United States History

Units

1. 1

   Period 1: 1491 to 1607 (Native societies, contact and Spanish colonization)

   3 lessons

   1. Native societies and European explorationDescribe how Native American societies differed across North America before 1491 and explain the causes of European exploration of the Americas.
   2. The Columbian Exchange and Spanish colonizationExplain the Columbian Exchange and its effects, and describe how Spain conquered and ruled its American empire through encomienda, the caste system and the shift to African slavery.
   3. Cultural interactions and causationCompare how Spanish, French and Dutch colonists dealt with Native Americans and Africans, and practice explaining causes and effects in Period 1.
2. 2

   Period 2: 1607 to 1754 (English, French and Dutch colonies, trade and slavery)

   3 lessons

   1. English, French and Dutch colonizationExplain why the English colonies of the Chesapeake, New England, the Middle Colonies and the Lower South differed, and compare them with French and Dutch colonies.
   2. Transatlantic trade and relations with Native AmericansExplain mercantilism and the Atlantic trade network, and describe the conflicts and cooperation between colonists and Native Americans.
   3. Slavery and colonial societyExplain why slavery grew in the British colonies, describe the life and resistance of enslaved people, and describe colonial religion, culture and the Great Awakening.
3. 3

   Period 3: 1754 to 1800 (The Seven Years' War, the Revolution and the Constitution)

   6 lessons

   1. The Seven Years' WarExplain the causes and results of the French and Indian War and why Britain's victory ended salutary neglect.
   2. Taxation without representationExplain British policies after 1763 and the colonists' resistance, from the Stamp Act to Lexington and Concord.
   3. Philosophical foundations and the RevolutionExplain the Enlightenment ideas behind the Declaration of Independence and describe how the colonists won the Revolutionary War.
   4. Revolutionary ideals and the ArticlesExplain how revolutionary ideals changed American society and politics, and why the Articles of Confederation proved too weak.
   5. The Constitution and ratificationExplain the compromises of the Constitutional Convention, the design of the Constitution, and the debate between Federalists and Antifederalists.
   6. The early republicExplain how Hamilton and Jefferson's disputes created political parties, how Washington and Adams handled foreign policy, and how settlers moved west.
4. 4

   Period 4: 1800 to 1848 (The early republic, the market revolution and Jacksonian democracy)

   6 lessons

   1. Jefferson and the rise of political partiesExplain how Jefferson's presidency used and stretched federal power, including the Louisiana Purchase and Marbury v. Madison, and how regional politics shaped the parties.
   2. America on the world stage and the War of 1812Explain the causes of the War of 1812, describe its main events, and show how its results shaped national feeling and foreign policy through the Monroe Doctrine.
   3. The market revolutionExplain how new transportation, factories and farming changed work, society and regions between 1800 and 1848.
   4. Jacksonian democracyExplain how democracy expanded in the age of Jackson, how Jackson used federal power in the Nullification Crisis and the Bank War, and how Indian removal worked.
   5. Religion and reformExplain how the Second Great Awakening inspired reform movements, including temperance, education, abolition and women's rights, and describe the new religious and utopian groups.
   6. Slavery and the SouthExplain how cotton made slavery grow, describe slave society and the pro-slavery argument, and describe enslaved people's culture and resistance.
5. 5

   Period 5: 1844 to 1877 (Manifest destiny, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction)

   4 lessons

   1. Manifest destiny and westward expansionExplain how the belief in manifest destiny and the annexation of Texas led to the Mexican-American War, and what the United States gained and what the gain cost in 1848.
   2. Debates over slaveryExplain how compromises over slavery in the territories failed between 1844 and 1860, and why the election of 1860 broke the Union.
   3. The Civil WarExplain why the Civil War began, how the Union won it, and how the Emancipation Proclamation changed its purpose.
   4. ReconstructionCompare the plans to rebuild the South after the Civil War, explain the three Reconstruction Amendments, and explain why Reconstruction ended in 1877 without securing equal rights.
6. 6

   Period 6: 1865 to 1898 (Industrialization, immigration, the West and the Gilded Age)

   4 lessons

   1. Industrialization and the Gilded AgeExplain how railroads, steel and new inventions built big business after the Civil War, how business leaders and the government responded, and how workers organized.
   2. Immigration and urbanizationExplain who came to the United States after 1865 and why, how cities grew and changed, and how nativism and the Chinese Exclusion Act answered the newcomers.
   3. The West and farmersExplain how settlers, railroads and federal policy opened the Great Plains, how federal Indian policy took Native lands, and why farmers formed the Populist movement.
   4. Politics and culture of the Gilded AgeExplain the corruption and reform of Gilded Age politics, how Jim Crow took shape after Reconstruction, and the debates over wealth and poverty.
7. 7

   Period 7: 1890 to 1945 (Progressivism, empire, the world wars, the 1920s and the New Deal)

   5 lessons

   1. ProgressivismExplain what Progressives wanted, how reformers and the presidents Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson used government to answer the problems of industrial America, and who the reforms left out.
   2. Imperialism and World War IExplain why the United States took an overseas empire in 1898, how it entered World War I, and how the war and the peace changed the home front and the nation's role.
   3. The 1920sExplain how the automobile, mass production and mass culture changed life in the 1920s, and how the decade's tensions between city and country, native-born and immigrant, and old and new values showed up in politics and law.
   4. The Great Depression and New DealExplain the causes of the Great Depression, describe the New Deal's programs of relief, recovery and reform, and weigh its critics and its results.
   5. World War IIExplain how the United States moved from neutrality to war, how the Allies won in Europe and the Pacific, how the home front changed American society, and what order the war left.
8. 8

   Period 8: 1945 to 1980 (The Cold War, civil rights and the Great Society)

   5 lessons

   1. The Cold War and containmentExplain how the Cold War began, how containment shaped American policy from the Truman Doctrine to the Korean War, and how the Cold War changed life at home through the Red Scare and the arms race.
   2. Postwar societyExplain the sources of postwar prosperity, how suburbs, television and consumer culture changed daily life, who was left out, and how the early civil rights movement challenged segregation.
   3. The civil rights movementDescribe the strategies, leaders and organizations of the civil rights movement, and explain how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed the law.
   4. The Vietnam War and the Great SocietyDescribe Johnson's Great Society programs, explain how the United States became deeply involved in Vietnam, and explain how the war caused protest and shook trust in government.
   5. Social movements and the 1970sDescribe the women's, Chicano, American Indian and other movements of the 1960s and 1970s, explain Watergate and its effect on trust in government, and describe the economic and foreign policy troubles of the decade.
9. 9

   Period 9: 1980 to the present (Conservatism, globalization and the twenty-first century)

   7 lessons

   1. The rise of conservatismExplain the roots of the conservative movement, describe Reagan's domestic and foreign policies, and explain how the Cold War ended.
   2. The 1990s and the post-9/11 eraDescribe the economy, technology and politics of the 1990s, explain how the attacks of September 11, 2001 led to the war on terror, and explain the causes and effects of the financial crisis of 2008.
   3. The 21st centuryDescribe the demographic change, the political divisions and the economic changes of the United States since 2000, and weigh how each has shaped debates about identity, government and opportunity.
   4. Contextualization and sourcing (HIPP)Place a document in its historical context and use its historical situation, intended audience, purpose and point of view to judge what it can and cannot show.
   5. Causation, comparison and continuity and changeUse the three historical reasoning processes, causation, comparison and continuity and change over time, to build an argument supported by specific evidence.
   6. SAQ and the sourced short answersAnswer the short-answer questions of the AP exam, including the two that give a source, by answering each part directly with a specific piece of evidence and a clear explanation.
   7. The DBQ and LEQWrite a thesis, use documents, bring outside evidence, source documents and earn the complexity point in the document-based essay, and apply the same argument skills to the single required long essay.