Directions:  Read this page or listen to it.  Then, go to the Printables (the last icon on the left) and print the document.  Finally use the document to complete the survey in the next assignment.

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Introduction: 

 

In this ILS class, we will continue studying US History.  We left off at the end of the Civil War (1865) and the state of our country as it entered the Gilded Age.  You may remember the US was dealing with many issues that resulted from the Civil War:

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The Abolition of Slavery,

The impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, 

Reconstruction,

The "New South", the Black Codes, and Jim Crow,

The growth of cities and industry

Immigration from Europe and Asia

Westward expansion and the closing of the American West

Conflict with Native Americans

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Our Topics: 

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In Part II of US History, we will pick up the development of our American identity by summarizing key elements of the Gilded Age and the condition of the New South.  Following this journey, we will explore the US's rise to power, beginning in 1890.  Important concepts will be:

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The Age of Empires

The Spanish-American War

The Progressive Era

Teddy Roosevelt and the Muckrakers

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As the US enters the 20th Century, we come to grips with being a world power during:

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World War I

Homefront issues in the early 1900's

The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles

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As does the rest of the world, the US feels social changes and conflicts as it enters the "Roaring Twenties" - topics include:

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Prohibition

Ubanization and Immigration

The continuation of Jim Crow and the reemergence of the KKK

Consumerism and consumption in the 1920's

New media, new pastimes

American culture, nativism, and fundamentalism

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The US, along with the rest of the world, feels the pain of a global economic depression during the 1930's.  We will explore:

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The Great Depression

FDR and the Great Depression

The New Deal

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The issues of World War I have been simmering all through the 20's and 30's; they reemerge on the global front, with the US becoming a key player in events:

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World War II

Axis and Allied Powers

Pearl Harbor

FDR and World War II

Conflicts at home

The Atom Bomb

The shaping of the American identity during the first half of the 20th Century

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Social structures, economic and political forces grow in new ways after the war.  Issues the US grapples with are:

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The Cold War

Communism

GI's, African Americans, and the "baby boom"

The Korean War

Popular culture, the role of women

Fear of the Atomic Age

The Space Race

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The 1960's and 1970's (the generation of your grandparents) introduce even more conflict and growth in the US:

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The Civil Rights Movement

Influential Leaders:  King, Malcom X, the Kennedys

Black Power

The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act

The Vietnam War

Watergate

The Oil Crisis

Continuous social and economic change in postwar America

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The 1980's and 1990's (the generation of your parents) experience these topics:

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The Iran-Contra Affair

Reaganomics

The AIDS Crisis

The Gulf War

The Clinton Years

Globalization

Y2K (The beginning of a new millennium)

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Finally, we will explore topics that influence you as members of the 21st Century:

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The George W. Bush Administration

911

The Great Recession

Our first African-American President:  Barack Obama

The presidency of Donald Trump

The 2020 Presidential Election

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Conclusion:  

 

We will see how lessons-learned as a growing nation help us become the leading world power of today.  While the US doesn't have all the answers, we will discover why nations look to the US as the most powerful nation on earth, and why that title comes with heavy responsibilities.    Finally, we will see how YOU, the generation of the 21st Century, will impact the future growth of the nation.

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