This course will cover United States history from its pre-colonial period beginning in c. 1492 to the present. It covers all major aspects of American history during that period including: political, diplomatic, intellectual, cultural, economic and social. In addition, the course deals extensively with learning how to read, understand, analyze and interpret a wide variety of both primary and secondary texts together with the maps, graphs and pictorial materials associated with them. The course also aims to help students to put the knowledge and understanding they are gaining into practice through sharpening their oral and written communication skills. This will be achieved in two ways: First, through regular class discussions and occasional assigned oral presentations or debates. Second, through the regular writing of focused essays that require both knowledge and analytical and interpretive skills. Though challenging, this course is extremely important in understanding the United States of America as it exists in the world today. Students will be rewarded in a myriad of ways for the effort they put into it. Finally, if the past is any guide to the present – and I believe that you will learn that it is – this course will be one of the most enjoyable and beneficial that you will ever take in your middle school career.
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Unit 1 The Colonial EraThe Big Picture:
Beginning in the 1580s, numerous European powers including Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Great Britain competed to establish colonies in North America. Differences among the European colonial patterns led to varying political, economic, cultural legacies in North America, including on Native Americans. The British colonies became the most populous and successful by the 17th century but remained divided among three distinct colonial regions: New England, mid-Atlantic, and southern colonies. The most significant difference among the British colonies was the political, economic, and social patterns of the Chesapeake and New England regions. |
Unit 2 The American RevolutionThe Big Picture:
The British victory in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) brought additional lands in the West, but significant war debts as well. To pay this debt, the British parliament moved away from salutary neglect in favor of more strict colonial control. Colonial protest to new taxes, restrictions on colonial self-government, and influence from the European Enlightenment led to a colonial Declaration of Independence in 1776. During the American Revolution, the overmatched colonists found a leader in George Washington and badly-needed French assistance after the Battle of Saratoga. When the war ended, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 brought independence and the formation of the United States. |
Unit 3 The New NationThe Big Picture:
As a newly independent nation in 1783, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. While this confederation avoided the re-creation of tyranny, its lack of strong central authority eventually proved ineffective, especially in light of Shays’ Rebellion. After numerous compromises, the founding fathers created the Constitution at the Philadelphia convention in 1787 which was ratified after the Anti-Federalists gained the addition of a Bill of Rights. Presidents Washington and Adams, Secretary of Treasury Hamilton, and Secretary of State Jefferson helped establish significant precedents, early foreign and domestic policies, and America’s first political parties. |