Unit 1: The Colonial Era

The Big Picture

• Beginning in the 1580s, European powers (Spain, France, Netherlands, Great Britain) competed to create colonies in North America.

• Different colonial patterns led to variations in governments, economies, cultures, and impacts on Native American Indians.

• By the 17th century, British colonies became the most populous and successful, divided into three distinct regions:

  • Southern Colonies (Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia)

    • Characterized by cash-crop plantations.

    • Large populations of African slaves and white indentured servants.

  • New England Colonies (Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire)

    • Marked by Puritan religious devotion, family-oriented communities, and small-scale farming.

  • Mid-Atlantic Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware)

    • Noted for diverse groups of people, religions, and occupations.

Timeline

• Current Unit: Colonial History (1580—1763)

• Next Unit: The American Revolution (1754—1783)

Key Terms and Phrases

1. Important colonies: Virginia, Massachusetts, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York

2. Jamestown, Virginia

3. Joint-stock company

4. John Rolfe

5. Virginia House of Burgesses

6. Indentured servants

7. Bacon’s Rebellion

8. New England colonies

9. Pilgrims and Puritans

10. John Winthrop’s "City on a Hill"

11. Plantation System

12. Anglicans

13. Quakers

14. Mayflower Compact

15. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

16. Town hall meetings

17. Salem Witch Trials

18. Middle colonies

19. Penn’s "Holy Experiment"

20. Salutary Neglect

21. Middle Passage

22. Triangular trade

23. Mercantilism

24. Navigation Acts

25. Ben Franklin

26. The Great Awakening

Essential Questions

1. Describe the major differences between the Southern, New England, and Middle colonies.

2. Explain the impact of the following on the relationship between Great Britain and its American colonies:

   • (a) mercantilism

   • (b) triangular trade

   • (c) salutary neglect

   • (d) Great Awakening

Unit 2: The New Nation, 1783-1800

The Big Picture

• Following independence in 1783, the United States operated under the Articles of Confederation.

• This confederation aimed to avoid tyranny but lacked a strong central authority, leading to ineffectiveness, exemplified by Shays’ Rebellion.

• The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia in 1787, where the founders crafted a new government.

• The new Constitution:

  • Granted more power to the national government over states.

  • Divided power among three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial).

  • Promoted popular sovereignty and emphasized limited government.

• Tension arose between supporters (Federalists) and opponents (Anti-Federalists) of the Constitution, resolved through the addition of a Bill of Rights to protect personal liberties.

• Key figures:

  • George Washington and John Adams as Presidents.

  • Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of Treasury) and Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State) established significant political and economic precedents.

  • Aimed for neutrality in foreign policy and developed a financial strategy for the national economy.

  • Established the foundation for America’s first political parties.

Timeline:

• Previous Unit: The American Revolution (1754—1783)

• Current Unit: The New Nation (1783—1800)

• Next Unit: The Early Antebellum Era (1800—1840)

Key Terms and Phrases:

1. Articles of Confederation

2. Land Ordinance of 1785

3. Northwest Ordinance of 1787

4. Shays’ Rebellion

5. Constitutional Convention, 1787

6. Great Compromise

7. Separation of powers

8. Checks and balances

9. Limited government

10. Three-fifths compromise

11. Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

12. Federalist Papers

13. Bill of Rights

14. George Washington

15. Thomas Jefferson

16. Alexander Hamilton

17. Hamilton’s financial plan

18. Whiskey Rebellion

19. Farewell Address

20. John Adams

21. Impressment

22. XYZ Affair

23. Alien & Sedition Acts

24. Political parties

25. Federalists

26. Democratic-Republicans

27. "Revolution of 1800"

28. Marbury v Madison

29. Judicial Review

Essential Questions:

1. How did the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and Shays’ Rebellion lead to calls for a stronger national government?

2. How was the creation of the U.S. Constitution impacted by:

   • (a) the ideas of the Enlightenment,

   • (b) disagreements between Federalists and Anti-Federalists,

   • (c) the Great Compromise,

   • (d) Three-Fifths Compromise?

3. What decisions did:

   • (a) George Washington,

   • (b) Alexander Hamilton,

   • (c) John Adams make that impacted America?

Unit 3: Early Antebellum Era, 1850-1877

Unit Overview

• Time Period: 1850 - 1877

• Major Themes: Late Antebellum, The Civil War, and Reconstruction

• Key Concept: By 1861, sectional tensions surrounding states’ rights, national political influence, and slavery culminated in a Civil War between the Union and Confederacy.

The Civil War

• Union Advantages:

  • Larger population

  • Greater industrial capacity

  • Extensive railroad network

• Confederacy Strengths:

  • Strong military leadership

  • Defensive strategy

• Key Battles:

  • Antietam:

    • Ended "King Cotton diplomacy"

    • Shifted Union focus towards emancipation of slaves

  • Gettysburg:

    • Marked the beginning of Union successes on the battlefield

• Aftermath of the War:

  • The end of the war at Appomattox complicated how to reintegrate Southern states and protect emancipated slaves.

Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

• Presidential Reconstruction (Andrew Johnson):

  • Too lenient towards the South

  • Insufficient protection for African-Americans

• Radical Reconstruction Plan:

  • Developed by Radical Republicans as a response to Johnson’s ineffectiveness

  • Implemented military districts and new constitutional amendments

  • Established the Freedmen’s Bureau

• Challenges Faced:

  • White resistance

  • Redeemer Democrats

  • Ku Klux Klan (KKK) opposition

• End of Reconstruction:

  • Result of the "second corrupt bargain"

  • President Hayes ended Reconstruction in 1877

Key Terms and Phrases

1. States’ Rights

2. Missouri Compromise of 1820

3. Wilmot Proviso, 1846

4. Compromise of 1850

5. Fugitive Slave Law

6. Popular Sovereignty

7. Kansas-Nebraska Act

8. Stephen Douglas

9. “Bleeding Kansas”, 1856

10. Free Soil Party

11. Republican Party

12. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

13. Dred Scott v Sanford

14. Lincoln-Douglas Debates

15. John Brown; Harper’s Ferry

16. 1860 election and Lincoln

17. Confederate States of America

18. “Preserve the Union”

19. Anaconda Plan

20. Jefferson Davis

21. Abraham Lincoln

22. Ulysses S. Grant

23. Robert E. Lee

24. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

25. Fort Sumter

26. Bull Run (Manassas)

27. Antietam

28. Emancipation Proclamation

29. Vicksburg

30. Gettysburg

31. Gettysburg Address

32. William Tecumseh Sherman

33. Appomattox

34. Second Inaugural Address

35. Andrew Johnson

36. Reconstruction

37. Presidential Reconstruction

38. Radical Reconstruction

39. Radical Republicans

40. Freedmen’s Bureau

41. 13th Amendment

42. 14th Amendment

43. 15th Amendment

44. Black Codes

45. Ku Klux Klan

46. Tenure of Office Act

47. Impeachment

48. Compromise of 1877

49. Jim Crow Era

50. Literacy Tests and Poll Taxes

51. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

52. W.E.B Du Bois

53. Booker T. Washington

54. Ida Wells Barnett

Essential Questions

1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the Union and Confederacy during the Civil War?

2. Explain the significance of:

   • (a) Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation

   • (b) The battles of Antietam and Gettysburg as turning points.

3. What are the major differences between President Johnson’s and the Radical Republicans’ Reconstruction plans? Evaluate the success of these plans in "reconstructing" the nation post-Civil War.

Unit 4: Late Antebellum Era, 1850-1877

Unit Overview

• Time Period: 1850 - 1877

• Major Themes: Late Antebellum, The Civil War, and Reconstruction

• Key Concept: By 1861, sectional tensions surrounding states’ rights, national political influence, and slavery culminated in a Civil War between the Union and Confederacy.

The Civil War

• Union Advantages:

  • Larger population

  • Greater industrial capacity

  • Extensive railroad network

• Confederacy Strengths:

  • Strong military leadership

  • Defensive strategy

• Key Battles:

  • Antietam:

    • Ended "King Cotton diplomacy"

    • Shifted Union focus towards emancipation of slaves

  • Gettysburg:

    • Marked the beginning of Union successes on the battlefield

• Aftermath of the War:

  • The end of the war at Appomattox complicated how to reintegrate Southern states and protect emancipated slaves.

Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

• Presidential Reconstruction (Andrew Johnson):

  • Too lenient towards the South

  • Insufficient protection for African-Americans

• Radical Reconstruction Plan:

  • Developed by Radical Republicans as a response to Johnson’s ineffectiveness

  • Implemented military districts and new constitutional amendments

  • Established the Freedmen’s Bureau

• Challenges Faced:

  • White resistance

  • Redeemer Democrats

  • Ku Klux Klan (KKK) opposition

• End of Reconstruction:

  • Result of the "second corrupt bargain"

  • President Hayes ended Reconstruction in 1877

Key Terms and Phrases

1. States’ Rights

2. Missouri Compromise of 1820

3. Wilmot Proviso, 1846

4. Compromise of 1850

5. Fugitive Slave Law

6. Popular Sovereignty

7. Kansas-Nebraska Act

8. Stephen Douglas

9. “Bleeding Kansas”, 1856

10. Free Soil Party

11. Republican Party

12. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

13. Dred Scott v Sanford

14. Lincoln-Douglas Debates

15. John Brown; Harper’s Ferry

16. 1860 election and Lincoln

17. Confederate States of America

18. “Preserve the Union”

19. Anaconda Plan

20. Jefferson Davis

21. Abraham Lincoln

22. Ulysses S. Grant

23. Robert E. Lee

24. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

25. Fort Sumter

26. Bull Run (Manassas)

27. Antietam

28. Emancipation Proclamation

29. Vicksburg

30. Gettysburg

31. Gettysburg Address

32. William Tecumseh Sherman

33. Appomattox

34. Second Inaugural Address

35. Andrew Johnson

36. Reconstruction

37. Presidential Reconstruction

38. Radical Reconstruction

39. Radical Republicans

40. Freedmen’s Bureau

41. 13th Amendment

42. 14th Amendment

43. 15th Amendment

44. Black Codes

45. Ku Klux Klan

46. Tenure of Office Act

47. Impeachment

48. Compromise of 1877

49. Jim Crow Era

50. Literacy Tests and Poll Taxes

51. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

52. W.E.B Du Bois

53. Booker T. Washington

54. Ida Wells Barnett

Essential Questions

1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the Union and Confederacy during the Civil War?

2. Explain the significance of:

   • (a) Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation

   • (b) The battles of Antietam and Gettysburg as turning points.

3. What are the major differences between President Johnson’s and the Radical Republicans’ Reconstruction plans? Evaluate the success of these plans in "reconstructing" the nation post-Civil War.