Period 1: 1491 – 1607 (5%) Era of Conquest

Beginning = Pre-‐Columbian America, pre-‐Columbian Exchange, Native American life without European
explorers/colonizers running around.
1. Native American life pre and post European contact.
a. Examples: Maize production, nomadic hunter/gathering, Pueblo, Northeast & Atlantic tribes
like Algonquin, Powhatan, & Iroquois developed permanent villages, THEN horses, guns,
disease, Columbian Exchange
2. European Patterns of Conquest/Colonization:
a. Spain: New World a source of precious metal and religious conversion, Native Americans =
people to be converted to Christianity…settled central and South America, Caribbean
b. England: New World a source of precious metal and raw material – settler colonies – Native
Americans = savages…settled Atlantic seacoast
c. France: New World = source for raw materials like fur – Natives = friends and trading
partners….settled Canada and Ohio River Valley
3. Interactions between Natives and European people.
a. Examples: Encomienda System, Mestizos, Fur Traders, Columbian Exchange, Columbus vs.
Las Casas, Trade, Smallpox
End of Period 1 = Founding of Jamestown in 160First Permanent English colony in the New World.

Period 2: 1607 – 1754 (10%) Colonial America

Beginning = Founding of Jamestown in Virginia, 1607.

1. Success and Failures of European colonization, (interaction between Natives and European
colonists, Europeans and Africans, Work Systems, etc.)
a. Examples: Pueblo Revolt, King Phillip’s War, Slave Trade, Middle Passage, Stono Rebellion,
Bacon’s Rebellion
2. How did England become the dominant colonial power? What were the regional
DIFFERENCES among English colonies!?
a. Examples: New England Puritans, City Upon A Hill, , Middle Colonies
Merchant class, Quakers, Chesapeake Tobacco, Southern Colonies, Cash Crops, slavery
3. Effects of major social movements Enlightenment and Great Awakening on colonial American
identity
a. Examples: John Locke “Natural Rights”, Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in
the Hands of an Angry God”, George Whitefield, Reason
END = Start of the French & Indian War 1754 between England and France for control of the Americas and
the Ohio River Valley (George Washington starts it)

Period 3: 1754 – 1800 Revolutionary Era (12%)

Beginning = French & Indian War (AKA 7-‐Years War) France and England fight over control of the North
American continent and rights to colonize interior, COLONISTS FOUGHT FOR THE BRITISH!

1. How and Why the French and Indian War was a major turning point in US
History. Were colonists more “American” or “British”?
1
 a. Examples: End of salutary neglect, Rise of Taxation (Stamp Act, etc), Resistance to
Revolution (Sons of Liberty)
2. Causes and consequences of American Revolution
a. Examples: Pauline Meier, “From Resistance to Revolution” Describe the process, Gordon
Wood, “Radicalism of the American Revolution” How radical?
b. Why did colonists win?
3. Compare and Contrast the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution
a. Examples: NW Ordinance, Land Ordinance, Shays’ Rebellion, Weaknesses of AOC,
Federalists, Great Compromise, 3/5 Compromise, checks and balances, Whiskey Rebellion
4. Why POLITICAL PARTIES FORMED & regional identities
a. Examples: Hamilton’s economic plans, Jefferson’s agrarian ideology,
Washington’s presidency, French Revolution, Washington’s Farewell Address & Foreign
Policy Effect
END = Election of 1800! Thomas Jefferson elected PRESIDENT! (First, kind of, peaceful transition of
political power)

Period 4: 1800 – 1848 – The Rise of Democracy (10%)

Beginning = Election of Thomas Jefferson (Rise of the Republicans) in 180Peaceful transition of power from
Federalists to Republicans.

1. Why REGIONAL IDENTITIES arose between North, South, and West and how the MARKET
REVOLUTION affected each region.
a. Examples: Eli Whitney Cotton Gin, Transportation Revolution (Steamboats, National Road,
etc.), immigration and nativism, early factory system, support/opposition to slavery
2. How American society became more DEMOCRATIC (for white men) in the Jacksonian Age
and how various social movements attempted to improve society.
a. Examples: Second Great Awakening, Abolitionist Movement, Temperance,
Seneca Falls Conference, Public Education, Jackson’s actions as president (Indian Removal,
Death of B.U.S., etc.)
3. Reasons for Growth of POLITICAL PARTIES
a. Examples: First Party System (Republicans and Federalists) changes to Second Party System
(Democrats and Whigs), Loose vs Strict interpretation of Constitution, Anti-‐Jacksonians
become Whigs, various third parties arose
4. The rise of the SLAVERY issue, and how slavery divided the country economically, socially,
and politically beginning of SECTIONALISM
a. Examples: American System, Tariff of Abominations, B.U.S., Missouri Compromise, Gag
Rule
5. How States challenged FEDERAL authority, supremacy of federal government
over the states
a. Examples: Hartford Convention, Nullification Crisis, Marshall Supreme Court, Nullification,
Force Act
6. America as a world power…or at least trying to be. =)
a. Examples: Barbary Wars, War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine
End = Mexican/American War and Treaty of Guadalupe…HIDALGO! 1848! Beginning of Sectionalism

2
Period 5: 1844 – 1877 – The Civil War & Reconstruction Era (13%)

Beginning = Manifest Destiny, Movement West (Oregon Trail), Election of James K. Polk (Young Hickory)

1. The belief in Manifest Destiny led to territorial expansion of the U.S.

a. Examples: Texas Revolution, Mexican/American War, Oregon Trail, California, et
2. How slavery (and attempts at Compromises) ultimately failed to prevent Civil War. What
sectional tensions existed (economic, social, political) between the
North & South
a. Examples: Wilmot Proviso, Compromise of 1850, Kansas/Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Case,
John Brown’s Raids, Election of 1860
3. The North won the Civil War due to a variety of factors (military leaders, industrial capacity,
political action, population, resources, key victories) and the war had a devastating impact on
the country as a whole (death rates, widows, Sherman’s March, Total War)
a. Examples: Lee vs. McClellan, Emancipation Proclamation, Suspension of Habeas Corpus ,
wartime Executive Powers, Antietam, Sherman’s March to the Sea, Gettysburg, Fall of
Atlanta, Appomattox Ct. House,
4. How was Reconstruction a failure? How was Reconstruction a success? Did
Reconstruction improve the lives of African Americans?
a. Examples: 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments, Radical Republicans, KKK, Jim Crow Laws, Black
Codes, Sharecropping, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, Freedmen’s Bureau, Andrew
Johnson, Thomas Nast’s Cartoon “Worse Than Slavery”
End = Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction – ended 5 military districts, return South to “Home
Rule” (Redemption) Lost Cause etc.

Period 6: 1865 – 1898 (13%) The Industrial Revolution/Rise of Capitalism

Beginning = Second Movement West. Americans settled the prairie & fight Native Americans. Capitalism
trumps democracy as “Captains of Industry” like Rockefeller, Morgan, and Carnegie fight for control of the
nation’s business. This led to the Populist backlash. Gilded Age Politics

How the government encouraged westward expansion and eventually destroyed Native American
culture in the prairie
a. Examples: Homestead Act, Dawes Act, Battles of Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee (End of
Native American resistance 1890), assimilation/annihilation of Native Americans
b. Land Grants from the government (Homestead Act) used by railroads
The rise of capitalism & big business permanently transformed America from a farming (agrarian)
society into an industrial powerhouse and brought many problems economically, socially,
politically, and environmentally
a. Examples:
i. Economic: Bessemer Process, Monopolies & Trusts, Laissez-Faire Economics,
Sherman Anti-‐Trust Act, Bonanza mining and farming
ii. Social: Low wages led to urban slums/dumbbell tenements increased crime and
poverty, Settlement House movement
(Jane Addams), immigration increased (New Immigrants)
iii. Political: Political Machines (Tammany Hall/Boss Tweed),
3
 Control of local politicians by big business
vi. Environment: Placer mining changed to industrial strip mining, destruction of
natural resources, oil boom towns, conservation movements began (Sierra Club)
v. Farmers: The Grange and People’s Party…Becomes Populist Party…liked silver and
inflationary policies, income tax, regulation of railroads
Workers UNIONIZED during this time period and fought capitalists for better standard of living
a. Examples:
i. Unions: Knights of Labor (too disorganized), IWW (“Wobblies” – too radical,
American Federation of Labor (Samuel Gompers) used collective bargaining and the
strike.
ii. Labor Unions Struggles: Skilled vs. unskilled workers, immigrants, African
Americans, hostility from employers and government, court injunctions (In re Debs)
iii. Major Strikes/Events: Homestead Strike (Carnegie Steel), Haymarket (Unions
painted as radical), Pullman Strike (effect of Depression of 1893) all ended with
government intervention on behalf of business against labor
How various groups struggled for equality
a. African Americans: Post Civil War “window of sunshine” closed as southern states were
redeemed, Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes, Plessy vs. Ferguson legalized Jim Crow, Lynching
b. Immigrants: “New” immigrants arrived from eastern Europe through Ellis Island, Catholic &
Jewish immigration, Asian immigration increases in the West, Angel Island, Chinese
Exclusion, return of nativism
End = 1898 Spanish/American War and American imperialism

Period 7: 1890 – 1945 – Progressive, Imperialism, World War I, Twenties, Great Depression, World
War II (17%)

Beginning = End of “Indian Wars”, The Progressive Era – an attempt to fix the problems of the Gilded
Age and Populist Movement

Motives for U.S. expanded overseas (imperialism) and examples

a. Examples: Hawaii, Panama Canal, Spanish/American War, Open Door Policy in China,
Roosevelt Corollary
b. Reasons: New Markets post-Depression 1893, Turner’s Thesis, neo-Manifest Destiny,
Resources/Raw Materials, Spread Christianity
(Civilizing Mission), Military (Alfred Thayer Mahan)
How the Progressive Movement attempted to force the FEDERAL government to improve
society and fix the problems of the Gilded Age a. Examples:
Economic: Trust Busting, Sherman Antitrust Act, Hepburn Act, Clayton Antitrust Act (Wilson),
Federal Reserve Act, The Jungle, Socialism’s rise and fall, Gold Standard
Social: Temperance Movement, Women’s Suffrage Mvt, Settlement Homes, Tenement Reform,
Child Labor Reforms
Political: Rise of democracy (Wisconsin Idea, LaFollete, 17th Amendment [direct election of
senators], Referendum, Recall elections, 19th Amendment [women’s suffrage]

4
 Reasons why the U.S. moved from neutrality to intervention in World War I and how the U.S.
(under Woodrow Wilson) played a leading role in the peace process
1. Neutrality – “A boat, a note, and a Revolution” Sinking of the Lusitania (boat), Note
(Zimmermann Note), Revolution (Russian Revolution), Wilson “Make the World Safe For
Democracy”
2. WWI Homefront:
i. Economic: Government purchased wheat and food, industry flourished
ii. Social: Great Migration (African Americans flee Jim Crow South for jobs in
northern cities, Anti-‐Immigrant (especially German) treatment, WEB DuBois
“Returning Soldiers”
iii. Political: Espionage & Sedition Acts, 19th Amendment,
Restructuring of Govt (CPI, War Labor Board, etc.)
3. Post War: Woodrow Wilson “14-‐Points” Speech, League of Nations rejected by US Senate
(return to isolationism)
How the “Roaring Twenties” represented a time of prosperity in American cities, but also a time of
increased cultural tension
a. Tensions: Sacco & Vanzetti, Red Scare, Wall St. Bombing, Palmer Raids, Quota Act,
Scopes Monkey Trial, Racism, Nativism, Prohibition
b. Prosperity: Growth of auto industry, homeownership, radio, sports
How the “New Deal” attempted to solve the problems of the Great Depression AND forever
changed the role of the federal government by stressing 3 R’s: RELIEF, RECOVERY, and
REFORM
a. Examples: Bank Holiday/FDIC, Social Security, Agricultural Adjustment Administration
(fix depression on the farm [dust bowl], NERA/NRA [beginning of federal relief [welfare],
Wagner Act [minimum wage], TVA/CCC/WPA (public works)
b. Challenges to New Deal and FDR:
i. From the Left: Huey Long “Share the Wealth” Clubs, Father Charles Coughlin
(wanted social justice programs)
ii. Supreme Court: Ruled New Deal programs unconstitutional, (NRA, AAA, etc.),
Court Packing Scheme (The switch in time that saved nine)
Reasons why the U.S. moved from neutrality in World War II to war after Pearl Harbor How
World War II impacted life on the homefront
a. Examples: Pacifism, Neutrality Acts, Cash & Carry, Lend-‐Lease Act
a. Ends Great Depression
i. Examples: wartime production, women/Mexican/African American labor force
b. Social:
i. Mexican Americans: Bracero Program “Zoot Suit Riots” in LA
ii. Japanese Americans: Relocation, Internment Camps, Executive Order, “Farewell to
Manzanar”, Reparations under George HW Bush, Korematsu vs. US iii. African
Americans: “Double V Campaign” (Victory over fascism overseas, racism at home),
Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), A Philip Randolph threatened March on
Washington for jobs iv. Women: leverage industrial labor (Rosie the Riveter) into
meaningful, if limited, political and economic gains
Why the Allies won World War II
a. Examples: War production (Ford Willow Run plant, LA Ship works, etc), technological
innovations (Atomic Bomb/Manhattan Project) End = World War II Victory! VE/VJ Days
5
 Period 8: 1945 – 1980 – Cold War America (15%)

Beginning = Victory in World War II and the rise of America as a global superpower

The various methods used to try to CONTAIN (George Kennan) Communism

a. Examples: Truman Doctrine ($ to Greece and Turkey), Marshall Plan ($ to European
countries to rebuild), NATO (first permanent peacetime alliance), Korean War (United
Nations), Vietnam War
The relation between U.S and the Soviet Union fluctuated between hostility and “détente”
a. Examples of conflict: Berlin Blockade & Airlift, Warsaw Pact, NSA-‐68, Mutually Assured
Destruction, Cuban Missile Crisis, U-‐2 Crisis, Korean
War, Vietnam War
b. Examples of détente: Geneva Convention, United Nations, SALT Treaties, Nixon goes to
China
Ways the U.S. supported undemocratic governments, so long as the were not Communist
a. CIA in Iran and Guatemala, Support for the Diem regime in Vietnam, support for Augusto
Pinochet in Chile
Cold War led to conflict at home between liberty & order, war & peace,
 Order vs. Liberty: 2nd Red Scare (compare/contrast to 1920’s Red Scare), HUAC,
McCarthyism, Alger Hiss, Rosenbergs
 Arms Race & Space Race: Ike’s “Military/Industrial Complex”, Sputnik, NASA, increase $
for science education, H-‐Bomb
 Rise of anti-‐war Movement: Anti-‐Vietnam War 1968, Tet Offensive, Bombing Cambodia,
My Lai Massacre, college protests (Kent State, Berkeley, Michigan St.)
The Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 began the Civil Rights
movement while also leading white southerners to close ranks around their racial order
a. Examples: Brown v. Board, Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-‐56,
Freedom Riders 1961, Freedom Summer 1964
b. How federal government acted to encourage an end to Jim Crow
i. Executive Branch: Truman desegregates military 1948, LBJ’s Great Society
ii. Legislative: Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act 1965
iii. Judicial: Brown vs. Board Warren Court expanded rights of the accused (liberal court)
iv. Southern White Reaction: Closed ranks/white supremacy: Southern Manifesto, Little
Rock 9, “Solid South”, George Wallace “Segregation Now,Segregation Forever”,
KKK (3rd Gen)

6. The Civil Rights Movement was radicalized after 1968 deaths of RFK and Martin Luther King,
Jr.
Stokely Carmichael, “Black Power”, Malcolm X, Black Panther Party
7. Other minority groups were inspired by the success of the Civil Rights Movement and pressed
for their own freedom and equality

6
 a. Examples: Cesar Chavez/Mexican Americans, La Raza, LGBT (Stonewall Riot-‐NYC),
American Indian Movement (AIM), Women’s Rights (ERA, Feminine Mystique, National
Organization for Women, Roe vs. Wade,)
Liberalism under the Great Society (LBJ) continued to expand the power of the federal
government (Connect to Progressive Era and New Deal)
a. Examples: Medicare, Medicaid, Poverty programs (Head Start, Job Corps) Civil Rights Act
1964, Voting Rights Act 1965, Immigration Act of 1965 ended Quotas
How the Great Society, Warren Court decisions, Hippie Movement, Social change, and rise in
sexual and drug experimentation led to a rise in CONSERVATIVE politics (Barry Goldwater-‐
1964, Nixon-‐1968, Reagan-1980)

END: Election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 & rise of conservative revolution

Period 9: 1980-‐Present -‐ Modern America (5%)

Beginning = Election Ronald Reagan & Conservative backlash to social change

1. Reasons for the rise of Reagan and Conservative (Republican) politics

a. Examples: Belief in social and moral erosion (including Rose vs. Wade, Gay Liberation,
etc.) gave rise to religious fundamentalism (opposed to abortion, gay marriage, etc.)
b. Lack of faith in the government to solve real social problems after the Nixon, Ford, and
Carter administrations
i. Examples: Inflation 1970’s, Oil Shock, Malaise, Watergate Scandal, Huge deficits
from New Deal/Great Society
2. Conservative Political Victories & Defeats
a. Examples of Conservative Victories: Reaganomics (trickledown economics) reduced
taxes, Deregulation of industry/limiting scope of EPA
b. Examples of Conservative Defeats: Size of government grew (Medicare & Medicaid,
Social Security popular and abortion remained legal), Recession hit in 1988 leading to
criticism of
Reaganomics

3. Rhetoric VS Reality of Reagan’s Cold War Philosophy

a. Examples of Rhetoric: Hardcore anti-‐Communist, Soviet Union =
“Evil Empire”, rejected détente, big increase in $$ for military
b. Examples of Reality: Reagan was friends with Gorbachev, Arms Control Agreements
4. How the post-‐Cold War World led to challenges for US foreign & domestic policy
a. Examples: Terrorist attacks on US targets abroad and at home
i. Abroad: USS Cole Attack, Benghazi Attack,
ii. At Home: Oklahoma City Bombing, Unabomber, World
5. Trade Center, 9/11 Attacks
a. Bush Doctrine: War on Terror, Pre-emptive War against Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein
(Weapons of Mass Destruction)
b. Concerns about violations of Civil Liberties via the Patriot Act
c. President Obama continues War on Terror

7
 Limits troops on ground in favor of Drone Strikes, death of Osama bin Laden, rise of
factious Islamic fundamentalism in Iraq and Syria
6. Changes in American society since 1970
a. Demographics: Changing population (graying of America, Hispanic/Latino
immigration), Still debating immigration reform?
b. Continued debate over the role of the federal government
Examples: Attempts and successes of health care laws [Affordable Care Act =
“Obamacare” was an effort dating back to the Great Society]), Social Security and
Medicare spending, Government surveillance
c. Loss of manufacturing jobs to overseas (“post-‐industrialism” NAFTA), rise in
income inequality, Urban poverty
d. Environment: Significant changes in pesticide use, concerns over global warming
& climate change Environmental
i. Protection Agency (EPA) successes/failure, oil consumption
ii. Historical View of Conservation: TR/Muir = National Parks/Conservation,
Rachel Carson “Silent Spring” (ban pesticides), Clean Air Act 1963, EPA 1970