United States History Studies Since 1877-History

The student understands the principles included in the Celebrate Freedom Week program. The student is expected to:

Analyze and evaluate the text, intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, and identify the full text of the first three paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence.

Analyze and evaluate the application of these founding principles to historical events in U.S. history.

Explain the contributions of the Founding Fathers such as Benjamin Rush, John Hancock, John Jay, John Witherspoon, John Peter Muhlenberg, Charles Carroll, and Jonathan Trumbull Sr.

The student understands traditional historical points of reference in U.S. history from 1877 to the present. The student is expected to:

Identify the major characteristics that define an historical era.

Identify the major eras in U.S. history from 1877 to the present and describe their defining characteristics.

Apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods.

Explain the significance of the following years as turning points: 1898 (Spanish-American War), 1914-1918 (World War I), 1929 (the Great Depression begins), 1939-1945 (World War II), 1957 (Sputnik launch ignites U.S.-Soviet space race), 1968-1969 (Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and U.S. lands on the moon), 1991 (Cold War ends), 2001 (terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon), and 2008 (election of first black president, Barack Obama).

The student understands the political, economic, and social changes in the United States from 1877 to 1898. The student is expected to:

Analyze political issues such as Indian policies, the growth of political machines, civil service reform, and the beginnings of Populism.

Analyze economic issues such as industrialization, the growth of railroads, the growth of labor unions, farm issues, the cattle industry boom, the rise of entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and the pros and cons of big business.

Analyze social issues affecting women, minorities, children, immigrants, urbanization, the Social Gospel, and philanthropy of industrialists.

Describe the optimism of the many immigrants who sought a better life in America.

The student understands the emergence of the United States as a world power between 1898 and 1920. The student is expected to:

Explain why significant events, policies, and individuals such as the Spanish-American War, U.S. expansionism, Henry Cabot Lodge, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, Sanford B. Dole, and missionaries moved the United States into the position of a world power.

Evaluate American expansionism, including acquisitions such as Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

Identify the causes of World War I and reasons for U.S. entry.

Understand the contributions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) led by General John J. Pershing.

Analyze the impact of significant technological innovations in World War I such as machine guns, airplanes, tanks, poison gas, and trench warfare that resulted in the stalemate on the Western Front.

Analyze major issues such as isolationism and neutrality raised by U.S. involvement in World War I, Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the Treaty of Versailles.

Analyze significant events such as the Battle of Argonne Forest.

The student understands the effects of reform and third-party movements in the early 20th century. The student is expected to:

Evaluate the impact of Progressive Era reforms, including initiative, referendum, recall, and the passage of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments.

Evaluate the impact of muckrakers and reform leaders such as Upton Sinclair, Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, and W. E. B. DuBois on American society.

Evaluate the impact of third parties, including the Populist and Progressive parties.

The student understands significant events, social issues, and individuals of the 1920s. The student is expected to:

Analyze causes and effects of events and social issues such as immigration, Social Darwinism, eugenics, race relations, nativism, the Red Scare, Prohibition, and the changing role of women.

Analyze the impact of significant individuals such as Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Henry Ford, Glenn Curtiss, Marcus Garvey, and Charles A. Lindbergh.

The student understands the domestic and international impact of U.S. participation in World War II. The student is expected to:

Identify reasons for U.S. involvement in World War II, including Italian, German, and Japanese dictatorships and their aggression, especially the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Evaluate the domestic and international leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman during World War II, including the U.S. relationship with its allies and domestic industry's rapid mobilization for the war effort.

Analyze the function of the U.S. Office of War Information.

Analyze major issues of World War II, including the Holocaust; the internment of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans and Executive Order 9066; and the development of conventional and atomic weapons.

Analyze major military events of World War II, including the Battle of Midway, the U.S. military advancement through the Pacific Islands, the Bataan Death March, the invasion of Normandy, fighting the war on multiple fronts, and the liberation of concentration camps.

Evaluate the military contributions of leaders during World War II, including Omar Bradley, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Chester A. Nimitz, George Marshall, and George Patton.

Explain the home front and how American patriotism inspired exceptional actions by citizens and military personnel, including high levels of military enlistment; volunteerism; the purchase of war bonds; Victory Gardens; the bravery and contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Flying Tigers, and the Navajo Code Talkers; and opportunities and obstacles for women and ethnic minorities.

The student understands the impact of significant national and international decisions and conflicts in the Cold War on the United States. The student is expected to:

Describe U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II, including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Berlin airlift, and John F. Kennedy's role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Describe how Cold War tensions were intensified by the arms race, the space race, McCarthyism, and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the findings of which were confirmed by the Venona Papers.

Explain reasons and outcomes for U.S. involvement in the Korean War and its relationship to the containment policy.

Explain reasons and outcomes for U.S. involvement in foreign countries and their relationship to the Domino Theory, including the Vietnam War.

Analyze the major issues and events of the Vietnam War such as the Tet Offensive, the escalation of forces, Vietnamization, and the fall of Saigon.

Describe the responses to the Vietnam War such as the draft, the 26th Amendment, the role of the media, the credibility gap, the silent majority, and the anti-war movement.

The student understands the impact of the American civil rights movement. The student is expected to:

Trace the historical development of the civil rights movement in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th amendments.

Describe the roles of political organizations that promoted civil rights, including ones from African American, Chicano, American Indian, women's, and other civil rights movements.

Identify the roles of significant leaders who supported various rights movements, including Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, Hector P. Garcia, and Betty Friedan.

Compare and contrast the approach taken by some civil rights groups such as the Black Panthers with the nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King Jr.

Discuss the impact of the writings of Martin Luther King Jr. such as his "I Have a Dream" speech and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on the civil rights movement.

Describe presidential actions and congressional votes to address minority rights in the United States, including desegregation of the armed forces, the Civil Rights acts of 1957 and 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Describe the role of individuals such as governors George Wallace, Orval Faubus, and Lester Maddox and groups, including the Congressional bloc of southern Democrats, that sought to maintain the status quo.

Evaluate changes and events in the United States that have resulted from the civil rights movement, including increased participation of minorities in the political process.

Describe how litigation such as the landmark cases of Brown v. Board of Education, Mendez v. Westminster, Hernandez v. Texas, Delgado v. Bastrop I.S.D., Edgewood I.S.D. v. Kirby, and Sweatt v. Painter played a role in protecting the rights of the minority during the civil rights movement.

The student understands the impact of political, economic, and social factors in the U.S. role in the world from the 1970s through 1990. The student is expected to:

Describe Richard M. Nixon's leadership in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of détente.

Describe Ronald Reagan's leadership in domestic and international policies, including Reaganomics and Peace Through Strength.

Compare the impact of energy on the American way of life over time.

Describe U.S. involvement in the Middle East such as support for Israel, the Camp David Accords, the Iran-Contra Affair, Marines in Lebanon, and the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Describe the causes and key organizations and individuals of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract with America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the National Rifle Association.

Describe significant societal issues of this time period.

The student understands the emerging political, economic, and social issues of the United States from the 1990s into the 21st century. The student is expected to:

Describe U.S. involvement in world affairs, including the end of the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, the Balkans Crisis, 9/11, and the global War on Terror.

Identify significant social and political advocacy organizations, leaders, and issues across the political spectrum.

Evaluate efforts by global organizations to undermine U.S. sovereignty through the use of treaties.

Analyze the impact of third parties on presidential elections.

Discuss the historical significance of the 2008 presidential election.

Discuss the solvency of long-term entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.