United States History Studies Since 1877

Analyze and evaluate the text, intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.

Analyze and evaluate the application of these founding principles to historical events in U.S. history.

Explain the meaning and historical significance of the mottos "E Pluribus Unum" and "In God We Trust.".

Identify the major eras in U.S. history from 1877 to the present and describe their defining characteristics.

Explain the significance of the following years as turning points: 1898 (Spanish-American War), 1914-1918 (World War I), 1929 (the Great Depression begins), 1939-1945 (World War II), 1957 (Sputnik launch ignites U.S.-Soviet space race), 1968 (Martin Luther King Jr. assassination), 1969 (U.S. lands on the moon), 1991 (Cold War ends), 2001 (terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon), and 2008 (election of first black president, Barack Obama).

Analyze political issues such as Indian policies, the growth of political machines, and civil service reform.

Analyze economic issues such as industrialization, the growth of railroads, the growth of labor unions, farm issues, the cattle industry boom, the growth of entrepreneurship, and the pros and cons of big business.

Analyze social issues affecting women, minorities, children, immigrants, and urbanization.

Explain why significant events, policies, and individuals, including the Spanish-American War, U.S. expansionism, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and Sanford B. Dole moved the United States into the position of a world power.

Evaluate American expansionism, including acquisitions such as Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

Identify the causes of World War I and reasons for U.S. entry.

Understand the contributions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) led by General John J. Pershing, including the Battle of Argonne Forest.

Analyze the impact of machine guns, airplanes, tanks, poison gas, and trench warfare as significant technological innovations in World War I on the Western Front.

Analyze major issues raised by U.S. involvement in World War I, including isolationism, neutrality, Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the Treaty of Versailles.

Analyze the impact of Progressive Era reforms, including initiative, referendum, recall, and the passage of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments.

Evaluate the impact of muckrakers and reform leaders such as Upton Sinclair, Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Ida B. Wells, and W. E. B. DuBois on American society.

Analyze the impact of third parties, including the Populist and Progressive parties.

Analyze causes and effects of events and social issues such as immigration, Social Darwinism, the Scopes Trial, eugenics, race relations, nativism, the Red Scare, Prohibition, and the changing role of women.

Analyze the impact of significant individuals such as Henry Ford, Marcus Garvey, and Charles A. Lindbergh.

Identify reasons for U.S. involvement in World War II, including the aggression of Italian, German, and Japanese dictatorships, especially the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Evaluate the domestic and international leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman during World War II, including the U.S. relationship with its allies.

Analyze major issues of World War II, including the Holocaust, the internment of Japanese Americans as a result of Executive Order 9066, and the development of atomic weapons.

Analyze major military events of World War II, including fighting the war on multiple fronts, the Bataan Death March, the U.S. military advancement through the Pacific Islands, the Battle of Midway, the invasion of Normandy, and the liberation of concentration camps.

Describe the military contributions of leaders during World War II, including Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, and Chester W. Nimitz.

Explain issues affecting the home front, including volunteerism, the purchase of war bonds, and Victory Gardens and opportunities and obstacles for women and ethnic minorities.

Explain how American patriotism inspired high levels of military enlistment and the bravery and contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Flying Tigers, and the Navajo Code Talkers.

Describe U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II, including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and John F. Kennedy's role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Describe how Cold War tensions were intensified by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), McCarthyism, the arms race, and the space race.

Explain reasons and outcomes for U.S. involvement in the Korean War and its relationship to the containment policy.

Explain reasons and outcomes for U.S. involvement in foreign countries and their relationship to the Domino Theory, including the Vietnam War.

Analyze the major events of the Vietnam War, including the escalation of forces, the Tet Offensive, Vietnamization, and the fall of Saigon.

Describe the responses to the Vietnam War, including the draft, the 26th Amendment, the role of the media, the credibility gap, the silent majority, and the anti-war movement.

Trace the historical development of the civil rights movement from the late 1800s through the 21st century, including the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th amendments.

Explain how Jim Crow laws and the Ku Klux Klan created obstacles to civil rights for minorities such as the suppression of voting.

Describe the roles of political organizations that promoted African American, Chicano, American Indian, and women's civil rights.

Identify the roles of significant leaders who supported various rights movements, including Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Rosa Parks, and Betty Friedan.

Compare and contrast the approach taken by the Black Panthers with the nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King Jr..

Discuss the impact of the writings of Martin Luther King Jr., including his "I Have a Dream" speech and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on the civil rights movement.

Describe presidential actions and congressional votes to address minority rights in the United States, including desegregation of the armed forces, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Explain how George Wallace, Orval Faubus, and the Congressional bloc of southern Democrats sought to maintain the status quo.

Evaluate changes in the United States that have resulted from the civil rights movement, including increased participation of minorities in the political process.

Describe how Sweatt v. Painter and Brown v. Board of Education played a role in protecting the rights of the minority during the civil rights movement.

Describe Richard M. Nixon's leadership in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of détente.

Describe Ronald Reagan's leadership in domestic and international policies, including Reagan's economic policies and Peace Through Strength.

Describe U.S. involvement in the Middle East such as support for Israel, the Camp David Accords, the Iran Hostage Crisis, Marines in Lebanon, and the Iran-Contra Affair.

Describe the causes and key organizations of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s such as the Heritage Foundation and the Moral Majority.

Describe significant societal issues of this time period such as the War on Drugs and the AIDS epidemic.

Describe U.S. involvement in world affairs, including the end of the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, the events surrounding September 11, 2001, and the global War on Terror.

Identify significant social and political issues such as health care, immigration, and education from different viewpoints across the political spectrum.

Analyze the impact of third parties on the 1992 and 2000 presidential elections.

Identify the impact of international events, multinational corporations, government policies, and individuals on the 21st century economy.

Analyze the impact of physical and human geographic factors on the Klondike Gold Rush, the Panama Canal, the Dust Bowl, and the levee failure in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Analyze the causes and effects of changing demographic patterns resulting from migration within the United States, including western expansion, rural to urban, the Great Migration, and the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt.

Analyze the causes and effects of changing demographic patterns resulting from immigration to the United States.

Identify the effects of population growth and distribution on the physical environment.

Identify the roles of governmental entities and private citizens in managing the environment such as the establishment of the National Park System, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Endangered Species Act.

Describe how the economic impact of the Transcontinental Railroad and the Homestead Act contributed to the close of the frontier in the late 19th century.

Describe the changing relationship between the federal government and private business, including the growth of free enterprise, costs and benefits of laissez-faire, Sherman Antitrust Act, Interstate Commerce Act, and Pure Food and Drug Act.

Explain how foreign policies affected economic issues such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Open Door Policy, Dollar Diplomacy, and immigration quotas.

Describe the economic effects of international military conflicts, including the Spanish-American War and World War I, on the United States.

Analyze causes of economic growth and prosperity in the 1920s, including Warren Harding's Return to Normalcy, reduced taxes, and increased production efficiencies.

Identify the causes of the Great Depression, including the impact of tariffs on world trade, stock market speculation, bank failures, and the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve System.

Analyze the effects of the Great Depression on the U.S. economy and society such as widespread unemployment and deportation and repatriation of people of Mexican heritage.

Compare the New Deal policies and its opponents' approaches to resolving the economic effects of the Great Depression.

Describe how various New Deal agencies and programs, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Social Security Administration, continue to affect the lives of U.S. citizens.

Describe the economic effects of World War II on the home front such as mobilization, the end of the Great Depression, rationing, and increased opportunity for women and minority employment.

Identify the causes of prosperity in the 1950s, including the Baby Boom and the impact of the GI Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944), and the effects of prosperity in the 1950s such as increased consumption and the growth of agriculture and business.

Describe the economic impact of defense spending on the business cycle and education priorities from 1945 to the 1990s.

Identify the actions and outcomes of government policies intended to create economic opportunities for citizens such as the Great Society, affirmative action, and Title IX.

Describe the dynamic relationship between U.S. international trade policies and the U.S. free enterprise system such as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Evaluate the impact of New Deal legislation on the historical roles of state and federal government.

Explain constitutional issues raised by federal government policy changes during times of significant events, including World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the 1960s, and September 11, 2001.

Describe the effects of political scandals, including Teapot Dome, Watergate, and Bill Clinton's impeachment, on the views of U.S. citizens concerning trust in the federal government and its leaders.

Describe the role of contemporary government legislation in the private and public sectors such as the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Describe the impact of events such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the War Powers Act on the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government.

Evaluate the impact of relationships among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, including Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to increase the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices and the presidential election of 2000.

Analyze the effects of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Hernandez v. Texas, Tinker v. Des Moines, and Wisconsin v. Yoder.

Explain why landmark constitutional amendments have been proposed and ratified from 1877 to the present.

Discuss values crucial to America's success as a constitutional republic, including liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire.

Describe how American values are different and unique from those of other nations.

Identify and analyze methods of expanding the right to participate in the democratic process, including lobbying, non-violent protesting, litigation, and amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Evaluate various means of achieving equality of political rights, including the 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments and congressional acts such as the American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

Explain how participation in the democratic process reflects our national identity, patriotism, and civic responsibility.

Summarize the criteria and explain the process for becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Evaluate the contributions of significant political and social leaders in the United States such as Andrew Carnegie, Thurgood Marshall, Billy Graham, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Hillary Clinton.

Explain the importance of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients such as Army First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker, Army Corporal Alvin York, and Army Master Sergeant Raul "Roy" Perez Benavidez.

Describe how the characteristics of and issues in U.S. history have been reflected in various genres of art, music, film, and literature.

Describe the impacts of cultural movements in art, music, and literature such as Tin Pan Alley, the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat Generation, rock and roll, the Chicano Mural Movement, and country and western music on American society.

Identify and analyze the global diffusion of American culture through various media.

Explain actions taken by people to expand economic opportunities and political rights for racial, ethnic, gender, and religious groups in American society.

Describe the Americanization movement to assimilate immigrants and American Indians into American culture.

Explain how the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, gender, and religious groups shape American culture.

Identify the contributions of women such as Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sonia Sotomayor to American society.

Explain the effects of scientific discoveries and technological innovations such as electric power, telephone and satellite communications, petroleum-based products, steel production, and computers on the economic development of the United States.

Explain how specific needs result in scientific discoveries and technological innovations in agriculture, the military, and medicine.

Describe the effect of technological innovations in the workplace such as assembly line manufacturing and robotics.

Analyze how scientific discoveries, technological innovations, space exploration, and the application of these by the free enterprise system improve the standard of living in the United States, including changes in transportation and communication.

Describe how the free enterprise system drives technological innovation and its application in the marketplace such as cell phones, inexpensive personal computers, and global positioning products.

Analyze primary and secondary sources such as maps, graphs, speeches, political cartoons, and artifacts to acquire information to answer historical questions.

Analyze information by applying absolute and relative chronology through sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing and contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations, making predictions, drawing inferences, and drawing conclusions.

Apply the process of historical inquiry to research, interpret, and use multiple types of sources of evidence.

Evaluate a variety of historical and contemporary sources for validity, credibility, bias, and accuracy.

Identify bias and support with historical evidence a point of view on a social studies issue or event.

Formulate and communicate visually, orally, or in writing a claim supported by evidence and reasoning for an intended audience and purpose.

Create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information using effective communication skills, including proper citations and avoiding plagiarism.

Use social studies terminology correctly.

Apply foundational language skills to engage in civil discourse about social studies topics, including those with multiple perspectives.

Create a visual representation of historical information such as thematic maps, graphs, and charts.

Pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns shown on maps, graphs, charts, and available databases.

Explain governmental and democratic processes such as voting, due process, and caucuses using simulations and models.

Use problem-solving and decision-making processes to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.