Focus: Natives of America, their diverse societies, and their initial contacts with Europeans.
Big Idea #1: Native American populations exhibited diversity in lifestyles shaped by their environments.
Diverse societies, not a monolithic group.
Examples:
Coastal regions (e.g., Chumash): Permanent settlements.
Great Basin regions (e.g., Ute): Nomadic hunter-gatherers requiring large hunting lands.
Mississippi Valley (e.g., Cahokia): Agricultural societies with rich soil and trade networks.
Northeast (e.g., Iroquois): Agricultural communities living communally in longhouses, utilizing timber.
Big Idea #2: European motivations for exploration and colonization.
European states were undergoing political unification, leading to a growing upper class with a taste for luxury goods from Asia.
Ottoman Muslims controlled land-based trade routes, leading Europeans to seek sea routes to Asia.
Key Players:
Portugal: Established a trading post empire around Africa and into the Indian Ocean.
Spain: Sought new routes to Asian markets via the west, completed the Reconquista, and aimed to spread Christianity.
Christopher Columbus: Sponsored by Spain, his voyages led to competition among European countries (e.g., England, Portugal, France, Spain) to claim land.
Big Idea #3: The Columbian Exchange's transformative impact.
Transfer of people, animals, and diseases between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (Americas).
Crops:
From Americas to Europe: Maize, potatoes.
From Europe to Americas: Wheat, rice.
Animals:
From Americas to Europe: Turkeys.
From Europe to Americas: Cattle, pigs, horses.
Population increases in Europe and devastating disease spread in the Americas (e.g., smallpox, measles).
Mineral wealth (gold & silver) from America to Europe facilitated the shift from feudalism.
Big Idea #4: The impact of Spanish arrival on the social and economic structure of the Americas.
The Encomienda system: Spanish exploitation of Native American labor for mining (Native Americans died from diseases).
Increase in African slavery to replace Native American labor.
The Casta system: Categorization of people based on race and ancestry.
Big Idea #5: Evolving perceptions between Europeans and Native Americans.
Land: Europeans viewed land as a commodity, while Native Americans had spiritual connections to it.
Religion: Europeans were Christians, while Native Americans practiced diverse pantheistic religions.
Differing Views:
Juan Gines de Sepulveda: Argued for Native Americans' inferiority and the benefits of harsh labor.
Bartolome de las Casas: Advocated for the dignity and human rights of Native Americans.
Unit 2: 1607-1754
Focus: Founding of Jamestown and colonial development.
Big Idea #1: Diverse motivations behind European colonization projects.
Spanish Goals: Initially mineral extraction, then cash crops, and spreading Christianity, leading to subjugation of native populations.
French and Dutch Goals: Trade partnerships (fur trade) with fewer permanent settlements (Quebec, New Amsterdam).
British Goals: Social mobility, economic prosperity, and religious freedom due to inflation, enclosure movement, and religious persecution (Puritans vs. Separatists).
Big Idea #2: Diversity among British North American colonies.
Chesapeake (Jamestown): Single men, indentured servants, tobacco cultivation for European markets.
New England: Religious communities, whole families settling, shaped by religious principles.
British West Indies & Southern Atlantic Coastal Colonies: Warm climates, cash crop economies (sugar, tobacco), high demand for African labor.
Middle Colonies
New York, New Jersey
Located on the sea with many rivers
Hubs for trade organized around exports
Diverse communities
New England Governance
Self-governing
Mayflower Compact
House of Burgesses in Virginia
Big Idea #3: Transatlantic trade and its economic impact.
Triangular Trade: New England merchants traded rum in West Africa for slaves, then the Middle Passage to trade for sugarcane, forming a cyclical pattern.
Mercantilism: State-driven economic system relying on colonies for raw materials.
Big Idea #4: Differing European policies toward Native Americans and resulting conflicts.
Examples:
Metacom's War: Native American attacks on British colonies due to growing tensions.
Pueblo Revolt: Resistance to Spanish land grabs and Christianizing missions.
Big Idea #5: African slavery and resistance.
Chattel Slavery: Enslaved people viewed as property.
Resistance: Covert and overt rebellions (e.g., Stono Rebellion).
Big Idea #6: Colonial society's dual identity.
Influence of the Enlightenment: Natural rights and social contract weakened religious authority.
Response: The First Great Awakening: A national movement fostering a national identity and resisting Enlightenment ideals.
Big Idea #7: Growing mistrust due to British colonial policies.
Anglicization: American colonies becoming more English-like.
Frustration over British Impressment: Forced naval service leading to riots and resistance.
Increased awareness of natural rights and viewing impressment as a violation.
Unit 3: 1754-1800
Focus: Increasing tensions between Britain and its American colonies, and the struggles to create a new government.
Big Idea #1: The French and Indian War's impact.
Causes: British fear of French encroachment into the Ohio Valley.
British victory: French lost control of North America.
Consequences:
Increased British land holdings to the Mississippi River.
Conflicts with Native Americans due to colonial westward expansion.
Proclamation Line of 1763: Restricted colonial expansion west.
*Taxation: British debt doubled, leading to taxes on colonies to recover war costs.
Big Idea #2: Taxation without representation led to the Revolutionary War.
Parliament demanded more tax revenue after salutary neglect.
Stricter enforcement of Navigation Acts.
Quartering Act: Imperial troops stationed in colonies.
Stamp Act: Tax on all paper items.
Colonial Response:
Stamp Act Congress to repeal the Stamp Act.
Townshend Acts and boycotts of British goods.
Boston Massacre due to increased tensions.
Boston Tea Party
Colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts): Closed Boston Harbor until tea was paid for.
Growing support for the Patriot movement.
Big Idea #3: Enlightenment influence on the American Independence movement.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine:
Advocated for independence.
Combined Enlightenment thought with biblical imagery.
Popularized the idea of independence.
Declaration of Independence:
Influenced by Enlightenment ideals.
Affirmed the principle that all men are created equal.
Examples of social contract theory.
Big Idea #4: American victory in the Revolutionary War.
Leadership of George Washington.
Turning Point: Battle of Saratoga, leading to French alliance.
Support for the Patriot cause.
Battle of Yorktown: Established the United States of America.
Big Idea #5: Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
First constitution of the USA, ratified in 1781.
Concentrated federal power in a legislative body.
No judicial or executive branches.
No power to tax states.
Pros: Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established processes for territories to become states and abolished slavery in those territories.
Cons: Shay's Rebellion alarmed leaders, revealing the inadequacy of the Articles of Confederation.
Big Idea #6: Drafting the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention.
Purpose: To revise the Articles of Confederation, but evolved into drafting a new Constitution.
Federalists (strong central government) vs. Anti-federalists (more state power).
Virginia Plan: Representation in Congress based on population (favored large states).
New Jersey Plan: Equal representation per state (favored small states).
Great Compromise/Connecticut Compromise:
Bicameral legislature.
House of Representatives: Representation based on population.
Senate: Equal representation for each state.
3/5 Compromise: 3/5 of the enslaved population counted for representation.
Prohibition of international slave trade after 1808.
Ratification: Federalists (Hamilton, Madison, Jay) wrote the Federalist Papers to defend the Constitution.
Anti-federalists demanded a Bill of Rights, which was added to the Constitution.
Big Idea #7: New central government defined by federalism and separation of powers.
Federalism: Sharing of power between federal and state governments.
Separation of Powers:
Legislative Branch: Law-making.
Executive Branch: Law-enforcing.
Judicial Branch: Law-interpreting.
Big Idea #8: Impact of the American Revolution on society and global revolutions.
Women: Republican Motherhood, raising virtuous sons instructed in the principles of liberty.
Inspired French Revolution: Emphasis on freedom.
Inspired Haitian Revolution: Overthrow of French rule, leading to independence.
Big Idea #9: Precedents set by Washington and Adams.
Washington's Presidency:
Division and creation of political parties: Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
Whiskey Rebellion: Disagreement over economic policies (Hamilton's National Bank).
Adam's Presidency:
XYZ Affair.
Alien and Sedition Acts: Restricted criticism of the government and immigration.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions: Claimed states' right to nullify federal laws.
Big Idea #10: Expression of American national identity in art, literature, and architecture.
Artists devoted to historical themes.
Formation of a distinct American artistic identity.
Unit 4: 1800-1848
Focus: From Jefferson's election to the end of the Mexican-American War/Seneca Falls Convention.
Big Idea #1: Party debates, Supreme Court's role, and territorial expansion during Jefferson's era.
Party Debates:
Democratic-Republicans (strict constructionists) vs. Federalists (loose constructionists).
Strict constructionists: Literal interpretation of the Constitution.
Loose constructionists: Flexible interpretation of the Constitution.
Expansion of US Territorial Holdings:
Louisiana Purchase.
Lewis & Clark expedition (northwest) and Zebulon Pike (south).
Supreme Court establishes its role under John Marshall.
Marbury v Madison
Established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review.
Big Idea #2: Conflicts between regional interests and federal power.
War of 1812: Fought due to British impressment of American sailors; opposed by New England (Hartford Convention).
Henry Clay’s American System: Unifying the American economy.
Federally funded internal improvements.
Protective tariffs.
Second Bank of the United States.
Madison vetoed some provisions disadvantaging the South.
Westward Expansion - Missouri Compromise
Missouri's application as a slave state disrupted the balance between free and slave states.
Missouri Compromise:
Admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state to maintain the balance.
Prohibited slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36°30′ parallel.
Big Idea #3: Establishing the US as an independent nation.
Federalists (Hamilton): strong central government & national bank
Jefferson (Democratic-Republicans) wanted strong state power and limited federal gov’t
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions (claimed that states had the right to nullify unconstitutional federal laws)
Big Idea #4: The Market Revolution
Linking of Northern Industry with Western and Southern farms.
Economy switched from homespun/local -> national/industrial economy
Cotton gin -> made cotton very important in the south
Interchangeable parts -> factories took off in the North
Andrew Jackson became the face of the “common man” even though he was rich
Vetoed the Second Bank of the US and hated internal improvements funded by the federal gov’t
Whigs formed as opposition -> liked congress > presidency, supported the national bank
Big Idea #6: President Andrew Jackson
Used federal power on issues like the national bank, tariffs, federally funded internal improvements, and the forcible removal of American Indians from their lands
Second great awakening
Big Idea #7: Defining American identity
Slavery becomes more established in the South post-cotton gin
Abolitionists were seen as radicals, esp in the south
Big Idea #8: Rise of democratic and individualistic beliefs.
Indian removal act (1830) - jackson signed this to forcefully relocate native tribes west of mississippi
Worcester v. Georgia (1832): the supreme court said cherokee nation was its own thing and georgia could no force them off their land
Jackson was pro-states’ rights
Big Idea #9: Southern culture ensured that the institution of slavery.
Women’s Roles in the reform era
Seneca falls convention (1848)
Unit 5: 1844-1877
Big Idea #1: Many americans believed it was their Manifest Destiny to expand their nation
Big Idea #2: The Mexican American war was caused by the annexation of Texas
US couldn’t stop fighting about whether new states should allow slavery - Wilmot Proviso - banned slavery in land from Mexico (flopped)
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): popular sovereignty = people vote if slave state or no -> BLEEDING KANSAS chaos
Big Idea #3: Acquisition of land
Big Idea #4: As more immigrants arrived in America, they created ethnic enclaves
Big Idea #5: Tension over slavery increased = All attempts to compromise
Big Idea #7: Election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860
Big Idea #8: North and the South mobilized their entire economies and societies
Big Idea #9: Reconstruction - abolished slavery
Big Idea #10: Reconstruction Failed
Unit 6
Big Idea #1: Continued westward migration and the advent of transcontinental railroad systems helped unify the national economy
Big Idea #2: Americans moved westward for a variety of reasons
Big Idea #3: The southern states entrenched themselves in racial segregation and a continuing adherence to agriculture
Big Idea #4: Technological innovation created the occasion for the rise and expansion of industrial capitalism
Big Idea #5: production transformed the American economy during the Gilded Age
Big Idea #6: Standard of living improved, many in the labor sector found their lives unsustainable
Big Idea #7: industrial workforce expanded and became more diverse through internal and international migration
Big Idea #8: faced opposition from nativists and labor unions
Big Idea #9: Reform American society and economics
Big Idea #10: Politics in the Gilded Age
Unit 7
Big Idea #1: The United States debated whether it should expand into territories beyond its borders
Big Idea #2: victory in the Spanish-American War led to further land acquisitions
Big Idea #3: The Progressives wanted strong government intervention to reform society
Big Idea #4: U.S. began in a position of isolationism regarding World War
Big Idea #5: civil liberties, nativism, and significant migrations
Big Idea #6: focused the U.S. economy on the production of consumer goods
Big Idea #7: granting new opportunities for women and immigrants
Big Idea #8: transform the United States into a limited welfare state
Big Idea #9: U.S. entry into WWII
Big Idea #10: US entry into WWII transformed American society economically
Big Idea #11: Americans saw the war as a fight for the survival of democracy
Unit 8: 1945-1980
Big Idea #1: The U.S. and Soviet Union engaged in a decades-long Cold War
Big Idea #2: Americans debated policies designed to expose suspected communists within the United States
Big Idea #3: The U.S. economy grew significantly in the 1950s
Big Idea #4: Gains were made for civil rights in the 1940s and 1950s
Big Idea #5: The Civil Rights Movement won major victories in the 1960s
Big Idea #6: postwar decolonization was the occasion for increasing Cold War involvement
Big Idea #7: The Vietnam War
Big Idea #8: Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society
Big Idea #9: The Civil Rights Movement expanded
Big Idea #10: Youth culture of the 1960s
Big Idea #11: environmental degradation led to the rise of the environmental movement
Big Idea #12: government rapidly declined during the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal
Unit 9: 1980-Present
Big Idea #1: The election of Ronald Reagan
Big Idea #2: bring an end to the Cold War
Big Idea #3: U.S. economy underwent significant changes in the 1990s
Big Idea #4: affected U.S. culture and economics significantly