MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
United States History I Honors
Authored by: Hugh Singerline
Reviewed by: Dr. Barbara Sargent
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
Approval Date: August 2010
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Patrick Rowe, Vice-President
Kevin Blair
Samuel Cavaliere
Linda Gilbert
James Novotny
David Arthur
Shade Grahling
Superintendent: Dr. Richard Noonan
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
I. OVERVIEW
This 10th grade social studies curriculum focuses on the earlier periods in American history, beginning with
the arrival of the English and their settlements of Jamestown and Plymouth/Massachusetts Bay, and ending
with the post-Civil War period of Reconstruction as well as a second look at the West. Intended to encourage
students to develop their research, analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills, the course employs
a traditional chronological approach in order to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Exam which
they would take during their junior year. That said, this course will also make occasional use of thematic
strands as focus prompts for deeper investigation into the complex issues found in American history.
Students in this US I Honors class will be prepared for US II Honors, which is also the Advanced Placement
class for US History. Honors students are challenged in every aspect of their studies: reading assignments,
thinking skills, writing assignments, research, and class discussions. Strong motivation, independent study,
attention to deadlines, and ability to read challenging text are keys to success in this course.
II. RATIONALE
The United States History I Honors curriculum is meant to encourage the further development of existing
skills as well as increase student mastery and retention of historical knowledge, with the larger purpose of
enabling students to better participate as global citizens in a nation that has evolved over the course of time.
Successful completion of this course will allow for greater awareness of the culture, economics, politics,
culture, and ideas of the United States, and provide a solid foundation for the Advanced Placement United
States History course and the Advanced Placement Exam.
III. STUDENT OUTCOMES (Core Curriculum Standards)
Standard 6.1 (U.S. History: America in the World). All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think
analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape the
American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions that reflect
fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and global
communities.
Students will:
Unit 1: America in the British Empire/Colonial Society
• Explain how British North American colonies adapted the British governance structure to fit their
ideas of individual rights, economic growth, and participatory government.
• Relate regional geographic variations (e.g., climate, soil conditions, and other natural resources) to
economic development in the New World.
• Explain how economic ideas and the practices of mercantilism and capitalism conflicted during this
time period.
• Determine the extent to which natural resources, labor systems (i.e., the use of indentured servants,
African slaves, and immigrant labor), and entrepreneurship contributed to economic development in
the American colonies.
Unit 2: Road to Revolution
• Analyze the intellectual origins of the major ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence
• Analyze contributions and perspectives of African Americans, Native Americans, and women during
the American Revolution.
Unit 3: Articles of Confederation/Constitution
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Evaluate the importance of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
to the spread of democracy around the world.
Compare and contrast state constitutions, including New Jersey’s 1776 constitution, with the United
States Constitution, and determine their impact on the development of American constitutional
government.
Compare and contrast the arguments of Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the ratification
debates, and assess their continuing relevance.
Analyze the problems of financing the American Revolutionary War and dealing with wartime
inflation and profiteering.
Unit 4: New Nation
• Explain how judicial review made the Supreme Court an influential branch of government, and assess
the continuing impact of the Supreme Court today.
• Examine the emergence of early political parties and their views on centralized government and
foreign affairs, and compare these positions with those of today’s political parties.
• Explain the effects of inflation, debt, and attempts by new state and national governments to rebuild
the economy by addressing issues of foreign and internal trade, banking, and taxation.
• Relate events in Europe to the development of American trade and American foreign and domestic
policies.
• Describe how the Supreme Court increased the power of the national government and promoted
national economic growth during this era.
Unit 5: Jacksonian Era
• Analyze how the United States has attempted to account for regional differences while also striving to
create an American identity.
• Judge the fairness of government treaties, policies, and actions that resulted in Native American
migration and removal.
• Compare and contrast the successes and failures of political (i.e., the 1844 State Constitution) and
social (i.e., abolition, women’s rights, and temperance) reform movements in New Jersey and the
nation during the Antebellum period.
• Analyze how technological developments transformed the economy, created international markets,
and affected the environment in New Jersey and the nation.
• Analyze the role education played in improving economic opportunities and in the development of
responsible citizens.
• Determine the impact of religious and social movements on the development of American culture,
literature, and art.
• Analyze how ideas found in key documents (i.e., the Declaration of Independence, the Seneca Falls
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg
Address) contributed to demanding equality for all.
Unit 6: Antebellum America
• Assess the influence of Manifest Destiny on foreign policy during different time periods in American
history.
• Assess the role of geopolitics in the development of American foreign relations during this period.
• Analyze the various rationales provided as a justification for slavery.
• Assess the impact of Western settlement on the expansion of United States political boundaries.
• Assess how states' rights (i.e., Nullification) and sectional interests influenced party politics and
shaped national policies (i.e., the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850).
• Analyze the ways in which prevailing attitudes, socioeconomic factors, and government actions (i.e.,
the Fugitive Slave Act and Dred Scott Decision) in the North and South (i.e., Secession) led to the
Civil War.
Unit 7: Civil War and Reconstruction
• Evaluate how political and military leadership affected the outcome of the Civil War.
• Judge the effectiveness of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments in obtaining citizenship and equality
for African Americans.
• Use maps and primary sources to assess the impact that geography, improved military strategies, and
new modes of transportation had on the outcome of the Civil War.
• Assess the role that economics played in enabling the North and South to wage war.
• Compare and contrast the immediate and long-term effects of the Civil War on the economies of the
North and South.
• Compare and contrast the roles of African Americans who lived in Union and Confederate states
during the Civil War.
• Analyze the debate about how to reunite the country, and determine the extent to which enacted
Reconstruction policies achieved their goals.
• Relate conflicting political, economic, social, and sectional perspectives on Reconstruction to the
resistance of some Southern individuals and states.
• Analyze the impact of the Civil War and the 14th Amendment on the development of the country and
on the relationship between the national and state governments.
Unit 8: The West
• Determine how expansion created opportunities for some and hardships for others by considering
multiple perspectives.
• Analyze the impact of population shifts and migration patterns during the Reconstruction period.
• Explain how the Homestead Act, the availability of land and natural resources, and the development
of transcontinental railroads and waterways promoted the growth of a nationwide economy and the
movement of populations.
• Compare and contrast economic development of the North, South, and West in the post-Civil War
period.
IV. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND CONTENT
Unit 1: America in the British Empire/Colonial Society (Jamestown through the French and Indian War,
1607-1763)
• In what ways did geographic and climatic diversity affect regional development among the North
American colonies of Great Britain?
• How did the system of indentured servitude and the enslavement of Africans contribute to the
economic and socio-cultural development of early America?
• To what extent did the ideas and practices of mercantilism define economic relations between Great
Britain and its North American colonies?
• How significant was the impact of other European powers and their colonies on the political and
economic development of Colonial America?
• How did the tension between established religion and religious tolerance play out in the Colonial
period?
• How did the availability of land as well as the general remoteness of the British colonies affect
Colonial efforts to recreate British social relationships in the North American environment?
Unit 2: Road to Revolution (French and Indian War through the American Revolution, 1754-1783)
• How successfully did a new American identity develop in the context of economic diversity and in
light of already existing attachments to individual colonies?
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To what extent did economic considerations influence the eventual rift between Great Britain and the
American Colonies?
Why might it be argued that British success in the French and Indian War led to the eventual loss of
its North American colonies?
How did the American colonists use political institutions and democratic practices to resist British
authority in the period leading up to the American Revolution?
How “revolutionary” was the American Revolution?
Unit 3: Founding Era (Articles of Confederation/Constitution, 1781-1791)
• How responsible were economic developments in post-revolutionary America in contributing to
political instability and the formation of a new constitutional order?
• In what ways did the adherence to republican ideals and individual rights affect the evolution of
American government in terms of the distribution of political power?
• To what extent did revolutionary ideology impact the rights of women and minority groups in the
early republic?
Unit 4: New Nation (Washington Administration Through the War of 1812, 1789-1815)
• To what extent were competing visions of American economic development the driving force behind
not only the American economy, but also governmental policies and socio-cultural changes?
• Could American foreign policy in dealing with the international challenges presented by the
Napoleonic era be considered successful?
• How significant was actual government practice in shaping our understanding of the Constitution and
the power of American political institutions?
Unit 5: Jacksonian Era (Era of Good Feelings through Jacksonian Democracy, 1815-1840s)
• To what extent did members of minority groups (African-Americans, women and Native Americans)
share in the benefits afforded the "common man" during the Jacksonian era?
• How did the rise of industrialization play out in the tension between a self-sufficient national
economy and regional economic competition?
• In what ways did political developments during the Jacksonian era affect the American constitutional
and electoral systems?
• How effective were reform movements during the Jacksonian era in dealing with the emerging social
and economic problems of the early industrial era?
Unit 6: Antebellum America (Industrial and Transportation Revolutions to the Civil War, 1820s-1860)
• To what extent was westward expansion the result of technological and transportation innovations?
• How did the concept of Manifest Destiny impact relations with neighboring powers and indigenous
populations?
• Was America a “land of immigrants” prior to the Civil War?
• How was westward expansion involved in the constitutional issue of slavery?
• At what point did political, economic, and philosophical polarization on the slavery question become
a “point of no return”?
Unit 7: Civil War and Reconstruction (Election of Lincoln to the Election of Hayes, 1860-1877)
• How did demographics and economic and technological conditions play out in the conduct and
outcome of the Civil War?
• In what ways did the Civil War and Reconstruction affect the constitutional and political systems of
the United States?
• To what degree was Reconstruction successful with regard to the rights and social standing of AfricanAmericans?
Unit 8: The West (Homestead Act and Transcontinental Railroad to Frederick Jackson Turner, 1862-1890s)
• To what extent has the “myth of the West” been based in the late-nineteenth century reality of that
region?
• How did the West contribute to the development of an emerging national economy?
• Could the West be accurately seen as a zone of opportunity for members of minority groups?
• In what ways did the West affect social relationships in terms of gender and race, as well as political
relationships in terms of citizen participation?
V. STRATEGIES
The US History I Honors curriculum will employ a traditional “survey” approach in order to introduce
students to the breadth of material to be covered in the Advanced Placement Exam, but in conjunction with
occasional efforts at depth in which topics of enduring interest will be pursued thematically and in greater
detail through a variety of methods, including:
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Teacher presentation
Film
Guided reading
Student research projects
Primary source analysis
Role play simulation
Individual and group presentations
Class discussion
Geographic analysis
Particular emphasis will be given to reading, interpreting and analyzing a variety of primary source materials,
structured to enable students to read comprehensively, communicate analytically, and think systematically
about how the past interactions of individuals and groups have shaped the American experience.
Assuming previous experience and self-motivation in Honors-level students, this course will concentrate on
the practice and improvement of existing skills.
VI. EVALUATION
The goals of evaluation are to check on students’ grasp of historical knowledge and their ability to interpret
and judge sources of information, as well as to more narrowly prepare students for the Advanced Placement
Exam, which most of these students will take as juniors during the US II Honors course. Students will be
assessed through a variety of measures, including:
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Quizzes
Student Presentations
DBQ (document-based question)-style responses to prompts
Reading checks
Research reviews
Homework
Essays
VII. REQUIRED RESOURCES
Textbooks: Blum, The National Experience (1993); and Nash, The American People (1994)
Teacher will supplement the assigned textbooks with a variety of materials such as PowerPoint presentations,
primary and secondary sources, film and video clips, educational websites and media center databases.
Supplementary Materials: (Representative Listing)
PowerPoint Presentations found on www.historyteacher.net
Online streaming videos at: www.pbs.org and www.cjims.org
Supreme Court Cases
http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark.aspx
Digital History
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/timeline/timelineN.cfm
Original Documents and Primary Sources
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/
Excerpts of the following films may be shown to enhance student understanding of the material:
• "The Last of the Mohicans" (Unit 1)
• "Roots" (Units 4-6)
• "Amistad" (Unit 5)
• "Glory" (Unit 7)
• "Birth of a Nation (Unit 7)
• "Dances With Wolves" (Unit 8)
• "Shane" (Unit 8)
• "Red River" (Unit 8)
VIII. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
(Note: This section should be taken as a representative listing in that it seeks to highlight material of greater
weight rather than all material to be covered in the course. Similarly, chapter references are intended as a
general guide to where information relevant to this material can be located).
Unit 0: Exploration and Early European Colonization (Voyage of Columbus to First Permanent English
Settlements, 1492-1607) -- 2 Weeks
Blum, Chapter 1; Nash, Chapters 1-2
• Indigenous peoples and their societies
• European contacts with Native Americans
• Spanish empire in the New World
• French colonization in Canada
Unit 1: America in the British Empire/Colonial Society (Jamestown through the French and Indian War,
1607-1763) -- 4 Weeks
Blum, Chapters 1-4; Nash, Chapters 2-5
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English settlement of New England, the Mid-Atlantic region, and the South
From indentured servitude to slavery in the Chesapeake region
Religious diversity in the American colonies
Resistance to Colonial authority (Bacon’s Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution)
Transatlantic trade
Growth of plantation economies and slave societies
The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening
Colonial governments and imperial policy in British North America
French and Indian War
Unit 2: Road to Revolution (French and Indian War through the American Revolution, 1754-1783) -- 4
Weeks
Blum, Chapters 4-5; Nash, Chapters 5-6
• The Imperial Crisis and resistance to Britain
• War for Independence
• The development of an American identity and republican ideals
Unit 3: Founding Era (Articles of Confederation/Constitution, 1781-1791) -- 5 Weeks
Blum, Chapter 5; Nash, Chapter 7
• State constitutions and the Articles of Confederation
• Post-Revolution economy/Shays' Rebellion
• The federal Constitution
Unit 4: New Nation (Washington Administration Through the War of 1812, 1789-1815) -- 4 Weeks
Blum, Chapters 6-7; Nash, Chapters 8-9
• Washington, Hamilton, and shaping of the national government
• Emergence of political parties (Federalists and Republicans)
• Republican Motherhood and education for women
• Significance of Jefferson’s presidency
• Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West
• Growth of slavery and free Black communities
• War of 1812 and its consequences
MIDTERM EXAM
Unit 5: Jacksonian Era (Era of Good Feelings through Jacksonian Democracy, 1815-1840s) -- 5 Weeks
Blum, Chapters 8-10; Nash, Chapters 10-12
• Beginnings of industrialization and changes in social and class structures
• Emergence of the second party system
• Federal authority and its opponents (judicial Federalism, the Bank War, tariff controversy, and state’s
rights debates)
• Jacksonian democracy and its successes and limitations
• Forced removal of Native Americans to the trans-Mississippi West
Unit 6: Antebellum America (Industrial and Transportation Revolutions to the Civil War, 1820s-1860) -- 5
Weeks
Blum, Chapters 10-13; Nash, Chapters 11, 13-14
• The transportation revolution and creation of a national market economy
• Immigration and nativist reaction
• Planters, yeoman farmers, and slaves in the cotton South
• Evangelical Protestant revivalism
• Social reforms
• Ideals of domesticity
• Transcendentalism and utopian communities
• American Renaissance (literary and artistic expressions)
• Western migration and cultural interactions
• Territorial acquisitions
• Early American imperialism (the Mexican War)
• Pro- and anti-slavery arguments and conflicts
• Compromise of 1850 and popular sovereignty
• Kansas-Nebraska Act and the emergence of the Republican Party
Unit 7: Civil War and Reconstruction (Election of Lincoln to the Election of Hayes, 1860-1877) -- 5 Weeks
Blum, Chapters 14-16; Nash, Chapters 15-17
• Abraham Lincoln, the Election of 1860, and secession
• Two societies at war (mobilization, resources, and internal dissent)
• Military strategies and foreign diplomacy
• Emancipation and the role of African Americans in the War
• Social, political, and economic effects of war in the North, South, and West
• Presidential and Radical Reconstruction
• Southern state governments (aspirations, achievements, failures)
• Role of African Americans in politics, education, and the economy
• Compromise of 1877
• Impact of Reconstruction
• Reconfiguration of southern agriculture (sharecropping and crop-lien system)
• The politics of segregation (Jim Crow and disenfranchisement)
Unit 8: The West (Homestead Act and Transcontinental Railroad to Frederick Jackson Turner, 1862-1890s) -4 Weeks
Blum, Chapter17-18, 20; Nash, Chapter 17
• Expansion and development of western railroads
• Competitors for the West (miners, ranchers, homesteaders, and Native Americans)
• Government policy toward Native Americans
• Gender, race, and ethnicity in the far West
• Environmental impacts of western settlement
• Turner’s Frontier Thesis
FINAL EXAM