Syllabus – U.S. and Virginia History            Instructor Mr. MacGuinness
America Pathways to the Present , Prentice Hall, Inc.

Description:
     This course offers a historical and cultural study of U.S. and Virginia History. An emphasis will be placed on geographic influences , with an increased attention on the development and evolution of the government and the republic. The theme of change with regard to scientific and technological advancements will be highlighted. Attention will also be focused  upon the connections between the people and events of the twentieth century. Students will have the opportunity to work with a variety of artifacts and primary and secondary sources to uncover and understand specific historic events and issues.
Course Objectives:

•  to instruct and expose students to the widest panorama of U.S. and Virginia History, from early Discovery to the present.
•  to provide examples of how geography relates to the study of U.S. and Virginia History.
•  to assist students in passing the Standards of Learning U.S. History exam.
  

First Semester - First Quarter
I.     Introduction to Classroom rules and a brief review of U.S. and Virginia History
II.     Origins of a New Society – Chapters 1 - 7
A.     Three Cultures Collide
B.     European Settlement and Native American Resistance
C.     The Maturing of Colonial Societies
D.     The American Revolution
E.     The Constitution of the United States
F.     The Origins of American Politics
G.     Life in the New Nation – 1783-1830
Second Quarter
III. An Emerging New Nation – and Costs  Chapters 8 - 19
A.     The Market Revolution  
B.     Religion and Reform                           
C.   Beyond the Mississippi
D.  The Coming of the Civil War
E.     The Civil War and Reconstruction
F.     American Industry
G.     Westward Expansion and Immigration and Urban Life
H.     Becoming a World Power and the Progressives  
I.     Mid Term Exam
Third Quarter
IV. The World at War, The Twentieth Century  - Chapters 20 - 31
A. WWI - Causes and Events of  World War I.                
B.     Post WWI and Depression
C.     The New Deal and Recovery (Between the Wars)  
D.  World War II
E.    The Cold War and American Society
F.    The Kennedy - Johnson Years
G.    The Civil Rights Movement and Social Revolution
 Fourth Quarter
 V. The Post War Years  - Chapters 30 - 42
A.  The Vietnam Era and American Society
B.   The Nixon Years and Watergate – Before and After
H.    The Conservative Revolution  - The Reagan Era
I.    The Clinton and Bush Era – Modern American Society
J.    Final Exam