COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to provide the student with a basic understanding of American History. He content will focus on the origins of the nation’s democratic principles and continue through present day domestic and foreign issues that affect American society. There will be a particular emphasis on the individuals and groups that have not only been impacted by the nation’s development but those who have made contributions as well. Students will utilize critical thinking and problem solving skills as they participate in interactive discussions, and complete assignments establishing real-world connections.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After completing the course, students will be able to:

• Identify to origins of the United States
• Analyze significant documents that have impacted the development of the nation
• Identify key events in the nation’s development
• Identify significant individuals that contributed to the nation’s development
• Describe issues that have and still affect the nation both home and abroad
• Describe the causes and effects of the various wars that Americans have fought
• Discuss the characteristics that define the United States as World Power

PREREQUISITES:

None

COURSE LENGTH:

One semester

REQUIRED TEXT:

None

COURSE OUTLINE:

Settling America

• Scientific Origins of the Continent
• Emerging Civilizations
• Foreign Exploration & Colonization
• Settling the Colonies
• Role of the Indigenous Population
• Religious Views
• The American Revolution

Forming the Republic

• Building a New Government
• Foreign and Domestic Issues
• Role of the President
• The Expanding Nation
• Settling the Western Frontier

The Civil War

• Causes for the War
• Political Issues, Battles
• Effects of the War
• Role of the President
• Reconstruction

A Growing Nation

• Big Business
• Westward Migration
• Land Acts
• Gilded Age
• Role of the Presidency
• Immigration
• Living Conditions
• Reform Movements

America as a World Power

• Imperialism
• Nationalism
• Spanish American War
• Annexation of Hawaii
• Panama Canal
• Role of the Presidency
• Progressivism
• Suffrage
• World War I
• Battles
• American Home Front
• Role of the Presidency

The Twenties

• Red Scare
• Labor Issues
• Automobiles Industry
• Role of Women
• Mass Media
• Harlem
• Renaissance
• Prohibition
• The Economy
• Stock Market Crash
• Great Depression
• Role of the Presidency

World War Two and Beyond

• Causes of the War
• Hitler
• The Holocaust
• America’s Role
• Pearl Harbor
• Role of the Presidency
• Battles
• American Home Front
• Military Leadership
• War in the Pacific
• Manhattan Project
• Cold War
• Korean War
• Arms Race

The Sixties

• The New Frontier and John F. Kennedy
• Camelot
• Space Program
• Assassination of John F. Kennedy
• Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society
• Foreign Policy
• Martin Luther King
• Women’s Movement
• Vietnam
• Battles
• American Home Front

The Road to the Modern Era

• Richard Millhouse Nixon
• Domestic Policy
• Foreign Policy
• Watergate
• Impeachment
• Gerald Ford
• Nixon Pardon
• The Economy
• Foreign Policy
• Jimmy Carter
• The Election
• Staff Issues
• Domestic Issues

Charting a New Course

• Ronald Regan
• Election of 1980
• The Economy
• Foreign Policy
• Domestic Issues
• George H. Bush
• Election of 1988
• End of the Cold War
• Domestic Issues
• Persian Gulf
• William Jefferson Clinton
• Domestic Policy
• Foreign Policy
• Impeachment
• George W. Bush
• 911
• Domestic Policy
• Foreign Policy
• Desert Storm
• American Home Front