UNIT ONE - AMERICAN BEGINNINGS

Topic 1: What is the American Dream?

Topic 2: To what extent was the colonization of America forged by greed?

Topic 3: How did the Puritans effect the development of America?

Topic 4: In what ways did the North develop a distinctly different culture from the South?

Topic 5: How democratic was colonial America?

Topic 6: How did the enlightenment effect colonial thought?

Topic 7: How did the French and Indian War sow the seeds of discontent?

Topic 8: How did the American revolution begin?

Topic 9: Are the ideas of the Declaration of Independence still valid today?

EXAM

UNIT TWO - A NEW NATION

Topic 10: Did the Articles of Confederation create a weak government or did it meet the needs of the nation?

Topic 11: How did compromise help create a more unified nation at the second constitutional convention?

Topic 12: Why was a federal system of government created?

You may want to check here at for more information on the Constitution. - Project Vote Smart

Topic 13: How does our system of checks and balances help protect our rights?

Topic 14: How does a bill become a law?

Topic 15: Why do some consider our method of electing a President undemocratic?

Topic 16: Why has the role of the President of the United States become so complex

Topic 17: How does the Supreme Court serve as the defender of the Constitution?

Topic 18: How does the bill of rights protect our basic rights and liberties?

Topic 19: How does the unwritten constitution help preserve our system of government?

Topic 20: Why can the Constitution be referred to as a "living" document?

EXAM

Topic 21: How did the existence of political parties affect a young American nation? (Adams)

Topic 22: How effective were the domestic policies of Washington and Hamilton?

Topic 23: How did the foreign policies of Washington and Jefferson affect our nation?

Topic 24: Removed from syllabus.

Topic 25: Did America make the right decision in going to war in 1812?

Topic 26: What changes took place in America during the Presidency of James Monroe?

Topic 27: Should Andrew Jackson be considered a champion of democracy?

Topic 28: Can individuals have an impact on the problems of society?

EXAM

UNIT THREE - THE NATION GROWS, DIVIDES AND REUNITES.

Topic 29: How was America divided in the mid 1800's?

Topic 30: How did the South defend slavery?

Topic 31: Why was the abolition of Slavery so hard to achieve?

Topic 32: How and why did America expand westward?

Topic 33: How did America answer the questions raised by westward expansion?

Topic 34: Who was to blame for the Civil War?

Topic 35: Why did the Union prevail in the Civil War?

EXAM

Topic 36: How did the assassination of Lincoln affect Reconstruction?

Topic 37: How successful was Reconstruction in dealing with the problems of freedmen?

Topic 38: To what extent did the reconstruction amendments create political equality for freedmen?

Topic 39: What happened to blacks after Reconstruction came to an end?

Topic 39a: How was legal segregation created in the south?

 EXAM

UNIT FOUR - THE RISE OF AN INDUSTRIAL GIANT

Topic 40: Were the policies and actions of the United States Government towards the Native Americans justified?

Topic 41: What was been America's policy towards native Americans?

Topic 42: Why was the United Sates destined to become an industrialized nation?

Topic 43: Why was America's philosophy "right" for economic development?

Topic 44: Were the founders of American industry "robber barons" or "captains of industry?"

Topic 45: How and why did American business seek to eliminate competition?

Topic 46: How successful was the American government in protecting the public from the elimination of competition?

Topic 47: What was the effect of the Industrial revolution on factory workers?

Topic 48: How did management respond to the efforts of workers to form unions?

Topic 49: How successful were efforts to organize a national labor movement in America?

Topic 50: Has the American government been a friend or foe to unionism

 Topic 51: How did farmers attempt to solve their problems during the industrial revolution?

EXAM

UNIT FIVE - ONTO A WORLD STAGE

Topic 52: Why did urban America fail to meet the dreams and expectations of its tenants?

Topic 53: What was the legacy of urban political leaders from the late 1800's to early 1900's?

Topic 54: Why did immigrants come to America?

Topic 55: To what extent has the United States welcomed immigrants?

Topic 56: To what extent is America xenophobic?

Topic 57: What should be America's immigration policy? - No notes available. This was a values clarification lesson.

Topic 58: Why did America have to become an important sea power in the late 18th century?

Topic 59: How did the United States justify imperialism?

Topic 60: Why did the United States go to war with Spain?

Topic 61: How did the Spanish American War make the United States a world power?

Topic 62: To what extent should the United States be proud of its policies towards Latin America?

Topic 63: How should Americans feel about the building of the Panama Canal?

Topic 64: How did America expand its influence into Asia?

EXAM

Topic 65: How did the Progressive Movement seek to change America at the turn of the century?

Topic 66: How did America respond to the cries of the progressives?

Topic 67: To what extent did Theodore Roosevelt provide a "Square Deal" for the American people?

Topic 68: To what extent did Woodrow Wilson provide a "New Freedom" for the American people?

Topic 69: How did the transportation revolution change life in America?

Topic 70: How did life in the cities improve during the Progressive Era?

Topic 71: How did African American reformers at the turn of the century seek to improve the lives of their people?

 EXAM

UNIT SIX - WORLD WAR I, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Topic 72: Why did the United States enter World War One?

Topic 73: To what extent is it acceptable to limit a citizens limit civil liberties?

Topic 74: To what extent was Woodrow Wilson successful in brokering a "just and lasting peace?"

Topic 75: How did World War I change the way Americans looked at the world?

Topic 76: How did American culture and attitude change in the 1920's?

Topic 77: Can we legislate social custom?

Topic 78: What does the curriculum of the 1920's tell us about the values of time?

Topic 79: Should we expect our politicians to be more honest than we are?

Topic 80: How did the passage of the 19th amendment change America?

EXAM

Topic 81: How did the policies of Harding and Coolidge affect America?

Topic 82: Why was the Great depression a disaster waiting to happen?

Topic 83: How did the Great Depression affect the lives and dreams of those who lived through it?

Topic 84: What was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's plan to end the depression?

Topic 85: How did Roosevelt's New Deal go about fixing the problems of the depression?

Topic 86: What was the opposition to the New Deal and how did Roosevelt deal with it?

Topic 87: To what extent was America in danger of falling into the hands of radicals and communists in the 1930's?

Topic 88: To what extent did minorities receive a "New Deal" in the 1930's?

Topic 89: To what extent did FDR's New Deal end the Depression?

EXAM

UNIT SEVEN - WORLD WAR II, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Topic 90: To what extent was the policy of neutrality a realistic one?

Topic 91: What is the role of a civilian population in a wartime society?

Topic 92: To what extent is it acceptable for the government to limit civil liberties in time of war?

Topic 93: How influential was America in deciding the outcome of World War II?

Topic 94: Was the U.S. justified in dropping the Atomic bomb?

Topic 95: To what extent was the end of World War II a reaction to the past?

The Cold War - An Outline of Events and an Essay

Topic 96: Who is to blame for the start of the Cold War?

Topic 97: How did America seek to "contain" the spread of communism?

Topic 98: Should the government silence dissent when faced with crisis?

Case Study: McCarthyism

Topic 99: What were the "hot points" of the Cold War?

Topic 100: In what ways did the Cold War lead to crisis in Latin America and Southeast Asia?

Topic 101: What efforts were made at cooling off the Cold War?

Topic 102: Why did America win the Cold War?

EXAM

UNIT EIGHT - CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Topic 103: How do John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson compare as Presidents?

Topic 104: How effective was the Civil Rights movement in bringing about social change in America?

Topic 105: How did the Warren Court use judicial review to protect the rights of citizens?

Topic 106: How has the Berger/Rehnquist Court effected the issue of rights in America?

Topic 107: How have recent U.S. Presidents dealt with domestic and foreign issues?

Topic 109: How has America attempted to solve the domestic issues it currently faces? - No notes available.

EXAM

Syllabus allows for exam review, extra lessons for reinforcement, term paper lessons, mandated lessons, visitations and two to three weeks of Regents review.

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