U.S. History I Course of Study

Block 1.  Pre-Columbian Review & Exploration of the New World - To recognize the impact of European political, economic, and social influences on the origins of America
1.  Compare and contrast the impact of European exploration on the native population in the Americas.
2.  Trace the patterns and routes of European exploration in the Americas using maps, globes, and charts.
3.  Identify the European motivation for exploration in the Americas.

Block 2.  Colonization - To understand the regional political, social, and economic differences that led to the emergence of self-government in early America
1.  Compare and contrast the varying lifestyles in the differing American colonial regions:  South, Middle, and New England.
2.  Analyze the early colonial forms of government.
3.  Identify the economic factors that led to the expansion of the American colonies.
4.  Describe the physical development of European colonies in North America.
5.  Identify the religious, political, and economic motives of voluntary immigration to North America.
6.  Compare and contrast the involuntary immigration of indentured servants and enslaved Africans to the American colonies.

Block 3.  The Revolutionary War - To understand the issues colonists had with England and their struggle to achieve independence
1.  Analyze the causes of the American Revolution.
2.  Organize and evaluate the significant events of the American Revolution.
3.  Trace the development of the Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation.
4.  Discuss the economic issues that motivated Americans to revolt and sustain a war.
5.  Chart the strategies of the different military factions in the Revolution.

Block 4.  America's Founding Fathers & the Constitution - To understand the impact of the Founding Fathers in forging a constitutional government
1.  Analyze the significant contributions of the Founding Fathers in creating the Constitution.
2.  Evaluate the problems with the Articles of Confederation that led to the need for a new government.
3.  Trace the influence of state economies and populations in the failure of the Articles of Confederation and creation of the Constitution. 
4.  Know how the Constitution structured a system of democracy for the United States.
5.  Understand the relationship between personal freedom and responsibility in the United States.
6.  Examine the Testing of American Political and Military Power During the War of 1812.
7.  Identify the content and impact of the Monroe Doctrine.

Block 5.  Westward Expansion & New Territories - To understand the desire for and acquisition of new territory in the development of the United States as a world power
1.  Evaluate the role and influence of the President in the expansion of the United States.
2.  Trace the exploration and settlement of the West.
3.  Identify the motivating factors that led to the American westward migration [new lands for farming and ranching, gold rush, pioneers changes in technology (railroad and steamboat), government programs encouraging migration and settlement, increased migration from Europe].
4.  Describe the significant conflicts that the United States had with Native Americans, Mexico, and Europe in acquisition of new territory.
5.  Explain the role of negotiation and/or treaty in the United States acquisition of new territory.

Block 6.  Civil War - To understand the issues that separated the North and South and the conflict that ensued
1.  Analyze the way in which the issue of slavery influenced the population and economy of the United States.
2.   Evaluate the causes and impact of the issues that led to the Civil War.
3.  Describe the cultural, political and military progression of events in the Civil War.
4.  Graph the economic distribution of the North and South during the Civil War period.
5.  Identify the impact of transportation, industrial and military technology on the outcome of the Civil War.

Block 7.  Reconstruction - To understand the political, social, and economic forces of post-Civil War Reconstruction in the United States
1.  Chronologically organize significant events and people who impacted the years of Reconstruction.
2.  Evaluate how Reconstruction changed or challenged the American system of politics and government.
3.  Describe the experiences of culturally, ethnically, and racially different groups trying to assimilate as part of the United States after the Civil War.
4.  Evaluate the economic goals of the federal government in the recovery of the South after the Civil War.
5.  Chart the changes in agricultural systems post-Civil War.

Picture of George Washington courtesy of University of Virginia at: http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/

Historical Fiction and Idaho U.S. History Curriculum
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