Home

U.S. History II Course of Study

Block 1.  The Nation Transformed - To understand the social, political, and economic impacts of industrialization and World War I on America.
1.  Identify the factors that contributed to the rise of industrialization in the 19th century.  (Technology & Markets, Social Darwinism, Natural Resources, Entrepreneurs, Role of Government).
2.  Analyze factory life and city life during industrialization as it is depicted through one of the humanities.
3.  Compare two or more eyewitness accounts of labor unrest, war, living conditions or working conditions.
4.  Describe how the acquisition of personal fortune led to improvements in America funded by philanthropists.
5.  Analyze the rise of the American labor movement.
6.  Investigate the struggle of American Labor Unions to win legal recognition.
7.  Identify the leadership of major political parties and compare their understanding of government's role during industrialization.
8.  Illustrate the population shift from rural to urban America and immigration to the United States.  Explain the motives behind these movements.
9.  Investigate the social and economic impacts of the assimilation and acculturation process on immigrant groups and America.

Block 2.  Flappers, Failure and Flyers - To understand the drastic changes in America from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Depression and the continued changes throughout World War II
1.  Understand the cultural and social development of the Harlem Renaissance.
2.  Identify the tensions associated with the definitions of American democracy in the Red Scare, the Bonus March, the Ku Klux Klan, the role of government in economic crisis and the Japanese internment.
3.  Analyze the struggles for the extension of voting rights to women.
4.  Examine ways in which language, literature, the arts, traditions, beliefs, values, and behavior patterns interact to create and maintain the culture of the roaring twenties.
5.  Demonstrate that the economic boom of the twenties was accompanied by a change of standards in Progressive Era legislation.
6.  Compare the political leadership of Hoover and Roosevelt in the handling of the Great Depression.
7.  Analyze the causes of the Great Depression and its effects upon American society.
8.  Examine the continued tradition of American volunteerism through the Great Depression and World War II.
9.  Apply American advancements in technology to the war machine and our involvement in global conflicts.
10.  Identify the causes and consequences of World War II.

Block 3.  Change and Turmoil - To understand that post-World War II America faced multiple foreign and domestic conflicts
1.  Identify the causes and consequences of the Cold War including the Korean War, conflict over Berlin, Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
2.  Describe how the executive branch grew in size and power as a response to the Cold War.
3.  Trace the movement of America from isolationism to increased involvement in the global arena resulting from the spread of Communism and fear of the Domino Theory.
4.  Examine the tensions associated with the definitions of American democracy during the McCarthy Era and the free speech and anti-war movements.
5.  Analyze the rise of the Right-to-Work movement.
6.  Link global events with continued American immigration focusing of refugees.
7.  Trace the struggle for the extension of civil rights to African Americans and other minority groups.
8.  Evaluate the conflict between the national and state governments over the implementation of integration.
9.  Compare Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and the leaders of the Black Panthers.
10.  Explore the impact of political assassinations on the political and social culture of the 1960's.

Block 4.  Modern America - To understand that America continues to respond to changes in political, social, and economic institutions
1.  Investigate the Watergate incident and compare it to other political scandals of the 20th century.
2.  Determine the impacts of modern era presidents from Nixon to the present and their impact on American society and national policy.
3.  Trace the growth of anti-immigrant sentiment from the arrival of the Southeast Asian refugees to the present.
4.  Trace the change in emphasis of US foreign policy from the fall of the Soviet Empire to the War on Terrorism.
5.  Investigate the impacts of the break-up of the Soviet Block on the United States and the world.
6.  Identify the tensions associated with the definitions of American democracy as evidenced by the reactions to Roe versus Wade, church versus state issues, the rights of private property versus environmental protection to partisan politics.
7.  Analyze the struggles for the extension of civil rights through affirmative action and gender preference.
8.  Chart the growth of media influence on politics, campaigns and the shaping of current event issues.

Picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt used with permission from FDR Library at:
www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/photos.html

Accessed June 21, 2002

Historical Fiction and Idaho U.S. History Curriculum
Home  U.S. History I  U.S. History II  Books by Author  Author Links  Idaho Connections
© Blaine Davies, All Rights Reserved
E-mail Blaine Davies at blainedavies@cableone.net