The U.S. History Honors Guide

First English Colonies (1607-1783)

The American Revolution (1775 - 1783)

Lesson 1: The Stirrings of Rebellion

American Revolution Definition

American Revolution: The war in which the United States gained its independence.

Reasons for the Revolution

• The American Revolution was started due to growing hatred towards the British government and its control over the colonies. These were the main things that upset them:

  • Acts

  • Little Representation

  • King George III

• The Britsh had to fund their economy due to the numerous wars they had partaken in. They did this by imposing taxes through acts on the colonies. These acts included:

  • The Stamp Act: required the purchasing of stamped newspapers, documents, licenses, and cards.

  • Townshend Act: indirectly taxed materials such as tea, lead, and glass.

  • Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts): shut down the Boston Harbor and allowed British soldiers to quarter in civilian homes.

Boston Massacre

• Boston Massacre: An event in which British troops fired at colonists resulting in 5 dead.

• On March 5, 1770, a fistfight broke out because of jobs. A mob gathered and taunted the Custom House guards. When a man named Crispus Attucks arrived, an armed clash erupted. Three died right away, and 2 others died due to fatal wounds.

Colony Responses

• Faced with the taxes and unfair legislation, the colonies responded with:

  • Boycotts

  • Protests

  • Anti-British Organizations

• Sons of Liberty:

• Boston Tea Party: In 1773, colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded a British ship and dumped tea overboard.

• First Continental Congress: A colonist meeting that banned trade with England and began raising armies.

• Minutemen: The soldiers set in place by the Continental Congress to fight at any minute.

Fighting Erupts at Lexington and Concord

• Minutemen were stationed around the colonies in preparation for an attack. The attack came when General Gage, a British general, investigated reports of stored arms and ammunition in Boston.

• Men he sent to Concord reported places where arms were rumored to be stored, and they reported that John Hancock and Samuel Adams were located in Lexington.

• This led to Gage planning to invade Lexington and Concord to destroy all the ammunition and capture the two prominent revolutionaries.

• On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Daws, and Samuel Prescott rode out and spread the word that British Regulars were heading for Concord.

• On April 19, in the morning, the battle of Lexington began. In only 15 minutes, 8 minutemen were killed and only one British soldier was injured.

• However, as they fought Concord, a different story occurred. Britsh soldiers were gunned down by the dozen and they eventually retreated to Boston.

Lesson 2: Ideas Help Start a Revolution

Lesson 3:

The U.S. Constitution (1789 - Present)

Lesson 1: Article of Confederation

The Creation of the Articles

• Article of Confederation: The first United States Constitution.

• The Articles split the government into two levels, the State, and the Federal governments.

• This type of government was called a confederation.

• The Articles were formally adopted in 1777.

• They gave power to the federal government to

  • Declare War

  • Make Peace

  • Sign Treaties

  • Borrow Money

  • Set Standards of Weight and Measurements

  • Settle Foreign Affairs

The Failures of the Articles

• Political Problems: The Articles did not give the federal government sole power, which led to States acting in their interests. Congress also did not recognize State populations.

• Economic Problems: The Articles did not give the Federal government the power to tax. This led to an economic crisis caused by the American Revolution.

• Foreign-Relation Problems: The United States could not repay the debt it had amassed during the American Revolution. This heightened tension between Britain and the Loyalists who had lost land during the revolution.

• These problems showed that the government lacked the power to deal with the nation’s problems.

Lesson 2: Drafting the Constitution

Shay’s Rebellion

• Shay’s Rebellion: A

Constitutional Convention

• Due to the issues facing the country, a convention was called to discuss and brainstorm solutions.

• People in attendance included:

  • George Washington

  • Benjamin Franklin

  • Alexander Hamilton

• Great Compromise: The compromise that formed a two-house Congress in which one would be equally represented in one (Senate), and in the other, have representation based on the State’s population (House of Representatives).

• This was created due to tensions between smaller and larger states. They fought about whether population and size should matter in Congressional representation.

• Three-Fifths Compromise: The compromise that counted every three out of five slaves in a State’s population for both representation and taxation.

• This was proposed as with the Great Compromise, many wondered if slaves should count as people. Southerners wished for them to be counted as this would give them more representation in Congress. Northern delegates did not want them to be counted as this would give them more representation.

Creating a New Government

• Federalism: The form of government that divides power between the national government and the State government.

• Separation of Powers: The separation of powers granted powers solely to the federal government while also limiting its authority.

• Legislative Branch: The branch that makes laws.

• Executive Branch: The branch that executes the laws.

• Judicial Branch: The branch that interprets the laws

• Checks and Balances: The system made to prevent one branch from dominating another.

• Electoral College: The system where state-selected voters would cast ballots for candidates selected in a State.

• Delegates included a process for changing the Constitution. This is known as the amendment process.

Lesson 3: Ratifying the Constitution

Federalists vs. Antifederlists

• Federalists: The people who supported the Constitution.

• Antifederalists: The people who rejected the Constitution.

• Federalists argued that the division of powers and the checks and balances would protect the people from tyranny.

• Antifederalists argued that a strong central government would lead to abuses of power.

• The Federalist Papers: 85 essays defending the Constitution’s provision.

Bill of Rights Lead to Ratification

• The people, especially antifederalists, demanded a formal summary of a citizen’s rights for the Constitution to be ratified.

• Federalists gave in to the demands in return for the ratification.

• Bill of Rights: The first 10 Amendments that state the basic rights of an American citizen.

• The Constitution was ratified in 1789.

The Constitution’s Structure

• Preamble: The opening statement of the Constitution that gives its purpose and the place its power comes from, the people.

• Articles: The 7 sections of the Constitution that detail the federal and State governments and how they would operate.

• Amendments: The changes to the Constitution.

Article I: The Legislature

• This article talks about the powers of Congress (the branch that has the power to create laws).

• This branch is a bicameral legislature with the branch being split into two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives.

• House of Representatives: The house related to the represented State's population.

• Senate: The house that has a set number of representatives (two).

• Powers of Congress:

  • Power to make taxes

  • Borrow money

  • Coin money

  • Declare war (approve)

  • Raise armies

  • Maintain a navy

• Necessary and Proper Clause: States that Congress has the power to create laws that are needed to uphold the Constitution.

Article II: The Executive

• This article gives the job and powers of the president.

• The election is driven through the electoral college system. Each state has a set number of electors that vote for the candidate that receives the most votes in that state. This can lead to a candidate winning even without having the most voters overall.

• Executive Powers:

  • Chief of army

  • execution of laws

  • signs laws

Article III: The Judiciary

• This article deals with the judicial branch and the Supreme Court. This branch is what interprets the laws.

• The Supreme Court is the federal court with the highest order. Congress establishes smaller courts.

• The Supreme Court has the highest jurisdiction, dealing with cases affecting high positions. In all other circumstances, it hears appeals from lower courts.

• Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president, but they must be approved by Congress to be official.

• Judicial Review: This branch's power allows the Supreme Court to analyze whether or not laws are Constitutional.

Article IV: Relations Among States

• This article lays out the relationships between states and the federal government and between the states to each other. It shows the rights that each state must respect.

Article V: Amending the Constitution

• This article shows the amendment process.

• Amendments are first proposed by either a 2/3rd majority of Congress or State legislature.

• After it must be accepted by ¾ of the states to be ratified.

Article VI: Sumpremacy of the National Government

• This article outlines the supremacy clause which states that the federal government is supreme to state law.

Article VII: Ratification

• This article outlines how the Constitution and Amendments shall be ratified.

Amendments

Bill of Rights

• Amendment 1: Protects the rights to assemble, speak, protest, practice religion, and petition.

• Amendment 2: Protects the right to carry and bear arms.

• Amendment 3: Protects citizens from the forced quartering of soldiers in their homes.

• Amendment 4: Protects citizens from unreasonable searches without warrant.

• Amendment 5: Protects against the charging of the same crime, projects against self-witness, and protects against the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

• Amendment 6: Protects the right to a speedy, public trial.

• Amendment 7: Protect the right to a jury.

• Amendment 8: Protects against exclusive punishments.

• Amendment 9: Protects rights not stated in the Constitution.

• Amendment 10: Protects the rights that are not delegated to the United States, nor prohibited by the States for the people.

Important Amendments

• Amendment 13: Abolished slavery.

• Amendment 14: Granted African Americans citizenship.

• Amendment 15: Gave African American men the right to vote.

• Amendment 19: Gave women the right to vote.

• Amendment 24: Abolished the poll tax.

• Amendment 26: Mde the voting age 18.

The Civil War (1861 - 1865)

Lesson 1: Issues on Slavery

Slavery

• Slavery: The forced owning of another person for work and labor.

• Slaves would be bought at slave auctions and sent to plantations working grueling hours and receiving little pay.

Fugitives

• Slaves sought to run North and be free from slavery.

• Underground Railroad: A series of houses, people, and pathways that runaway slaves would take to get North.

• Slave owners threatened succession due to Northerners demanding the abolishment of slavery. This led to the formation of the Fugitive Slave Act in the Clay Compromise.

• Fugitive Slaves Act: An act that allowed slave owners to arrest free runaway slaves and bring them back to slavery.

Violence over Slavery

• With the North pushing for the South to abolish slavery, and the South fighting to keep it, tension rose in the Union.

• Bleeding Kansas: an event in which

Reconstruction (1863 - 1877)

Harlem Renassaince (1918 - 1937)

The Civil Rights Movement (1954 – 1968)

Imperialism (1900 - 1914)

World War I (1914 - 1918)

The Roaring 20s (1920 - 1929)

The 18th Amendment

• In the wake of the 1920s, the 18th Amendment banned the consumption of alcohol. However, no one in their right mind paid attention to it.

• Speakeasies: Private clubs or bars that illegally sold alcohol during the Roaring 20s.

• The prohibition led to increased violence for illegal liquor territories.

Modern America

• The 1920s was the birth of modern America as we know it now.

• Culture:

  • Movies and the radio became staples in the 1920s. This led to an increase in American culture and bonds.

  • Other forms of entertainment that boomed during these years included music and

• Cities:

  • Urban areas also developed in the 1920s, a decade when more Americans lived in urban areas than in the country.

  • The streets of these cities represented things about the cities and city life.

  • Broadway:

• Technology

  • Common-day appliances began to be integrated during the 1920s.

  • These included: waffle irons, radios,

The Great Depression (1929-1939)

Lesson 1: The Nation’s Sick Economy

Troubles Arising

• While the 1920s brought the vision of economic success, the economy was steadily declining.

• Key industries such as railroads, agriculture, and steel were not making much money due to these reasons:

  • Introduction of automobiles

  • Overproduction

• Deflation: The decrease in prices of goods and services.

• These factors caused many to fall into debt and led to even more overproduction.

• Price Supports: Federal economic support for products such as wheat, cotton, corn, and tobacco.

• Credit: A system in which consumers would buy products and pay later.

The Stock Market Crashes

Lesson 2: Hardship and Suffering

Lesson 3: Hoover’s Failed Policies

The New Deal

New Deal Definition and The Three Rs

• New Deal: The economic policies put into place to end the Great Depression.

• The Three Rs: The main goals of the New Deal: Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

The First New Deal

• First New Deal: The first policies were set to fix the U.S. economy.

The Second New Deal

• Was concerned with dropping unemployment rates.

World War II (1939-1945)

Lesson 1: War Breaks Out

Causes of World War II

• World War II: The Second World War, which started in 1939 and ended in 1945, was fought between Europe, the United States, and Japan.

• The main causes were:

  • The Treaty of Versailles: Germany was severely punished due to their responsibility for WWI. They had to pay war debts, Germany could not raise its army, and they were forced to release control of many industrial regions.

  • The Weakness of the League of Nations: The League did not stop Hitler, Japan, and Mussolini from expanding their borders. They also did not have a united army to protect weaker countries.

  • Japanise Aggression: Japan continued to expand its borders to gain resources and land. Due to this, America inflicted restrictions on the Japanese. This led to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America joining the war.

The Spread of Totalitarianism

• Totalitarianism: The belief and act of a government exerting complete control over its citizens.

• Joseph Stalin: The Russian leader who led Russia into an industrial and agricultural through the creation of a totalitarian government and the deaths of somewhere between 8-13 million people (led from 1941 to 1953).

• Benito Mussolini: The leader of Italy who pushed fascism and totalitarianism to gain power (led from 1922 to 1943).

  • Fascism: A belief system that focused on nationalism and the states' desires over the people.

• Adolf Hitler: The German dictator that found the nazis and pushed to unite all German-speaking people (led from 1933 to 1945).

  • Nazism: An extreme version of fascism that stressed Aryan superiority and national expansion.

• Adolf Hitler rose to power by using the desperation of the German people. They were starving, and unemployed, so with his energetic speeches and new policies, they appointed him chancellor in January 1933. He immediately removed the democratic Weimar Republic and replaced it with his Third Reich.

• Hitler believed in Aryan superiority so he pushed first to unite all German people and then cleanse the world from “racially inferior” people.

Dictators Expanded Their Territory

• Militarism: The belief that a country needs a strong military to accomplish its goals.

• Dictator: A person who takes sole power over a country primarily through force.

• The Japanese were the first to begin their expansion in 1931. They invaded and took control of a Chinese province called Machuria. The League of Nations was supposed to respond and retaliate due to this, but they simply condemned Japan. This just led to Japan leaving the league.

• Hideki Tojo: The chief of staff of Japan’s Kwantung Army who led a further invasion into China.

• Other European dictators did not leave the League of Nations’ weakness unnoticed. First, Hitler began to undo the binds put in place by the Treaty of Versailles. He raised a military, sent troops into demilitarised German areas, and began planning an invasion.

• Mussolini on the other hand targeted Ethiopia to expand Italy. Then in 1935, the invasion began and the League of Nations, again, did nothing.

Invasion of Poland

• Hitler invaded Poland on the first of September, 1939.

• Using the blitzkrieg strategy, he decimated the country with tanks, planes, and a wave of soldiers.

• Poland surrendered on the 28th.

Lesson 2: The Holocaust

Non-Aryan Persecution

• Hitler during his reign implemented plans to execute racial purity. This eventually led to Jews and other groups deemed "undesirable," including Romani people, disabled individuals, and political dissidents being eliminated and discriminated against.

• The Nazis mainly targeted Jews due to anti-semitism. They believed that the Jews were responsible for many of their problems.

• Nuremberg Laws: The laws that stripped citizenship from Jewish people, and led to systematic discrimination towards them.

• This persecution escalated into widespread violence, culminating in events such as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) in 1938, when Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were vandalized and destroyed.

• To escape prosecution, hundreds of thousands of Jews fled from Germany into surrounding European countries. However, most of those countries did not welcome them or know what to do with them. Britain would not accept more than 0,000 as they did not want to spread antisemitism. France had 40,000 and they did not want more.

• The United States accepted 100,000 Jewish refugees.

The Final Solution

• Final Solution: The term used by the Nazis to describe their plan to systematically exterminate the Jewish population of Europe during World War II.

• Jewish people were condemned to slavery and death as they were not of the “master race”.

• The Nazis also target other groups in their final solution. These included:

  • Gypsies

  • Freemasons

  • Jehovah’s Witnesses

  • Homosexuals

  • The Physically Disabled

  • The Mentally Ill

• Concentration Camps: Camps where prisoners were subjected to forced labor, often under brutal conditions, during World War II, particularly in Nazi Germany.

• People in these camps worked until they could not anymore. Those deemed unfit to work were executed.

The Final Stage

• The regular death methods of starvation and labor were seen to be inefficient by the Nazis. This led to the creation of death camps where prisoners would be executed in horrific and gruesome ways.

• 6 were made in Poland and each carried several gas chambers.

• As prisoners arrived, SS officers would separate those to work and those to die. Those sent to die would be instructed to undress and prepare for a shower. In the chamber, gas would released, and many would die.

The Global Response

• At first, other countries were not aware of the horrors happening in Germany and Poland.

• In 1942, however, an escapee created a news report on his experiences in a death camp. Another report was made by Gerhart Riegner.

• These reports quickly spread around the world, and many were horrified by their contents.

• Some countries responded by rescuing and taking in Jewish refugees. Others took a slow approach to assisting like the U.S.

• The War Refugees Board was developed by President Roosevelt to rescue thousands of Jews in Europe.

Lesson 3: America Moves Toward War

The United States Isolationism

• With the war raging in Europe, many Americans believed that they should not participate in the war. They did not want a repeat of World War I.

• Congress refused to allow the U.S. to join the League of Nations, fearing that it would control American foreign policy.

• Kellogg-Briand Pact: A treaty signed to keep countries from going to war with each other and keep peace in the world.

• Congress also continued to pass laws that would keep the U.S. out of wars.

• Neutrality Acts: These were acts created to keep the United States neutral and out of wars. The acts banned arms sales or loans to nations at war with themselves or other countries.

• FDR wanted the U.S. to stop its isolationism so he worked ways to get around the Neutrality Acts. He implemented provisions to make this happen.

Moving Away from Isolationism

• With FDR’s provisions, The United States was able to assist the allies with weapons and supplies as long as they transported them themselves.

• Axis Powers: The three countries, Germany, Japan, and Italy, that united in WW2 against the Allies.

• These countries united to keep the United States out of the war. If the U.S. attacked one, then the others would join in and America would be forced to fight a two-ocean war.

• Because of the Axis Powers and Nazi victories, Congress decided to raise an army in preparation.

• Selective Training and Service Act: The law required men between the ages of 21 and 36 to register for the military.

• FDR was reelected for a third term and argued that the U.S. might have to enter the war. This was because if Britain and France lost, there would be no one to stop the Axis powers from attacking the U.S.

• Lend-Lease Act: The act that allowed the president to lend arms to countries deemed necessary for the defense of the United States.

Pearl Harbor

• Japanese resentment against the United States rose as they invaded East Asia. The United States cut trade with Japan, crippling their military.

• They originally decided on peaceful ways to rekindle trade, but attacks on the U.S. were swiftly prepared by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.

• On the morning of December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, a naval base in Hawaii was bombed and almost destroyed by Japanese bombers. They did this to weaken the American naval fleet.

• 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 were wounded. They sunk or damaged 21 ships, and 300 aircraft were severely damaged.

Lesson 4: The War Effort on the Home Front

Joining the Military

• Young Americans rushed to join the army after Pearl Harbor. 5 million people volunteered to fight and another 10 million were drafted by Secret Service.

• Many new military bases were also constructed to provide training for these recruits.

• George Marshall was the leader of the armed forces mobilization.

Expanding the Military

• Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC): An organization that placed women in not combat military positions.

• On May 15, 1942, a bill was passed that fully established the WAAC.

• Under the WAAC, women were given an official status and salary, but few benefits compared to the male soldiers. However, under the WAAC, women worked as:

  • Nurses,

  • Ambulance Drivers

  • Radio Operators

  • Electricians

  • Pilots

• Minority groups such as African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Americans also participated in the war.

• The Double V Campaign encouraged African Americans to support the war effort through:

  • Money Donations

  • Patriotic Events

  • Meeting Local Leaders

• Over 300,000 Mexican Americans joined the armed forces.

• About 1 million African Americans also joined. However, they did not see combat until 1943.

• Asian Americans took place in the war as well. 1/5 male Chinese Americans joined the military and 33,000 Japanese Americans took place in the war effort.

Managing the War Effort

Public Support

• Propaganda organizations were set in place to garner war support. These included the Office of War Information (OWI).

• Posters, flyers, and films were common ways implemented by the OWI to gain support.

• Movies were quite possibly the most effective method of propaganda. Over 85 million Americans went to watch movies each week. This led to patriotic and informal films to convince the American public.

Economic and Food Controls

• To prevent wartime inflation, the government dictated the economy through the Office of Price Administration (OPA).

• The OPA froze most goods, raised income taxes, and extended the tax to more people.

• The efforts helped conserve money and fund the war effort.

• The War Productions Board (WPB) assumed the responsibility of providing war industries and the armed forces with resources.

• They managed the production of companies and organized drives to collect and recycle materials.

• The food-related needs of the army also had to be met. To do this, the government set up a series of rations in which citizens would abstain from certain foods for them to be served to servicemen.

The Manhattan Project

• Manhattan Project: The project in which physicists researched nuclear fission to create an atomic bomb.

• Interest in an atomic bomb was developed when German scientists split uranium atoms.

• This discovery prompted the U.S. to develop research as they feared that the Germans could create it before them.

• Researchers on the project included Albert Einstein, J Robert Oppenheimer, and Richard Feynman.

Wartime Production

• Industries were reinvented to produce tanks, planes boats, and command cars. Others were reused to create explosives. This is how wartime production changed America.

• With the number of people needed to join the military and work, labor shortages occurred nationwide. This led to women and minority groups being employed in production and factory work.

Lesson 5: The War for Europe and North Africa

Britain and the United States

• The United States and Britain formed a strong alliance in the wake of the U.S. joining the war. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to negotiate war plans.

• They developed the Germany First plan. This was a plan to first eliminate Hitler and Germany from the war before targeting Japan.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Hitler had ordered submarine raids of Allied ships to prevent food and materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union.

• Ships were organized into conveys to protect the goods.

Battle of Stalingrad

• Hitler looked to cut off Russia’s oil supply and invade the industrial city of Stalingrad. Their invasion was launched in the summer of 1942.

• German troops invaded Stalingrad expecting an easy victory. Their offensives had been previously stopped due to the winter, but now in summer, they were confident that they could succeed.

• August 23rd, 1942 was the first day of the invasion where German aircraft bombed the city. On this day alone, almost 40,000 Russians were killed in the defense of Stalingrad. The battle raged on for weeks as the Russians fiercely defended the city, even in their desperate situation.

• As the winter months approach, however, the Russian army would see a turning point. Fresh tanks would be rolled in and the Germans could not stand fighting in the harsh winter. The German soldiers starved and suffered in the bitter cold of a Russian winter. Their commander surrendered on January 31, 1943. The battle formally ended on February 2, 1943.

Operation Torch

• Stalin pressured the United States and Britain to invade the English Channel due to the Battle of Stalingrad. The United States and Britain settled to invade North Africa instead with Operation Torch.

• Dwight D. Eisenhower was the general in control of the operation. The operation was especially important as control of North Africa would protect Mediterranean shipping lanes.

• The operation began in 1940 and eventually led to the defeat of Italy and Garmany in North Africa.

D-Day

• D-Day: A massive land, air, and sea invasion that led to a major turning point in the war.

• The invasion was targeted at Normandy beach.

• A force of 3 million British, American, and Canadian troops was gathered for the invasion.

• Fake radio messages and phantom troops were arranged to fool the German forces into stationing at Calais.

• On June 6, 1944, American and British air divisions landed on the beach followed by a rush of seaborne soldiers.

• Massive resistance from German soldiers ensued, resulting in one of the deadliest battles in history.

• Despite heavy losses, Allied forces pushed on and successfully invaded Normandy. The forces marched to France where they eventually liberated it in August 1944.

Battle of the Bulge

• After the liberation of France, Allied forces had access to Germany and began a forward invasion.

• They captured the first Garman town of Aachen, and this prompted Hitler to respond.

• On December 16, a desperate attack with German tanks raged. They pushed back the Allied forces at first, but German soldiers were killed at a rapid pace, resulting in the loss of 120,000 soldiers and a heavy amount of supplies. This permanently crippled the German army forcing them to retreat.

Lesson 6: The War in the Pacific

Bataan Death March

• After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces continued to attack East Asia and expand their empire.

• They targeted the American-controlled Ph

Lesson 7: End of World War II

The Cold War (1947-1989)

The Vietnam War (