ABOUT THE COURSE
College Prep United States History is a one year, two-semester course designed as a full-scale and focused analysis of the nation’s history through various scopes of study and diverse perspectives. The course begins with a month-long review of the founding of the United States, from colonization and Enlightenment ideals to westward expansion after the destructive and decisive conflict of the Civil War. This review will focus on seven major themes of study: The Colonies, Religious Origins, Slavery, Native Americans, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and Manifest Destiny. The class will investigate how events during the first century of the American republic categorized in each theme of study came to shape the nation today, and relate those events to current events with the help of documents from the time period. For the remainder of the first semester, the course will examine the impact of the industrial age, including the birth of American big business, immigration and urbanization during the Gilded Age, populism, the reforms of the Progressive Era, the emergence of America as a world power in the age of imperialism, and the American role in World War I. The semester will conclude with an evaluation of the Roaring Twenties. The course will conclude in the second semester, with a focus on the causes, impact, and legacies of the Great Depression and the New Deal, America’s role in WWII, and the influence of the Cold War on American foreign policy, from the 1950s until now. The course will also analyze the the civil rights movement in the post war era, and changes in modern American society with an emphasis on social, political, and economic trends.
Course Syllabus | |
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COURSE CURRICULUM MAP
UNIT 1: FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICA [22 DAYS/12%]
THEME -- THE COLONIES
Day 1: Mercantilism and the Colonies
Day 2: The Colonists (ACTIVITY – “The Colonists”)
THEME -- RELIGIOUS ORIGINS
Day 3: Religion in the Colonies
Day 4: Church and State (ACTIVITY – “The Establishment and Free Exercise Clause”)
Day 5: Religious Freedom Today (MOCK TRIAL – “Religious Freedom Today”)
THEME -- SLAVERY
Day 6: Slavery in Early America
Day 7: The Brutality of Slavery (ACTIVITY – “Slavery Media Gallery”)
Day 8: American Reconstruction (ACTIVITY – “Reconstruction")
Day 9: The Legacy of Slavery (AROUND THE HORN – “Racial Tensions in America”)
THEME -- NATIVE AMERICANS
Day 10: Native Americans in Early America
Day 11: The Trail of Tears (ACTIVITY – "The Indian Removal Act")
THEME -- THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Day 12: Influence of the Enlightenment
Day 13: Origins of the Revolution (ACTIVITY – "Join or Die")
Day 14: Translating the Declaration (CLOSE READING – "The Declaration of Independence")
THEME -- THE CONSTITUTION
Day 15: Debating the Power of Government (ACTIVITY - "Federalists and Anti-Federalists")
Day 16: The Bill of Rights (ACTIVITY – "The Bill of Rights")
Day 17: Checks and Balances (ACTIVITY – "The Separation of Powers")
THEME -- MANIFEST DESTINY
Day 18: Westward Expansion in the 1800s
Day 19: From Sea to Shining Sea (ACTIVITY – "Manifest Destiny")
Day 20: Unit 1 Exam Review
Day 21: Unit 1 Exam
Day 22: Unit 1 Exam Edit
UNIT 2: THE GILDED AGE [19 DAYS/10%]
Day 1: Moving Forward: American Innovations (ACTIVITY – “American Industrialization” & "Ride the Rails")
Day 2: UNIT 2 ACTIVITY - "The Transportation Revolution"
Day 3: UNIT 2 ACTIVITY - "The Transportation Revolution"
Day 4: Big Business & Robber Barons (ACTIVITY – “The Era of Big Business”)
Day 5: DBQ ANALYSIS: "Captains of Industry of Robber Barons?"
Day 6: Workers and Labor Unions (ACTIVITY - "Labor in the Gilded Age")
Day 7: The Era of Immigration (ACTIVITY – “The New Immigrants”)
Day 8: Urbanization (ACTIVITY – “The Growth of the City in the Gilded Age")
Day 9: DBQ ANALYSIS: "Immigration & Urbanization"
Day 10: Politics of the Gilded Age (ACTIVITY - "Investigating Political Machines")
Day 11: Mass Culture & Social Struggles (ACTIVITY – "The Jim Crow South")
Day 12: Advent of American Pop Culture (ACTIVITY – “Mass Culture of the Gilded Age Photo Gallery”)
Day 13: Origins of the Progressive Movement (CLOSE READING – "The Jungle")
Day 14: Roosevelt's "Square Deal" (ACTIVITY – TR's Square Deal)
Day 15: Progressivism under Taft (ACTIVITY - Taft's Progressivism)
Day 16: WIlson's "New Freedom" (ACTIVITY – "New Freedom" with Wilson)
Day 17: Unit 2 Exam Review
Day 18: Unit 2 Exam
Day 19: Unit 2 Exam Edit
THEME -- THE COLONIES
Day 1: Mercantilism and the Colonies
Day 2: The Colonists (ACTIVITY – “The Colonists”)
THEME -- RELIGIOUS ORIGINS
Day 3: Religion in the Colonies
Day 4: Church and State (ACTIVITY – “The Establishment and Free Exercise Clause”)
Day 5: Religious Freedom Today (MOCK TRIAL – “Religious Freedom Today”)
THEME -- SLAVERY
Day 6: Slavery in Early America
Day 7: The Brutality of Slavery (ACTIVITY – “Slavery Media Gallery”)
Day 8: American Reconstruction (ACTIVITY – “Reconstruction")
Day 9: The Legacy of Slavery (AROUND THE HORN – “Racial Tensions in America”)
THEME -- NATIVE AMERICANS
Day 10: Native Americans in Early America
Day 11: The Trail of Tears (ACTIVITY – "The Indian Removal Act")
THEME -- THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Day 12: Influence of the Enlightenment
Day 13: Origins of the Revolution (ACTIVITY – "Join or Die")
Day 14: Translating the Declaration (CLOSE READING – "The Declaration of Independence")
THEME -- THE CONSTITUTION
Day 15: Debating the Power of Government (ACTIVITY - "Federalists and Anti-Federalists")
Day 16: The Bill of Rights (ACTIVITY – "The Bill of Rights")
Day 17: Checks and Balances (ACTIVITY – "The Separation of Powers")
THEME -- MANIFEST DESTINY
Day 18: Westward Expansion in the 1800s
Day 19: From Sea to Shining Sea (ACTIVITY – "Manifest Destiny")
Day 20: Unit 1 Exam Review
Day 21: Unit 1 Exam
Day 22: Unit 1 Exam Edit
UNIT 2: THE GILDED AGE [19 DAYS/10%]
Day 1: Moving Forward: American Innovations (ACTIVITY – “American Industrialization” & "Ride the Rails")
Day 2: UNIT 2 ACTIVITY - "The Transportation Revolution"
Day 3: UNIT 2 ACTIVITY - "The Transportation Revolution"
Day 4: Big Business & Robber Barons (ACTIVITY – “The Era of Big Business”)
Day 5: DBQ ANALYSIS: "Captains of Industry of Robber Barons?"
Day 6: Workers and Labor Unions (ACTIVITY - "Labor in the Gilded Age")
Day 7: The Era of Immigration (ACTIVITY – “The New Immigrants”)
Day 8: Urbanization (ACTIVITY – “The Growth of the City in the Gilded Age")
Day 9: DBQ ANALYSIS: "Immigration & Urbanization"
Day 10: Politics of the Gilded Age (ACTIVITY - "Investigating Political Machines")
Day 11: Mass Culture & Social Struggles (ACTIVITY – "The Jim Crow South")
Day 12: Advent of American Pop Culture (ACTIVITY – “Mass Culture of the Gilded Age Photo Gallery”)
Day 13: Origins of the Progressive Movement (CLOSE READING – "The Jungle")
Day 14: Roosevelt's "Square Deal" (ACTIVITY – TR's Square Deal)
Day 15: Progressivism under Taft (ACTIVITY - Taft's Progressivism)
Day 16: WIlson's "New Freedom" (ACTIVITY – "New Freedom" with Wilson)
Day 17: Unit 2 Exam Review
Day 18: Unit 2 Exam
Day 19: Unit 2 Exam Edit