DYERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Subject: US HISTORY _____ Semester

Grade: 11 _____ Year

	TOPIC	ESSENTIAL QUESTION
AUGUST	Intro: US in 1870 Unit: The Western Frontier	1. What factors contributed to western land development and settlement? 2. How did settlement of the west impact Native American cultures? 3. What positive and negative consequences resulted from development of the west?
SEPTEMBER	Unit: Industrial America Unit: The Progressive Era	1. What were the causes of the Industrial Revolution? 2. What were some of the political, economic, and social effects of the Industrial Revolution? 3. How did immigration and rapid urbanizations provide for both positive and negative results? 4. How did the growth of industry impact the federal government? 1. What was the progressive movement, and how did it differ from earlier reform efforts in American history? 2. How did progressive reforms make local, state, and national government more democratic and more efficient? 3. Who were the progressive presidents and what steps did they take to bring about political, economic, and social change in American society? 4. What was the impact of progressivism on Africa-Americans and others?
OCTOBER	Unit: American Imperialism	1. What is Imperialism? 2. What were the reasons for American expansion overseas, and what territories were acquired during this period? 3. What tactics were used by the United States to achieve its foreign policy goals in Asia and Latin America? 4. How did the acquisition of new territories crate both responsibilities and problems for the United States?
NOVEMBER	Unit: The Great War Unit: The Twenties	1. What factors contributed to the outbreak of “The Great War”? 2. How did the American position on the war in Europe change? 3. How did America’s entry into the war affect life within the United States? 4. What contribution did the U. S. make to the Allied war effort? 5. What were some of the long-term effects of “The Great War”? 1. What events and attitudes contributed to the both economic and social unrest in the U. S. during the early 1920’s? 2. How did Americans respond to the changing values of the 1920’s? 3. How did the technological and business innovations of the 1920’s affect how Americans lived and worked?
DECEMBER	Unit: Great Depression and New Deal	1. What factors contributed to the Great Depression? 2. How did the depression affect the behavior and outlook of Americans who struggled through the 1930’s? 3. How did the U. S. Government respond to the economic crisis of the 1930’s? 4. What were the long-term effects of the Great Depression and the New Deal?
JANUARY
Unit: World War II Unit: The Postwar Era	1. What events of the 1920’s and 1930’s contributed to the outbreak of World War II? 2. How and why did the American position on the war change? 3. How did World War II impact life within the U. S.? 4. What factors contributed to an Allied victory? 5. What were the international consequences of World War II? 1. What was the Cold War? 2. How did the Cold War influence domestic and international politics? 3. What was American society like in the 1950’s?
FEBRUARY	Postwar Ear Civil Rights Era	1. How did the Civil Rights Movement of this era of history differ from that of earlier periods in American history? 2. How did the methods and tactics of the civil rights movement change during the late 1960’s? 3. How did the political, social, and economic environment in the U. S. change as a result of the civil right’s movement?
MARCH	Civil War Era
APRIL	Unit: The Sixties Unit: The Vietnam War	1. What political, social, and economic developments gave rise to the “New Frontier” and “Great Society”? 2. How did the global events of the 1960’s influence American foreign policy? 3. What was the “Counterculture”, and what impact did it have on life in the United States? 1. How did the Untied State become involved in Southeast Asia? 2. How did the Vietnam War differ from other military conflicts in American history? 3. What were the long-term effects of the Vietnam War?
MAY	Unit: The Seventies Unit: 1980 – Present	1. How did international concerns and events influence American foreign policy under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter? 2. What was “Watergate”, and how did it impact life in the United States? 3. What economic and cultural developments took place with the Untied States during the 1970’s? 1. How did international development s of the 1980’s and the 1990’s influence American foreign policy under Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton? 2. What major economic, social, and cultural changes occurred within the United States between 1980 and the present? 3. What hopes and fears are present in American society at the dawn of the new millennium?
JUNE	September 11, 2001