World History II - Enduring Understandings
EU#1: The United States gradually has become a global superpower.
EU#2: Technological changes, demographic changes, and the changing role of government have shaped American society.
EU#3: The principle of self-determination has shaped world history.
EU#4: Increasing global interconnectedness has produced conflict and cooperation.
Essential Questions
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
1) What was the impact of
industrialization and
urbanization on American
society?
1) What were the causes and effects
of the new imperialism?
1) What were the long-term effects
of WWI?
1) What were the causes of
WWII?
2) What were the arguments for and
against America becoming an
imperial power?
2) How did traditional and modern
values clash in the 1920s?
2) How did the Allied Powers
defeat the Axis Powers?
3) What were the causes and effects
of WWI?
3) What was the impact of the 1920s
consumer economy on American
society?
3) What were the effects of
WWII on civilian populations?
4) Why was WWI more destructive
and widespread than previous wars?
4) What were the causes and effects
of the Great Depression in the U.S.?
5) What were the causes and effects
of the Russian Revolution?
5) How did the Great Depression
change the role of government in
various countries?
2) How did Progressive
reformers respond to
problems of the Gilded Age?
3) How did the role of
government change during
the Progressive Era?
4) What were the immediate
effects after WWII?
5) What causes genocide?
4) What was the impact of
the Progressive Movement
on race, gender and class?
Essential Topics
Reconstruction, The Old West,
Gilded Age, Industrialism.
Urbanization, Progressivism,
Socialism, Social Darwinism,
Liberalism, Conservatism, suffrage,
immigration, Nativism, democracy
Imperialism, Nationalism,
Militarism, Brinkmanship,
Communism, front, trench warfare,
conscription, Lost Generation,
mandate system, treaty / armistice
Red Scare, Roaring ‘20s, speculation,
stock market, business cycle, gross
domestic product, inflation, downward
spiral, Keynesian economics, relief,
recovery, reform, New Deal, social
welfare
totalitarianism, fascism, total war,
Allies, Axis, Nazism, neutrality,
appeasement, blitzkrieg,
lebensraum, war crimes, genocide,
Holocaust, United Nations
Essential Skills
historical methodology, document analysis, research, writing, note-taking, metacognition, mnemonics, listening, discussion, critical thinking