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HONORS US HISTORY SYLLABUS

UNIT I Beginnings through Reconstruction

  1. Intro, US map, Questions asked by historians (What, Why, When, Where, and How)
  2. Discussion Questions Beginnings
  1. When did people come to the Americas?
  2. Why did people come to the Americas?
  3. How does their arrival impact the native population?

Read excerpt: Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States – On Columbus and Discuss

  1. American Revolution Questions (Assign projects)
  1. Why do people come from England to colonize the coast of America?
  2. What do the British get out of the colonies?
  3. Why do the colonists and the British begin to become at odds with one another?
  4. What happens to drive the colonists to Independence?

Read: Declaration of Independence and discuss

  1. Discussion of the Declaration of Independence and the Fear of Tyranny.
  1. Who wins the War for Independence?
  2. Why do they win?
  3. What is our first government in the United States?
  4. Why does Shays Rebellion help show the necessity for a new constitution?

Read excerpt: Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States – On the Constitution

Discuss Economic v. political reasons for the Constitution

  1. Discuss Tyranny v. Anarchy
  2. Discuss the phrase “We the People” and Social Contract Theory
  1. Research Day
  2. Washington
  1. Lecture early presidents and Hamilton (Readings from: The American Spirit: on Hamilton and Jefferson) Discussion
  2. Concentration will be on national debt Discussion on America’s debt today
  1. Same
  2. Early Presidents
  1. Lecture/Discussion on Adams thru Tyler
  1. Coming of the Civil War
  1. Student projects and 3-5 minute presentations on major incidents leading to the Civil War.
  1. Same
  2. Same
  3. Civil War
  1. What was the Civil War over? (Discuss States Rights, Slavery, Tariff)
  2. What were the major advantages or the north and the south?
  3. What were the major battles?
  4. What was the Emancipation Proclamation and what did it do?
  5. How did Lincoln want to treat the South and how did Radical Republicans want to treat the South?
  1. Same
  2. Discussion / Lecture on Reconstruction Readings on Reconstruction from The American Spirit p. 495-505
  3. Same
  4. Test Multiple Choice/Short Answer
  5. How to write a Thesis paragraph for a history essay

Write essay for homework (The United States Constitution of 1787 represented an economic and ideological victory for the traditional American political elite.” Assess the validity of that statement for the period 1781 to 1789.

  1. Peer editing of Essay
  2. JSTOR Day: Give them basic research Questions

Unit II Gilded Age

  1. Discussion of why people moved west and why it put them into conflict with Native American’s. Discussion should move through the conflict with the Native American’s. Reading on Chief Joseph from Reasoning with Democratic Values.
  2. Discussion of Chief Joseph and finish Prezi on Native Americans
  3. Big Business Emphasis is on the Rise of Monopoly and why.
  4. Impacts business had on the American people and the rise of the unions. Reading in The American Spirit vol 2 p72-75 Carnegie’s: Gospel of Wealth and The Nation Challenges Carnegie
  5. Thesis / Outline: “Although the economic growth of the U.S. during the period of 1860-1900 has been attributed to the governmental policy of Laissez-faire, it was in fact encouraged and sustained by governmental intervention.”
    Assess the validity of this statement.
  6. Politics during the Gilded Age (Handout Reading from text)
  7. the Social Problems and Immigration during the Gilded Age
  8. From Debating Documents Arrival: The Immigrant and the City – How to work with documents
  9. Same
  10. How to do a DBQ, Take home DBQ on Industry
  11. Discussion of take home DBQ (Hand out Taking Sides on Booker T Washington)
  12. Lecture on Background for the Jim Crow Laws and then Discussion of Taking Sides on Booker T Washington and WEB Dubois
  13. Same
  14. Same
  15. Test MC and Short Answer
  16. Immigration Project Presentations
  17. Same
  18. Same
  19. JSTOR Day:

Unit III Populism and Progressivism

  1. Lecture / Discussion on the plight of the farmers in the late 1800’s. (Reading on Populists and Progressives from Text)
  2. Lecture / Discussion on the Rise of the Populist Party Discussion of debt and inflation – video on Wizard of Oz
  3. Same – Do Debating the Documents: Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech
  4. Same – Discussion of Documents (Write small DBQ)
  5. Lecture: The start of Progressivism, muckrakers, and Political Progressivism (Readings The American Spirit: The Heyday of Muckraking and the Corruption of the Cities)(Assign Thesis Outline)
  6. Lecture: The rise of TR and social Progressivism (Reading: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire)
  7. Lecture: Conservationism, The end of TR and Taft
  8. Thesis /Outline Due – Discussion of question (How successful were progressive reforms during the period 1890 to 1915 with respect to all of thefollowing? Industrial condition, politics, and Urban life)
  9. Lecture: The End of Progressivism
  10. Test: MC
  11. Test: DBQ Essay

Unit IV The rise of American Power and WWI

  1. (Read First 6 Chapters of University of Houston’s Digital History and Answer Questions)
  2. Discussion of Questions and of Spanish American War
  3. Discussion of Questions and Discussion of US, Cuba and the Platt Amendment
  4. Discussion of Questions and Discussion of the Philippines
  5. Discussion of Questions and Discussion of Panama Canal
  6. Discussion of Questions and Discussion of Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. (Assign Thesis Outline)
  7. Discussion of Questions and Discussion of Reasons for Imperialism
  8. (Read Chapters 7-12 of University of Houston’s Digital History) (prepare for WWI Simulation)
  9. Discussion of Alliance System Start Simulation
  10. Finish Simulation Discuss war in Europe who was responsible
  11. Discussion of the Sinking of the Lusitania and Neutral Rights
  12. Discussion of America Goes to War
  13. Discussion of Wilson, and the 14 Points + Treaty of Versailles
  14. Finish Simulation of WWI with Treaty of Versailles Part.
  15. Thesis/Outline Due (To what extent did the United States achieve the objectives that led it to enter the First World War?)
  16. Test MC
  17. Test Essay

Unit V the Roaring 20’s

  1. (Read the first 3 Chapters of The University of Houston’s Digital History and answer the questions at the end of each section)
  2. Life and Politics in the 1920’s
  3. Same (Assign Thesis Outline)
  4. Same
  5. Discussion: Of Chapter One, Question 2 and Chapter Three, Questions 2 and 3. Differing ideas of prosperity then and now.
  6. (Read Chapter 4 of The University of Houston’s Digital History) Do and Discuss the 2 questions at the end of Chapter 4 (Students research reasons for economic decline Give them Economists)
  7. Finish Discussions
  8. Thesis Outline Due (In what ways did economic conditions and developments in the arts and entertainment help create the reputation of the 1920s as the Roaring Twenties.)
  9. Test MC and Short Answer

Unit VI Great Depression and the New Deal

  1. Read Chapter Five of Digital History and do question 1 and 3, Six and do Questions 1-3
  2. Read Chapter’s 7-15 and do all questions
  3. Discussion of individual accounts (handout Taking Sides: Did the New Deal Prolong the Great Depression?
  4. Research Day (Split class in half on New Deal)
  5. Same
  6. Lecture / Discussion on the New Deal and Roosevelt’s Presidency Discussion of Chapters 7-15
  7. Same
  8. Same
  9. Same
  10. Same
  11. Debate the Taking Sides: Did the New Deal Prolong the Great Depression
  12. Same
  13. Lecture / Discussion the End of the New Deal
  14. Test MC and Short Answer
  15. Test Essay

Unit VII WWII

  1. European Background for WWII
  2. Edsitement Activity on why problems developed between the US and Japan
  3. Same
  4. American Isolationism and European Appeasement
  5. Thesis / Outline due (To what extent and why did the United States adopt an isolationist policy in the 1920's and 1930's?)
  6. WWII (European phase) (Handout Taking Sides: Was it Necessary to Drop the Atomic Bomb
  7. WWII
  8. Same
  9. Same
  10. Same
  11. Debate on Was it Necessary to Drop the Atomic Bomb
  12. Final Discussions on WWII
  13. DBQ on Atomic Bomb
  14. Test MC and Short Answer

Unit VIII Cold War and the 1950’s

  1. Do Edsitement Activity 1 Sources of Discord
  2. Discussion of Activity and of Yalta and Potsdam Agreements
  3. Read and Discuss Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech
  4. Read Digital History Chapter 10 on Cold War: Years of Decision and Chapter 11 on the Five Crises do the 2 questions at the end of Chapter 11
  5. Discuss the Crises and the problems between us and the Soviets at the end of the 1940’s.
  6. Same (Assign Thesis / Outline)
  7. Read Digital History Part 2 Chapter 1 How China became a Communist Country and do question 2, Read Part 2 Chapters 2 and 3 on Korea and do questions
  8. Discussion and Lecture Should we have allowed China to become Communist
  9. Lecture / Discussion on Korea
  10. Give Text Reading from Garretty’s American Nation on Alger Hiss and Red Scare – Lecture / Discussion on the reading
  11. Same – McCarthyism
  12. Movie: Red Nightmare
  13. Lecture on Eisenhower and the ideas of Massive Retaliation and Mutual Assured Destruction. Additionally, foreign policy in the 1950’s.
  14. Lecture / Discussion on Domestic policy in the 1950’s
  15. Thesis / Outline due Discussion of Outline (While the United States appeared to be dominated by consensus and conformity in the 1950s, some Americans reacted against the status quo. Analyze the critiques of United States society made by the following:

• youth

• Entertainment

• intellectuals

(show clip from Happy Days)

  1. Discussion on anything from the 1950’s
  2. Test MC
  3. Test Essay

Unit IX Kennedy to Nixon + Civil Rights and Vietnam

  1. Lecture: The Election of 1960 (Read Text Excerpts)
  2. Lecture: Kennedy’s Foreign Policy (Same)
  3. Lecture: Kennedy’s Assassination and Johnson (Assign Thesis/Outline)
  4. Stanford Reading Like a Historian on the Great Society (
  5. Lecture: Johnson and Civil Rights (1930’s-1950’s)
  6. View Images of Little Rock and Discuss Read Digital History on Public Accommodations and Discuss + sit-ins
  7. Lecture: On 1960’s Civil Rights and King’s Assassination
  8. Lecture: Civil Rights in the 1970’s beyond Read Chap 7 from Digital History and discuss Bakke Case and Affirmative Action
  9. Lecture: Johnson and Vietnam (Vietnam Through Pictures and First Hand Accounts
  10. Discussion: Was Vietnam a just war. Students research Digital History Unit 12 Chapter 11
  11. Same

12. Thesis/Outline Due - Discuss Question (“1968 was a turning point for the United States.” To what extent is this statement accurate? In your answer, discuss All of the following:

National politics

Vietnam War

Civil Rights

  1. Same –Discussion of Politics and election of 1968
  2. Counter – Culture/ Music
  3. Lecture: Nixon’s Foreign Policy and end of Vietnam
  4. Same
  5. Lecture: Watergate
  6. Test MC
  7. Test Essay

Unit X Ford to the Fall of Communism

  1. Women’s Rights and Environmental Movement
  2. Same
  3. Lecture: Ford’s Presidency and the Election 1976
  4. Lecture: The Carter Years Domestic
  5. Lecture: The Carter Years Foreign Policy and the Election of 1980
  6. Discussion of Reagan’s Domestic Policy and Handout Does Reaganomics work?
  7. Same
  8. Discussion of Reagan’s Foreign Policy Students research list and discuss
  9. Same
  10. Watch: American Experience on Reagan (
  11. Lecture: The election of 1988 and George HW Bush years
  12. Fall of Communism
  13. Lecture: The Gulf War
  14. Discussion: Why HW loses to Clinton.
  15. Test MC
  16. Test Essay

Unit XI The Modern Era

Will include Discussions of Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Election of 2000, 9/11, terrorism, The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Tax Cuts, Economic Collapse of 2008, Obama’s Presidency, and Many other current topics.

Unit XII Review for finals

GRADING
100 TO 90% = A
89 TO 80% = B
79 TO 70% = C
69 TO 60% = D
BELOW 60% = F
GRADES ARE BASED ON:

1.TESTS

Multiple Choice (usually 50 questions per test)

Essay (one per test when noted)

DBQ’s (mixed into 3-4 units during the year

Short Answer

2.THESIS / OUTLINES and Short Answers (You are to write your thesis paragraph and outline your paragraphs of body for the assigned essay questions in class. We then will discuss these essay questions as a class.)

3.DISCUSSIONS (These discussions are graded by participation and content. The teacher will help discussion along if needed.)

4.CLASS PARTICPATION / DEBATES / PROJECTS/ RESEARCH/ HOMEWORK