Social Studies - U. S. History II
	Course Preface Printable Version (pdf)

 

Course Description

 

Core Standards of the Course

Standard 1
Students will expand their knowledge of pre-Reconstruction America.

Objective 1
Examine the American colonial experience.

1. Identify reasons for the establishment of colonies in America
   
2. Examine the rise of American culture in the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.
   

Objective 2
Investigate the development of the United States’ form of government, a compound constitutional republic, and its institutions and politics.

1. Identify the philosophies which influenced the development of the Constitution, separation of powers, balance of power, and the elastic clause.
   
2. Analyze the Constitution's creation and impact on the new United States.
   
3. Trace the development of American government and politics from the Federalist period through Jacksonian democracy.
   

Objective 3
Analyze the growth and division of the United States from 1820 through 1877.

1. Trace the United States' expansion and growth from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
   
2. Recognize the sectional differences that developed during the antebellum period.
   
3. Evaluate the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War.
   
4. Analyze the successes and failures of the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.
   
5. Examine the United States' policies relating to American Indians.
   

Standard 2
Students will understand how the growth of industry changed the United States.

Objective 1
Assess how transportation, communication, and marketing improvements and innovations transformed the American economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

1. Identify major American inventions and how they affected the United States; e.g., telephone, electricity, car, motion pictures.
   
2. Explain the expansion of transportation and communication in the United States following the Civil War.
   
3. Determine the impact of industrialization on the American economy and society.
   
4. Examine how the market revolution affected retail distribution of goods in the cities and in rural areas.
   

Objective 2
Evaluate the prominent business leaders and the business organizations that influenced the growth of industrialization in the United States.

1. Examine the roles of American industrialists; e.g., Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Ford.
   
2. Evaluate the growth and influences of monopolies and trusts on capitalism.
   

Objective 3
Assess how the growth of industry affected the movement of people into and within the United States.

1. Determine the demographic changes in population from the 1890’s to the present.
   
2. Investigate the influences that affected various immigrant groups entering the United States.
   
3. Examine the working conditions of immigrant workers; e.g., factory, mine, agriculture, transportation.
   

Objective 4
Investigate the challenges presented to urban inhabitants.

1. Identify how American cities spawned American architecture.
   
2. Examine living conditions in tenements.
   
3. Compare the attitudes of Social Darwinism with those of Social Gospel believers.
   

Standard 3
Students will recognize how social reform occurred at the turn of the century.

Objective 1
Investigate reform movements and their prominent leaders.

1. Examine the problems faced by American farmers created by the new market economy and the rise of the Populist Party.
   
2. Analyze the growth and influence of political machines; i.e., muckrakers, Progressives.
   
3. Investigate the emerging civil rights movements for women and Afro-Americans.
   

Objective 2
Assess the growth and development of labor unions and their key leaders.

1. Trace the development of national labor unions.
   
2. Determine the impact of collective bargaining.
   
3. Analyze the development of socialism in the United States.
   

Standard 4
Students will understand how war affected the early 20th century.

Objective 1
Investigate how the United States became involved in imperialism and the Spanish-American War.

1. Determine the economic, social, and military affects of United States imperialism.
   
2. Examine the cause, course, and consequences of the Spanish-American War.
   
3. Assess how America's imperialism altered relationships with the Far East and Latin America.
   

Objective 2
Examine how World War I affected the military and the home front of the United States.

1. Identify major causes of World War I and the United States’ involvement and influence in the war; e.g., Wilson’s Fourteen Points, the Versailles Treaty.
   
2. Determine the reasons the United States Senate refused to join the League of Nations.
   
3. Examine the impact World War I had on the United States; e.g., government policy, industrial might, civil liberties.
   

Standard 5
Students will understand how Americans reacted to rapid social change during the 1920's.

Objective 1
Analyze how the United States coped with rapid economic and technological advances.

1. Investigate how mass media affected American society.
   
2. Assess how new inventions and consumerism influenced daily life.
   
3. Explain how the automobile affected the business and landscape of America.
   

Objective 2
Examine the experiences of black Americans and women in the early 20th century.

1. Account for the sudden growth of black consciousness.
   
2. Describe the changes in women's attitudes and roles in society.
   

Standard 6
Students will understand how the Great Depression and the New Deal affected the United States.

Objective 1
Investigate the impact of the Great Depression on the United States.

1. Analyze the major causes of the Great Depression.
   
2. Examine the social effects of the Great Depression.
   

Objective 2
Analyze the long-term effects of the New Deal on the United States.

1. Explore the purposes and effectiveness of the New Deal; e.g., presidency, economics, politics.
   
2. Investigate the shift of power from state to federal government.
   

Standard 7
Students will understand the causes, course, and consequences of the United States' role in World War II.

Objective 1
Determine how America shifted from isolationism to intervention.

1. Analyze the factors that led to militarism and fascist aggression in the world.
   
2. Determine how the attack on Pearl Harbor forced the United States out of isolationism.
   
3. Examine how the alliance systems led the United States into World War II.
   
4. Investigate the major campaigns of the United States in the European and Pacific theaters; e.g., Midway, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, island hopping, and the bombing of Japan.
   

Objective 2
Examine the impact World War II had on the American home front.

1. Identify the impact of World War II on minority groups in America.
   
2. Examine the role women played in the wartime workforce.
   
3. Trace American mobilization for war.
   

Objective 3
Evaluate how the rules and weapons of war changed during World War II.

1. Assess how the war expanded beyond military targets to civilian centers.
   
2. Evaluate how technology changed the weapons used in World War II and introduced the atomic age.
   

Objective 4
Investigate the Post-War Baby Boom's influence on America.

1. Assess the influence of the G.I. Bill on the American lifestyle.
   
2. Trace the development of consumerism and the economy on the Baby Boom generation.
   
3. Trace the development of television and its impact on American culture.
   
4. Investigate the cultural and social impact of the Baby Boom generation on the American people.
   

Standard 8
Students will understand the United States' domestic and international position in the Cold War era.

Objective 1
Investigate how the postwar goals and action of the United States and the Soviet Union were manifested throughout the world.

1. Analyze the organization and operation of the United Nations.
   
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of American post-war foreign policy in Europe and the Soviet Union's reaction.
   
3. Examine the world's reaction to nuclear weapons.
   

Objective 2
Analyze the Cold War ideology of the United States’ involvement in Asia.

1. Explain America’s reaction to the fall of China to Communism under Mao Zedong.
   
2. Trace American and United Nations involvement in the Korean Police Action.
   
3. Examine the various factors that drew the United States into conflict with North Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh.
   
4. Investigate how the Vietnam War changed the nature of warfare.
   

Objective 3
Summarize the political, social, and economic reactions to the Cold War in the United States.

1. Examine the successes and failures of the various political administrations; e.g., Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Nixon.
   
2. Analyze the Great Society programs aimed at ending poverty.
   
3. Examine the impact of McCarthyism and Watergate on citizens' attitudes toward government.
   
4. Trace the development of space exploration.
   

Objective 4
Investigate the end of the Cold War and examine America’s role in the changing world.

1. Compare differing American reactions to overseas military involvement.
   
2. Trace the events that resulted in the breakup of the USSR.
   
3. Examine the superpower status of the United States in the world.
   

Standard 9
The students will understand the emergence and development of the human rights and culture in the modern era.

Objective 1
Analyze how the civil rights movement affected United States society.

1. Identify the causes and consequences of civil rights legislation and court decisions
   
2. Investigate the fight for political, economic, and social equality of women.
   
3. Analyze how the black civil rights movement utilized both social and political actions to achieve its goals.
   
4. Investigate the gains in civil rights made by the American Indian nations, Mexican-Americans, and other ethnic groups in the last half of the twentieth century.
   

Objective 2
Analyze the impact of the counter-culture since the 1960’s.

1. Trace the development of the counter-culture from the anti-Vietnam movement.
   
2. Assess the development of mass media as the voice of the counter-culture.
   
3. Examine the impact of drugs on the counter-culture and the United States.
   

Standard 10
The students will understand the economic and political changes in contemporary America.

Objective 1
Analyze the economy of the contemporary United States.

1. Examine the effects of economics on modern society.
   
2. Trace the development of computers and the Internet and their impact on American business and globalization.
   

Objective 2
Determine how politics was changed by the end of the Cold War.

1. Examine the “Reagan Revolution,” its goals, success, and failures.
   
2. Determine the impact of environmentalism on the United States.
   
3. Analyze the impact of international terrorism on the United States.
   

 

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Office of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Office of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.

 

For more information about this core curriculum, contact the USOE Specialist, Robert Austin or visit the Social Studies Home Page. For general questions about Utah's Core Curriculum, contact the USOE Curriculum Director, Sydnee Dickson . UEN Contact Info: 801-581-2999 | 800-866-5852 | Contact Us