u.s. history ii honors - passaic county technical institute · pdf fileunited states history...

PASSAIC COUNTY TECHNICAL INSTITUTE

U.S. History II Honors

2011

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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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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.