term Latinx relevant today?
2. What do Hispanics say about having darker skin? Lighter skin?
3. Why is that significant in the broader discussion of civil rights?
Learn: Journal
1.How do you identify your race and ethnicity, and how does that relate to your identity and your experience in your community?
3. Examine how Hispanic groups have been denied equality and opportunity
4. Discuss the contribution of Hispanic leaders and their contributions to the United States
5. Analyze the contributions of the Hispanic and Native American communities in the United States
Learn: Women's Liberation Movement
1. What is the second wave feminism?
2. What were the first and second wave movements similar and different?
3. Is America living up to the ideal of "all men are created equal?
Learn: Journal
1. Examine how the second wave of feminism was influential to women's rights
2. Discuss the contributions of influential leaders in the fight for women's equality and rights
3. Analyze the steps taken by activists to help the women's rights cause
4. Were the feminist movements inclusive of women of color and working class women?
5. Is it still a necessity to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment?
Learn: Internet
1. Impact of increased access to information and misinformation on the political
2. Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles
This inquiry will lead you through an examination of the modern-day United States and global politics by investigating the Internet's role in either helping or hampering the democratic processes. By investigating the compelling question, you will consider the impact of increased access to information (and misinformation) on the political process, how it shapes political discourse on the individual and public level, its role in the democratization of information on the global stage, as well as how students see these features impacting their own political interactions. By addressing the compelling question, you will work through a series of supporting questions, performance tasks, and sources in order to construct an argument with evidence and counter-evidence from a variety of sources.
Learn: Journal
1. Is the internet good for democracy?
2. Examine the history of racial inequality throughout the U.S. History
3. Investigate the attempts by groups in U.S. History to create communities of equality and respect
4. Examine and analyze the contributions of racially and ethnically diverse leaders across U.S. History throughout the Civil Rights Movement
5. Discuss the contribution of ethnically diverse activist leaders modern to today