Social Studies Survey
Time Period: 1492-1861
Syllabus 2015-2016
Instructor
Travis McConathy
(859) 887-2421 ext. 3728
Course Overview
The Social Studies Survey course is designed to introduce students to the people, events, and ideas that led to the formation and development of the early United States. This course will progress from the early colonial period to the eve of Civil War in the United States. This course will emphasize political, economic, geographic, social, and religious ideas and movements that have shaped the United States. History is the interpretation of the interactions of people throughout different civilizations and the impacts those interactions have had on the world. History is vitally important, because in order to predict where the future will take us as a society, we must first understand the past and how it has shaped the present.
Primary Text: Although we do not have a primary text for this class, students will be expected to organize any handouts, papers, or other materials given to them. These materials will be needed as study materials.
Other Resources to be used:
Crash Course U.S. History by John Greene- Web series dedicated to teaching world history from historian and author John Greene.
History Channel Documentaries will be shown, either in its entirety or in small clips during lectures.
Students will also read selected readings from varying sources and primary source books.
Resources and Materials:
All students are expected to be prepared when coming to class: The following should be brought to class everyday:
o Pencil/Pen
o 3 Ring Binder specifically for this class
o Any materials necessary for class (paper, homework, etc.)
Classroom Procedures and Policies
Policies: In addition to school policies, we will adhere to the following:
1.) NO FOOD OR DRINK IN CLASS! (Unless a special occasion or for medical reasons)
2.) NO CELL PHONES! Unless, given permission to use cell phones or tablets in class (unless stated in your IEP) you should NOT to have them out at all! 1st Offense- Verbal Warning, 2nd Offense- Morning Detention, 3rd Offense- Referral, phone taken to front office.
Procedures:
It is the expectation that every student upon entering the classroom will:
1.) Be prepared for class. Look to the Smartboard/Whiteboard for lesson activities and reminders every day!
2.) Be ready to complete the lesson for each day.
3.) Vocabulary will be matching. Students can use any notes that they have to help them on the Vocabulary Quizzes.
Course Outline
This course will be taught using the standards from the early American history period in the Quality Core standards by ACT. This will help students familiarize themselves with these standards in preparation for their junior U.S. History course. SUBJECT TO CHANGE IF NECESSARY.
UNIT 1
1. Colonization and Forging a New Nation
a. Identify the reasons for colonization, evaluate its impacts, and analyze the success or failure of settlements in North America
- Chesapeake colonies
- New England colonies
- Middle colonies
- Plantation colonies
- Economic colonization and impact on colonies
- Religious colonization and impact on colonies
- Native American conflicts in early colonial history
- Compare/contrast successes and failures of different colonial regions
b. Analyze religious development and its significance in colonial America (e.g. religious settlements, the Great Awakening)
- Puritans/Pilgrims
- Anglican Church
- Levels of religious tolerance
- Great Awakening (Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, etc.)
c. Describe significant aspects of the variety of social structures of colonial America
- Family structure
- Status of women
- Population growth/demographic shifts
d. Compare the economies of the various colonies, and analyze the development and impact of indentured servitude and African slavery in North America (e.g., social, political, and economic)
- Compare/contrast New England/Middle/Plantation colonies economy
- Headright system
- Bacon’s Rebellion
- Development of African slavery post-1700
- Barbados Slave Code
- Impact of slavery on southern society and economy
- Slave culture
e. Explain the origins and development of colonial governments
- Mayflower Compact
- House of Burgesses
- Town hall meetings
- Royal colony/charters
- Virginia Declaration of Rights
UNIT 2
f. Evaluate the influence of Enlightenment ideas on the development of American government as embodied in the Declaration of Independence
- Hobbes- social contract
- John Locke- natural rights and right to rebel against government
- Rousseau- The Social Contract/popular sovereignty
- Montesquieu- Separation of powers/three branches of government
- Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
- Benjamin Franklin’s ideals
- Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence
g. Identify and evaluate the ideas and events that contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution, and determine the key turning points in the war.
- Salutary Neglect
- French and Indian War
- Albany Congress
- Proclamation of 1763
- Navigation Acts (1600s and 1700s)
- Acts and Taxation (Sugar, Stamp, Declaratory, Townshend, Tea, Intolerable)
- Colonial responses (boycott, nonimportation, Boston Massacre, committees of correspondence, Continental Congresses, Sons of Liberty)
- Lexington and Concord
- Declaration of Independence
- Saratoga
- Valley Forge
- Trenton/Princeton
- Marquis de Lafayette
- Baron von Steuben
- Charleston
- Yorktown
- Treaty of Paris (1783)
h. Identify the impetus for the Constitutional Convention (limitations of government under the Articles of Confederation), and analyze the events and outcomes of the convention (i.e. “the bundle of compromises.”)
- Articles of Confederation (weaknesses and accomplishments)
- Land Ordinances under the Articles
- Shays’ Rebellion
- Constitutional Convention
- Great Compromise (New Jersey and Virginia plans)
- Three-fifths Compromise
- Electoral College
i. Interpret the ideas and principles expressed in the U.S. Constitution
- Separation of powers
- Checks and balances
- Federalism
- Concept of “limited government”
- Interpretations of the Constitution (Strict constructionist vs. loose interpretation)
- Enumerated and implied powers
- Hamilton’s Economic Plan
j. Explain the development of the Bill of Rights, and assess various debates of the day
- Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
- Reasons for/against Bill of Rights
- Amendments in the Bill of Rights
- Alien and Sedition Acts (Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions)
UNIT 3
k. Identify and evaluate the political and territorial changes resulting from westward expansion of the United States in the early 19th Century.
- Jay’s Treaty and Pinckney’s Treaty
- Louisiana Purchase
- Adams-Onis Treaty
- American System
- Tariff disputes
- Missouri Compromise
l. Analyze and evaluate federal and state policies toward American Indians in the first half of the 19th Century.
- Treaty of Fort Stanwix/Treaty of Greenville
- “Noble savage”
- Worcester v. Georgia
- Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
- Indian Removal Act
- Trail of Tears
m. Evaluate, take, and defend positions on the development of U.S. foreign policy during the early 19th Century (e.g., Embargo Act, Monroe Doctrine)
- Neutrality Proclamation
- Washington’s Farewell Address
- Isolationist tradition
- XYZ Affair
- Embargo Act, Non-intercourse Act, Macon’s Bill No. 2
- War of 1812
- Monroe Doctrine
UNIT 4
2. Antebellum America
a. Describe and evaluate the impacts of the First Industrial Revolution during the 19th century
(e.g., the Lowell system, immigration, changing technologies, transportation innovations)
- Cotton gin
- Samuel Slater and the factory system
- Steamboats and steam locomotives
- Lowell system (textiles)
- Economic regionalization
- American system
- Canals
- Old immigrants
- Railroads
- Telegraph
c. Identify significant religious, philosophical, and social reform movements of the 19th century and their impact on American society
- Second Great Awakening
- Transcendentalism
- Pragmatism
- Utopian societies
- Temperance movement
- Women’s rights/suffrage
- Abolitionist movements
e. Analyze the women’s rights and the suffrage movements and the impact of women on other reform movements in the antebellum period
- Republican motherhood and cult of domesticity (historical context)
- Seneca Falls Convention
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott
- Impact on temperance and abolition
UNIT 5
b. Identify and evaluate the major events and issues that promoted sectional conflicts and strained national cohesiveness in the antebellum period
- Territorial expansion and the slave issue
- Missouri Compromise
- Texas
- Mexican War
- Gold Rush
- Compromise of 1850
- Kansas-Nebraska Act
- Bleeding Kansas
- Dred Scott decision
- “Bleeding Sumner”
- John Brown’s raid
- Tariff of Abominations and Nullification crisis
- Bank War
d. Identify the major characteristics of the abolition movement in the antebellum period, its achievements, failures, and Southern opposition to it
- History of abolition movement (Philadelphia and Quakers)
- William Lloyd Garrison
- American Colonization Society
- Frederick Douglass
- Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- John Brown
f. Compare and contrast the economic, social, and cultural differences of the North and South during the antebellum period
- Economic differences
- King Cotton in South
- Industry and commerce in North
- Social and cultural differences
- Slavery
- Immigration
- Education
- The Planter Aristocracy
Homework Requirement
There will be no homework in this class except for NTI days. I will give them plenty of time to complete assignments in class.
Non-Traditional Instructional (NTI) Day Requirements
Because WJHS is one of the many schools across the state engaging in the NTI Pilot Program for inclement weather (i.e. Snow Days), students will be expected to follow the NTI procedure. On days designated as a Snow/NTI day, students are expected to go to the instructor’s webpage via the WJHS website, select “Faculty WebPages” and find “Travis McConathy”. Under my website, you should look for “Social Studies Survey” link and follow the instructions posted for that day. This procedure will be shown in class the first week of school.
*See the WJHS Social Studies Standards Based Grading policy for retake information. Normally, students can retake quizzes or exam in a 2 week window after the first assessment.*
Standard Based Grading Scale
(5) A =100
(4) B = 92
(3) C = 83
(2) D = 72
(1) F = 40
(0) F= 0
Course Distribution Breakdown
Class Activity / Assessments and Course WeightUnit Exams (4) - Summative / Summative- 70%
Participation-Formative / Formative- 20%
Quizzes - Formative / Final Exam- 10%
In-class readings and projects- Formative
Independent book work-Formative
Final Exam
***ALL ASSESSMENTS COULD BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
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