Modern US History Online

SEMESTER 1

Unit 1: Founding a Nation: Students review the origins of the United States from the founding of the English colonies through the increased tensions and Enlightenment thought that led to the American Revolution. They explore the issues the new nation faced in forming a government and reinforce their knowledge of how the American system of government works under the United States Constitution.

Unit 2: Defining a Nation: Early presidents, George Washington in particular, set the nation on a sound course. The country grew in area, population, diversity, and industry. But that growth, and questions about federalism and the institution of slavery not answered by the Constitution, led eventually to the horror of civil war. The Civil War kept the nation whole—though at a terrible cost—ended slavery, and pushed the United States into the modern era.

Unit 3: Entering the Modern Era: During the late 1800s, the nation experienced tremendous growth in many areas. Students follow the enormous migration across the Great Plains and its impact on Native Americans, and the rise of new ways of manufacturing and doing business. They see the hardships factory and mine workers faced, and the demands for reform that came from diverse segments of society.

Unit 4: A New Century: The arrival of millions of immigrants and the rapid growth of cities in the late 1800s changed the face and landscape of the United States. Students study the early years of the modern age, our modern political system, and a modern approach to reform.

Unit 5: New Directions: During the last years of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century, the United States stepped onto the world stage. In this unit, students trace the rise of the nation's power from the emergence of American imperialism just before 1900 through the end of the Great War and beyond. They examine as well, the hopes, demands, and challenges African Americans and women faced as they sought equality at home.

Unit 6: Research Project: Students will complete a research project in this unit and then continue their study of the inter-war era as the economic bubble of the 1920s gave way to the Great Depression.

Unit 7: Turning Points: The United States emerged from World War I a major world power. The horror of the war left many people around the world disillusioned and bitter, while others reveled in the music, fads, and fashions of a new age. 

Unit 8: Semester Review and Test: Students prepare for and take the semester test.

SEMESTER 2

Unit 1: Facing Crisis and War: Franklin Delano Roosevelt's recovery plan, the New Deal, forever changed the way Americans thought about government. But his programs didn't end the Great Depression. Only when World War II began in Europe and the United States joined the Allies after the attack at Pearl Harbor did the economy fully recover. Students will trace FDR's presidency through the Great Depression and World War II. They will see the hardship of the 1930s and the heroic efforts from men and women of all races and backgrounds that finally brought victory in Europe and Japan.

Unit 2: Postwar America: World War II transformed the United States into the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation. That position brought new responsibilities. Students will witness the dangers of the atomic age and the tension between communist and democratic countries that threatened the very existence of humankind. They will explore life in the United States during the 1950s as television and the automobile transformed American society. They will demonstrate their understanding of the era by producing an online magazine reflecting the news and the new trends of the times.

Unit 3: Trauma at Home and Abroad: In 1961, John F. Kennedy told the world Americans would "assure the survival and the success of liberty." The 1960s tested that resolve. Students will explore the complexity of U.S. engagement in Southeast Asia, the hopes and hardships of the civil rights movement, the triumphs of greater liberty and democracy, and the thrill of seeing an American walk on the moon.

Unit 4: Turmoil: The Cold War nearly erupted in nuclear war in the early 1960s as the superpowers faced off in Cuba. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, fears of communist expansion led the United States into its longest war, a war that would tear the nation apart and take a terrible toll in lives and in the country's image abroad and at home. Students will meet the people and groups who emerged during these tumultuous years, some demanding an end to war, some demanding civil rights for every group in the American mosaic, and some demanding answers to White House secrecy, corruption, and scandal.

Unit 5: Modern Turning Points: Students will study the end of the twentieth century as the United States rose to the position of a superpower militarily and economically, and faced social, cultural, and political challenges.

Unit 6: Research Project: Students will choose a topic from any period in American history between 1930 and about 1980 and produce a project in one of four formats. The theme of the 

Unit 7: Toward a New Millennium: In this last unit of Modern U.S. History, students will study the events of the very recent past. As they do, they must keep in mind that historians will continue to study and debate these events for decades before they can draw conclusions. This is a "first rough draft" of our nation's most recent chapter.

Unit 8: Semester Review and Test: Students prepare for and take the semester test.