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US History

This is a survey course that provides students with an investigation of important political, economic, and social developments in American history from the pre-colonial time period to the present day. Students will be engaged in activities that call upon their skills as historians (i.e. recognizing cause and effect relationships, various forms of research, expository and persuasive writing, reading of primary and secondary sources, comparing and contrasting important ideas and events).

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US History
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Chapter 01 - New World Beginnings

  1. The Shaping of North America
    1. Recorded history began 6,000 years ago. It was 500 years ago that Europeans set foot on the Americas to begin the era of accurately recorded history on the continent.
    2. The theory of “Pangaea” exists suggesting that the continents were once nestled together into one mega-continent. The continents then spread out as drifting islands.
    3. Geologic forces of continental plates created the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.

Characteristics of British Colonies

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US History
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Thirteen Colonies
British colonization of the Americas
British Empire
Colonial Virginia
James River
Southern Colonies
Middle Colonies
Planter class
Plantation
Jamestown, Virginia
Loyalist
Bacon's Rebellion

Complete your column as a group, then selected experts, share with the other groups Characteristics of British Colonies Characteristic NEW ENGLAND MIDDLE COLONIES SOUTHERN COLONIES (including Chesapeake) Colonies Massachusetts / Plymouth Rhode Island Connecticut New Hampshire Maine New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Reason for settlement: (religion, profit, philanthropy, etc) Common Geographic characteristics Predominant Nationality ? ethnic groups Religious Toleration: To what extent and for what reasons MD Toleration Act- Carolinas established religious toleration to attract immigrant settlers to the region Characteristic

Chapter 41 - America Confronts the Post-Cold War Era

  1. Bill Clinton: the First Baby-Boomer President
    1. In the 1992 presidential election, the Democrats chose Bill Clinton for president along with Al Gore for V.P. They were the first baby boomer presidential candidates.
      1. Clinton carried some baggage—accusations of womanizing, sampling marijuana as a youth, avoiding the draft for Vietnam).
      2. The Democrats moved away from their extreme-liberal positions more "toward the center." They advocated economic growth, a strong defense, and anti-crime measures.

Chapter 38 - The Stormy Sixties

  1. Kennedy’s “New Frontier” Spirit
    1. Kennedy was the youngest president ever elected (though Teddy Roosevelt had taken over at a younger age). JFK personified the glamor and optimism of a younger, robust, vibrant America. Inaugural addresses seldom are memorable, Kennedy's was memorable with the line, "…ask not, what your country can do for you: ask what you can do for your country."

Chapter 37 - The Eisenhower Era

  1. Affluence and Its Anxieties
    1. The post-WWII economy was a booming economy. 25% of all homes in 1960 were less than a decade old. 83% of the new homes were in the suburbs.
    2. The field of electronics hit a milestone with the invention of the transistor. Computers and electronics could now become small (the first computers, "UNIVAC" and "ENIAC", were room-size).
      1. This gave rise to high-tech companies like IBM. The "information age" was beginning.

Chapter 36 - The Cold War Begins

  1. Postwar Economic Anxieties
    1. Many feared a return to the Great Depression or at least a post-war recession.
      1. When the war time price controls ended, inflation did increase significantly.
    2. Labor unions had made steady gains during the Depression and the war. With the economy now strong, the pendulum now swung back against unions.

Chapter 35 - America in World War II

  1. The Allies Trade Space for Time
    1. Pearl Harbor jarred many Americans' minds out of isolationism and into revenge-on-Japan mode. This was especially true on the west coast where there was only water between the U.S. and the Japanese fleet.
    2. FDR held back the reins against Japan, however, and vowed to "get Germany first." Many folks were upset at putting Japan second on the list, but Germany was the more pressing problem.

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