U.S. History II Honors - Passaic County Technical Institute · PDF fileUnited States History...
Transcript of U.S. History II Honors - Passaic County Technical Institute · PDF fileUnited States History...
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I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
United States History II Honors is a full-year, five credit course usually taken by 12th
grade
students that aims to increase the student’s knowledge of American history’s most salient
socioeconomic, political, historical, geographical and cultural aspects. The course will cover the
historical time when U.S. foreign policy contributed to expansionist pressures leading to the
Spanish-American War in 1898 through present day.
In order to be prepared for post-secondary education and/or the workforce students must be
informed and flexible. In this course students will learn more than static knowledge, that they
learn to interpret and evaluate information clearly, solve problems, work collaboratively, and
present oral and documented reports. One of the major goals of the course is to develop
conceptualization and critical thinking skills. Nevertheless, this course will address the people,
places, and events of importance in US History and current events.
Concepts and ideas such as examining and evaluating the desire to match European imperial
expansion, progressivism, war, various economic and political systems such as capitalism,
communism and socialism, democracy and others will be discussed and studied in depth.
Students will be expected to synthesize and evaluate such information, as well as consider the
development and impact of economics, technology, geography, and human rights on US history.
As well, the course will explore United States foreign policy and students will develop personal
conclusions and formulate policy statements. In doing so, students will make connections
between the past and present and learn to make informed decisions as productive citizens in
local, national, and global communities.
In addition, students will strengthen their appreciation for the diversity of this nation and the
world by analyzing and evaluating the various discriminatory and genocidal experiences that
cultural groups have experienced in the United States and throughout the globe such as the
Holocaust. This will encourage students to defend the human rights and democratic values that
our nation espouses.
Students will learn to work collaboratively by completing a series of activities that involve group
interaction and dynamics. Formal and informal cooperative groups will be used in various
lesson plans mixed with guided discussions and lectures.
During the course students will analyze, interpret, and evaluate historical and current information
about the United States and the World by writing, at a minimum, one research paper. Student
research will include reading related books, journals, newspapers and magazines.
Throughout the course, students will be expected to use the technological tools offered at PCTI’s
media center including, but not limited to, the educational subscription websites, Internet,
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Prezi and computer encyclopedia programs. Students will be
expected to create newsletters, research papers and presentations by using these, and other,
technological tools.
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II. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINE
EXPANSIONIST STIRRINGS AND AMERICAN IMPERIALISM
The student will be able to:
Analyze the roots of expansionist sentiment. (6.1.12.A.7.a, 6.1.12.A.3.a)
Summarize America’s Pacific expansion. (6.1.12.A.7.a)
Describe the crisis in Cuba. (6.1.12.C.6.c)
Evaluate and summarize the causes, events and consequences of the Spanish-American
War. (6.1.12.B.6.a)
Evaluate the War in the Philippines and its consequences. (6.1.12.A.3.c)
Assess American reaction to a U.S. empire. ( imperialism) (6.1.12.C.6.c)
THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
The student will be able to:
Trace the roots of Progressivism. (6.1.12.D.6.a, 6.1.12.A.5.a, 6.1.12.B.5.b)
Analyze the different forms of progressivism. (6.1.12.A.5.a,c)
Evaluate the impact of progressivism on government and business. (6.1.12.A.6.a,b)
Evaluate the impact of progressivism on women. (6.1.12.A.6.b, 6.1.12.D.6.c)
Analyze the relationship of progressivism to social control and racism. (6.1.12.A.6.c)
Describe various efforts to regulate concentrated corporate power. (6.1.12.A.6.a)
Discuss Theodore Roosevelt’s interest in environmental conservation. (6.1.12.B.6.b)
Compare and contrast the Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson administrations. ((6.1.12.D.6.b)
Evaluate the legacy of the Progressive Movement. (6.1.12.D.6.c)
GLOBAL INVOLVEMENTS AND WORLD WAR I
The student will be able to:
Examine the “Open Door” policy. (6.1.12.D.6.b,c)
Determine the strategic importance of a canal across Central America. (6.1.12.B.6.a)
Compare and contrast the Monroe doctrine with the Roosevelt Corollary. (6.1.112.D.6.b)
Describe conditions in Europe prior to the start of World War I. (6.1.12.B.7.a)
Explain how global competition by nations for land and resources led to increased
militarism. (6.1.12.B.7.a)
Evaluate the reasons for the outbreak of war. (6.1.12.B.7.a)
Analyze the reasons for the U.S. policy of neutrality during the war and explain why the
U.S. eventually entered the war. (6.1.12.A.7.a)
Determine how technological advancements affected the nature of World War I on land,
in the water and in the air. (6.1.12.C.7.a)
Determine the extent to which propaganda, the media, and special interest groups shaped
American public opinion and American foreign policy during World War I.
(6.1.12.C.7.b)
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Evaluate the impact of government policies designed to promote patriotism and to protect
national security during times of war on individual rights. (6.1.12.A.7.b)
Assess the immediate and long-term impact of women and African Americans entering
the work force in large numbers during World War I. (6.1.12.C.7.b)
Analyze the push-pull factors that led to the Great Migration. (6.1.12.C.8.a)
Analyze the factors contributing to the overthrow of the Czar and the rise of communism
in Russia. (6.1.12.D.7.c)
Explain Wilson’s fourteen points. (6.1.12.D.7.a)
Evaluate the effectiveness of Woodrow Wilson’s leadership during and immediately after
World War I. (6.1.12.D.7.a)
Determine why the years 1919-1920 brought new racial violence and anti-radical
hysteria. (6.1.12.A.8.c)
COPING WITH CHANGE, THE 1920s
The student will be able to:
Evaluate the major socioeconomic changes of the 1920s. (6.1.12.A.8.a)
Assess the major political changes of the 1920s. (6.1.12.A.8.a)
Relate social, cultural and technological changes in the interwar period to the rise of a
consumer economy and the changing role and status of women. (6.1.12.C.8.b)
Assess the impact of artists, writers and musicians of the 1920s on American culture and
values. (6.1.12.D.8.b)
Relate social intolerance, xenophobia, and fear of anarchists to government policies
restricting immigration, advocacy, and labor organizations. (6.1.12.A.8.c)
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939
The student will be able to:
Compare and contrast the causes and outcomes of the stock market crash in 1929.
(6.1.12.C.9.d)
Determine how the actions and policies of the United States government contributed to
the Great Depression (6.1.12.A.9.a, b)
Explore the global context of the Great Depression and the reasons for the worldwide
economic collapse. (6.1.12.D.9.a)
Determine what strategy guided the early New Deal and what problems and challenges
arose in 1934 – 1935. (6.1.12.B.9.a, 6.1.12.C.9.a-c)
Compare and contrast the leadership abilities of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and those of
past and recent presidents. (6.1.12.D.10.b)
Evaluate the effectiveness of economic regulations and standards established during this
time period in combating the Great Depression. (6.1.12.C.10.a)
Assess the effectiveness of governmental policies enacted during the New Deal period
(i.e., the FDIC, NLRB, and Social Security) in protecting the welfare of individuals.
( 6.1.12.A.10.b, 6.1.12.D.9.b)
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Explain how and why conflict developed between the Supreme Court and other branches
of government over aspects of the New Deal. (6.1.12.A.10.a)
Describe the key measures and setbacks which marked the course of the New Deal from
1935 onward. (6.1.12.B.9.a, 6.1.12.C.9.a-c)
Compare and contrast the economic ideologies of the two major political parties
regarding the role of government during the New Deal and today. (6.1.12.C.10.b)
Analyze how the depression and the New Deal affected specific social groups in the
United States and their attitude toward the role of government. (6.1.12.D.9.b)
Explain how key individuals, including minorities and women (Eleanor Roosevelt,
Frances Perkins, Mary McLeod Bethune), shaped the core ideologies and policies of the
New Deal. (6.1.12.D.10.c)
Examine the key developments which shaped American culture in the 1930s.
(6.1.12.D.9.b)
Determine the extent to which New Deal public works and arts programs impacted New
Jersey and the nation. (6.1.12.D.10.d)
AMERICANS AND A WORLD IN CRISIS, 1933-1945
The student will be able to:
Analyze the factors contributing to a rise in authoritarian forms of government and
ideologies after World War I. (6.1.12.D.9.b)
Determine how the American people and government responded to the international
crisis of the 1930s. (6.1.12.D.11.a, b)
Explain the relationship of geography and raw materials to World War II. (6.1.12.B.11.a)
Assess the responses of the United States and other nations to the violation of human
rights that occurred during the Holocaust and other genocides. (6.1.12.A.11.e)
Compare the varying perspectives of victims, survivors, bystanders, rescuers, and
perpetrators during the Holocaust. (6.1.12.D.11.d)
Trace the events that led to increasing tensions, and ultimately war, between the United
States and Japan. (6.1.12.D.11.a)
Determine how war mobilization transformed the American economy and government.
(6.1.12.C.11.a, b)
Determine if American policies regarding Japanese internment and actions against other
minorities were a denial of civil rights. (6.1.12.A.11.c)
Describe Allied military strategy in Europe and Asia.
Evaluate the major effects of World War II on American society, including minorities
and women. (6.1.12.D.11.c, 6.1.12.A.11.c)
Analyze the decision to use the atomic bomb and the consequences of doing so.
(6.1.12.A.11.d)
Explain how World War II and the Holocaust led to the creation of international
organizations (i.e., the United Nations) to protect human rights, and describe the
subsequent impact of these organizations. (6.1.12.D.11.e)
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THE COLD WAR ABROAD AND AT HOME, 1945—1960
The student will be able to:
Explain how the policies of both the United States and the Soviet Union led to the start of
the Cold War. (6.1.12.A.12.a)
Analyze the ideology differences and other factors that contributed to United States
involvement in conflicts intended to contain communism. (6.1.12.A.12.b)
Assess the relationship between decolonization and the Cold War. (6.1.12.D.12.a-c)
Assess the effect of the Cold War on domestic programs of the Truman and Eisenhower
administrations. (6.1.12.C.12.a)
Describe the domestic and international events that led to the Second Red Scare.
(6.1.12.D.12.b)
Compare and contrast Eisenhower’s and Truman’s foreign policy. (6.1.12.D.12.a, c)
Analyze efforts to eliminate communism. (6.1.12.D.12.b)
AMERICA AT MIDCENTURY 1945-1961
The student will be able to:
Identify the main sources of the postwar economic expansion and affluence.
(6.1.12.C11.a; 6.1.12.C.12.a-d; 6.1.12.C.13.d)
Explain Truman’s and Eisenhower’s domestic agendas.(6.1.12.A.14.d,e, f;
6.1.12.D.14.a))
Assess changes to the American family that took place during the 1950s. (6.1.12.D.13.f;
6.1.12D.14.d)
Explain the reasons for, and the effects of, suburbanization. (6.1.12.B.14.c,
6.1.12.D.14.b)
Analyze America’s reaction to the launch of Sputnik. (6.1.12.C.12.a,c, 6.1.12.C.14.d)
Describe popular culture of the 1950s. (6.1.12.D.13.d; 6.1.12.D.14.c-f)
Identify the factors that contributed to the poverty that was endemic among various
groups. (6.1.12.C.14.b-d)
Describe the innovative strategies developed by the civil rights movement. (6.1.12.A-
D.13.a-f; 6.1.12.D.14.d,e)
Assess the reasons for the increasing success of the civil rights movement.
(6.1.12.A.13.a,b; 6.1.12.A.14.b, e-g)
LIBERALISM, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND WAR IN VIETNAM 1960-1975
The student will be able to:
Compare Kennedy’s domestic policy with his administration’s liberal rhetoric.
(6.1.12.A.14.d; 6.1.12.C.14.b)
Describe Kennedy’s efforts to contain communism. (6.1.12.A.12.a, c; 6.1.12.C.12.a;
6.1.12.D.12.a,c; 6.1.12.D.13.e)
Analyze the continuing struggle for civil rights for Blacks, Native-Americans, Hispanic-
Americans and other groups from 1961-1968. (6.1.12.B.14.a; 6.1.12.C.13.a;
6.1.12.D.13.a, c; 6.1.12.D.14.a-e)
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Compare and contrast various approaches to attaining civil rights. (6.1.12.D.13.b;
6.1.12.A.14.d-g)
Determine how Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program exemplified the new liberalism
of the 1960s. (6.1.12.A.14.c; 6.1.12.C.13.c)
Analyze how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to define the rights of
the individual, and evaluate the impact on public policies. (6.1.12.A.14.b)
Trace America’s early role in Vietnam. (6.1.12.A.12.a)
Determine how and why Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon deepened America’s involvement
in the war in Indochina. (6.1.12.A.12.a, b; 6.1.12.D.12.a, b, d)
Analyze the role that media played in bring information to the American public and
shaping public attitudes toward the Vietnam War. (6.1.12.D.12.e)
A TIME OF UPHEAVAL 1961-1980
The student will be able to:
Explain how the student movement and counterculture shaped the 1960s and
1970s.(6.1.12.D.13.e; 6.1.12.D.14.e,f)
Describe the major successes and failures of the Women’s Movement. (6.1.12.A.13.b;
6.1.12.D.13.c,f; 6.1.12.D.14.d)
Describe the turbulence of 1968 and its results.(6.12.D.13.b)
Identify and define the conservative resurgence. (6.1.12.A.14.d; 6.1.12.D.14.e)
Determine if Richard Nixon’s political strategy reflected the racial upheavals and
radicalism of the period. (6.1.12.A.14.d; 6.1.12.B14.c;
Assess Nixon’s foreign policy. (6.1.12.A.12.a; 6.1.12.D.14.a; 6.1.12.A.15.b,c)
Outline the causes and consequences of the Watergate scandal. (6.1.12.A.14.a,e,f, h)
Compare and contrast the Ford and Carter presidencies determining if there were any
successes and listing the major failures. (6.1.12.A.12.c; 6.1.12.A.15.b,c,f,
6.1.12.D.15.b,c; 6.1.12.A.16.a, c)
A CONSERVATIVE REVIVAL AND THE END OF THE COLD WAR, 1980-2000
The student will be able to:
Identify Ronald Reagan’s core beliefs.(6.1.12.A.16.b; 6.1.12.D.16.c)
Describe Reagan’s economic agenda (“Reaganomics”) (6.1.12.C.15.b; 6.1.12.C.12.d;
6.1.12.C.14.a,c,d; 6.1.12.A.16.c)
Assess Reagan’s conservative domestic agenda. (6.1.12.12.B.13.b; 6.1.12.D.14.e;
6.1.12.B.16.a
Assess Reagan’s various policies toward the Soviet Union and their results.
(6.1.12.A.12.a; 6.1.12.A.15.a,c)
Explain the Ian-Contra Scandal. (6.1.12.A.15.b, f)
Explain the domestic challenges facing the George H.W. Bush administration. (6.1.12.A-
D.14.a-h)
Determine why the United States was involved in the Persian Gulf War and its outcome.
(6.1.12.C.15.a, 6.1.12.D.15.a)
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Describe the policy issues, political events and economic trends which influenced the
Clinton presidency. (6.1.12.A-D.14.a-h)
Analyze Bill Clinton’s response to economic and political developments abroad.
(6.1.12.A-D.15. a-f)
Describe how the computer evolved from a scientific tool to a household
appliance.(6.1.12.C.14.d)
Evaluate how the technological innovations have revolutionized, science, medicine, and
communications. (6.1.12.C.14.d; 6.1.12.A-D.16.a-c))
Discuss U.S. involvement in world affairs during the Clinton presidency. (6.1.12.A-D.15.
a-f)
Compare and contrast the Nixon and Clinton impeachment processes. (6.1.112.A.2.b, e)
Describe the circumstances surrounding the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.
(6.1.12.A.14.a,b)
GLOBAL DANGERS, GLOBAL CHALLENGES, 2001 TO THE PRESENT
The student will be able to:
Analyze the reasons for terrorism. (6.1.12.D.15.d)
Describe the development of Middle East terrorism. (6.1.12.D.15.c, d)
Determine how the George W. Bush administration responded to the September 11
attacks, internationally and domestically. (6.1.12.D.15.d)
Examine the economic reverses and corporate scandals of G.W. Bush’s presidency.
(6.1.12.A-D.15. a-f)
Explain the G.W. Bush administration’s domestic agenda. (6.1.12.A-D.15. a-f)
Analyze social and economic trends in contemporary America. (6.1.12.A-D.15. a-f)
Evaluate the election of Barack Obama and his administration’s policies. (6.1.12.A.14.c ;
6.1.12.C.14.c; 6.1.12.D.15.c)
III. EVALUATION (ASSESSMENT)
Students will be evaluated in accordance with school policies. Specifically within the U.S.
History II honors class, students will be evaluated using the following guidelines:
Class participation
Attendance
Tests – minimally 3-5 each marking period
Quizzes
Research projects – oral and written
Reports – oral and written
Web based activities and presentations
Charts and Graphs
Maps/ Diagrams/ Political Cartoons
Debate/Simulations
Daily notebook – to be checked periodically
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Role playing activities.
Presentations
Cooperative Investigations
Use of Primary Source Documents
Newspapers, magazines, current events, videos, etc.
Use of citations (MLA or APA) for all work.
IV. TEXTBOOKS, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, SOFTWARE
Boyer, Paul S. et al. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Boston:
Wadsworth, 2010.
Kennedy, David. M. et al. The American Pageant. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011.
PCTI Circulation Library and Computer Labs.
PCTI DVD library.
V. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
In order to meet the individual needs of our students, differential instruction is utilized. This
involves the use of a variety of instructional strategies, including but not limited to:
Readings and exercises from the approved text(s) and related supplemental materials
Individual and group research projects
Cooperative group activities
Teacher generated handouts
Lecture in conjunction with class discussion and notes
Debates
Role playing activities
Document Based questions
Oral and written reports
Simulations
Multimedia presentations
Related field trips
Internet and ITV presentations and conferences.
The use of technology to retrieve information and present it after it has been analyzed is an
important component of the class.
VI. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
VII. PACING CHART
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UNITED STATES HISTORY II HONORS
I=Introduced
D=Developed in Depth
R=Reinforced
Chapter(s) Weeks Objective 9 10 11 12 20 1- 1 ½ EXPANSIONIST STIRRINGS AND
AMERICAN IMPERIALISM
List the factors that led the United States to
turn toward imperialism. IDR
Evaluate the causes of the Spanish-American
War. IDR
21 2 THE PROGRESSIVE ERA, 1900-1917
Determine who and what inspired the
Progressive Movement. IDR
Explain how state and local progressives
sought to reform cities and the new industrial
order.
IDR
Analyze progressive attempts to control
morality. IDR
Explain the Progressive’s view of immigrants
and African Americans. IDR
Describe strategies used by Progressives to
improve people’s lives. IDR
Determine the most important Progressive
issues. IDR
22 3 GLOBAL INVOLVEMENTS AND
WORLD WAR I, 1902-1920
Explain the Open Door Policy. IDR
Determine reasons for U.S. involvements in
Asia and Latin America in the early 20th
century. IDR
Explain the causes of World War I. IDR
Determine why the U.S. entered the war. IDR
Explain America’s mobilization for war. IDR
Analyze the role of U.S. troops in World War
I. IDR
Examine the war’s impact on the American
home front. IDR
Characterize American response to the Treaty
of Versailles and the League of Nations. IDR
List reasons the Senate rejected U.S.
membership in the League of Nations. IDR
23 2-2 ½ COPING WITH CHANGE, 1920-1929 Describe economic innovations of the 1920s. IDR
Analyze the effects of economic innovations IDR
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on various social groups.
Chapter(s) Weeks Objective 9 10 11 12 Explain the political and social ideas that
shaped the Harding and Coolidge
administrations. IDR
Describe changes in mass culture and
determine their effects on American life and
leisure. IDR
Examine cultural creativity and conflicts of
the 1920s. IDR
Determine how Herbert Hoover’s social and
political thought differed from that of Harding
and Coolidge.
IDR
24 4 THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE
NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 IDR
Identify the causes of the Great Depression. IDR
Describe Hoover’s response to the depression. IDR
Discuss strategies that guided the early New
Deal. IDR
List and explain programs enacted during the
“Hundred Days.” IDR
Determine what problems and challenges
arose in 1934-1935. IDR
Identify the key measures and setbacks which
marked the New Deal from 1935. IDR
Analyze the effects of the Depression and the
New Deal on various social groups in the
United States.
IDR
Describe the key developments which shaped
American culture in the 1930s. IDR
25 3 AMERICANS AND A WORLD IN
CRISIS, 1933-1945
Describe conditions which contributed to the
rise of totalitarian governments in Europe and
Asia after World War I. IDR
Explain why many Americans supported
isolationism. IDR
Describe the government’s response to
international crises of the 1930s. IDR
Determine how war mobilization transformed
the American economy and government. IDR
Analyze the Allied military strategy in Europe
and Asia. IDR
Examine the major effects of World War II on
American society, including minorities and
women. IDR
Cite the issues the U.S. government
confronted in defeating Germany and Japan in
1945. IDR
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Chapter(s) Weeks Objective 9 10 11 12
26 3 THE COLD WAR ABROAD AND AT
HOME, 1945-1960
Determine how the policies of both the United States and the Soviet Union led to the start of the Cold War.
IDR
Examine the effects of the Cold War on the
domestic programs of Truman and
Eisenhower. IDR
Discuss the domestic and international events
that led to the Second Red Scare. IDR
Compare and contrast the foreign policy of
Truman and Eisenhower. IDR
Determine if Eisenhower could be classified
as a centrist or moderate politician. IDR
27 3 AMERICA AT MIDCENTURY 1945-
1961
Identify the main sources of the postwar economic expansion and affluence.
IDR
Determine if there were any negative
consequences of the era’s preoccupation with
economic growth and prosperity. IDR
Describe the factors that led to the growth of
suburbs in postwar America. IDR
Analyze life in the 1950s suburbs. IDR
Discuss the actions of minorities and youth
which foretold the movements for social
change to come in the 1960s. IDR
Identify creative strategies developed by the
civil rights movement in this era. IDR
Examine reasons for the increasing success of
the civil rights movement. IDR
28 4 LIBERALISM, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND
WAR IN VIETNAM, 1960-1975
Determine if the Kennedy administrations
domestic record reflected its liberal rhetoric. IDR
Trace the major successes and failures of the
civil rights movement from 1960 to 1968. IDR
Determine the effects of protest
movements on the shift from the goals
and tactics of Martin Luther King Jr. to
those of Black Power.
IDR
Determine how Lyndon Johnson’s Great
Society exemplified the new liberalism of the
1960s. IDR
Analyze America’s deepening involvement in
Indochina. IDR
29 4 A TIME OF UPHEAVAL, 1961-1980
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Chapter(s) Weeks Objective 9 10 11 12 Examine the ways in which the counterculture
and student movement shaped the 1960s and
1970s. IDR
Discuss the major successes and failures of
the Women’s Liberation Movement. IDR
Examine the causes and consequences of the
Watergate scandal. IDR
Describe the major successes and failures of
the Ford and Carter presidencies. IDR
30 4 A CONSERVATIVE REVAL AND THE
END OF THE COLD WAR
Identify the core beliefs which guided Ronald
Reagan’s presidency. IDR
Examine George H.W. Bush’s principal
achievements and failures as president. IDR
Examine the domestic policy issues, political
events and economic trends that most
influenced Bill Clinton’s presidency. IDR
Determine how the Clinton administration
responded to political and economic
developments abroad. IDR
Identify the economic trends, technological
innovations, and cultural trends which shaped
American life in the 1990s. IDR
31 4 GLOBAL DANGERS, GLOBAL
CHALLENGES, 2001 TO THE PRESENT
Describe the response of the Bush
administration to the September 11 attacks,
internationally and domestically. IDR
Identify the economic and social issues
addressed during Bush’s first term. IDR
Analyze the challenges that faced the United
States in the Middle East and elsewhere in the
world after 2000. IDR
Cite the demographic and economic trends
that have most shaped contemporary
America. IDR
Discuss the domestic challenges that
confronted the nation in Bush’s second term
and beyond. IDR
Examine the domestic policy issues, political
events and economic trends that have
influenced the Obama administration. ID
Determine how the Obama administration has
responded to political and economic
developments abroad. ID
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VIII. STUDENT HANDOUT/PROFICIENCIES
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The United States History II Honors program is a full-year course that aims to increase the
student’s knowledge of American history’s most salient socioeconomic, political, historical,
geographical, and cultural aspects. The course will cover the historical period from the Spanish
American War to the present.
The U.S. History II Honors program is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and
factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with issues in United States history. Students will
be required to master skills such as: historical and analytical skills, historical research and
interpretation, and chronological and special thinking. Students will analyze documents and
determine their reliability and importance. The U.S. History II Honors course should thus
develop skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to
present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
The course is equivalent to an introductory college class, thus preparing students for intermediate
and advanced college courses.
PROFICIENCES
Upon completion of the requirements for this course, students will be able to:
1. List the factors that led the United States toward imperialism.
2. Describe the causes and effects of the Spanish-American War.
3. Explain Progressivism including its causes and effects.
4. Describe early 20th
century American foreign policy.
5. List and explain the direct and indirect causes of World War I.
6. Examine the technology and military strategies that were developed during World War I.
7. Evaluate the major socioeconomic, political, and cultural changes of the 1920s.
8. Explain the causes of the Great Depression.
9. Analyze the impact of the Depression and New Deal on various groups within America.
10. Analyze the role of propaganda as used by various countries to promote hate and to
manipulate the masses.
11. Compare the treatment of Japanese Americans to other minority or “suspect” groups
within the United States during World War II.
12. Identify and explain attitudes and behaviors that lead to genocide.
13. Evaluate the role of mass media and propaganda on both sides in World War II.
14. Assess the effectiveness of the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
15. Analyze Truman’s Cold War policies, such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall
Plan, to contain communism from the perspective of various historians.
16. Outline the organization of the United Nations and evaluate its purpose and impact on
world events.
17. List the major causes of the Korean conflict.
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18. Explain the major historical, economic, political, and social causes of Fidel Castro’s
Cuban Revolution of 1959 and its impact on U.S.-Cuban relations.
19. Understand the fundamental democratic principles behind the civil rights movement and
the consequences to individuals of that movement.
20. Distinguish the difference between human rights and civil rights.
21. Evaluate the development and efforts of the Women’s Movement as the role of women
changed during the 1960s.
22. Describe the major domestic and international political, economic and social
accomplishments and problems of the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan,
G.H W. Bush, Clinton, G.W. Bush and Obama administrations.
23. Examine the War on Terrorism and its domestic and international impact.