US HISTORY II
CONTEMPORARY AMERICA
A SYLLABUS 2015
This unit syllabus is a guide to class. It is subject to change. Check the website for any updates. Readings will be due the date as
indicated. Other homework assignments will be added as the unit progresses. You are expected to be prepared to every class that
includes bringing this syllabus.
The traumatic events of the 1970s—Watergate, stagflation, the energy crisis, the
defeat of South Vietnam, and the Iranian hostage crisis—produced a severe loss of
confidence among the American people. Americans were deeply troubled by the
relative decline of American strength in the world; the decline of the productivity and
innovation in American industry; and the dramatic growth of lobbies and specialinterest groups that seemed to have paralyzed the legislative process.
The most significant event of the late 1980s was the collapse of eastern European and
Soviet Communism. In 1991, the Soviet Union ended its existence, leaving the
United States as the world’s sole superpower.
During the 1990s, the United States achieved a degree of economic, cultural, and
military preeminence unmatched since the period immediately following World War
II. The United States was the world’s lone superpower, with military spending
greater than that of the next ten largest countries combined. Its economy, by far the
world’s most productive, dominated the fields of entertainment, finance, and high technology. Its movies, music, and
television shows spread American values across the entire globe. For millions of people the world over, the United States
symbolized freedom, opportunity, and prosperity. But among some people, it provoked envy and resentment.
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.
-Ronald Reagan
Date/Day
Friday, May 15
Day 2
DROP
Period 2
Is racism over?
Prom Night in Mississippi
Period 3
Is racism over?
Prom Night in Mississippi
Monday, May 18
Day 3
Is racism over?
Prom Night in Mississippi
DROP
Is racism over?
Prom Night in Mississippi
Tuesday, May 19
Day 4
Is racism over?
Prom Night in Mississippi
Is racism over?
Prom Night in Mississippi
DROP
Wednesday, May
20
Day 1
Ford and Carter Years
Reading pgs. 1016-1023
Ford and Carter Years
Reading pgs. 1016-1023
Ford and Carter Years
Reading pgs. 1016-1023
Iranian Hostage
Crisis/Argo Film
Iranian Hostage Crisis/Argo
Film
Iranian Hostage Crisis/Argo
Film
Thursday, May 21
Day 2
DROP
Iranian Hostage Crisis/Argo
Film
Iranian Hostage Crisis/Argo
Film
Friday, May 22
Day 3
Iranian Hostage
Crisis/Argo Film
DROP
Science and Technology and
Billy Joel Lyrics/Review
Tuesday, May 26
Day 4
Period 1
Science and Technology
and Billy Joel Lyrics/Review
Science and Technology and
Billy Joel Lyrics/Review
Regeanomics Effect
- Reading pgs. 1036-1044
DROP
Regeanomics Effect
- Reading pgs. 1036-1044
Regeanomics Effect
- Reading pgs. 1036-1044
90s Decade and Current
Events: Middle East
Relations- Reading pgs.
1066-1074
90s Decade and Current
Events: Middle East
Relations- Reading pgs.
1066-1074
90s Decade and Current
Events: Middle East
Relations- Reading pgs.
1066-1074
Final Project: Essay Outline
Due
DROP
Final Project: Essay Outline
Due
Middle East Relations:
Persian Gulf War
Final Project: Essay Outline
Due
Middle East Relations:
Persian Gulf War
Friday, May 29
Day 3
Middle East Relations:
Persian Gulf War
DROP
Middle East Relations:
Persian Gulf War
Monday, June 1
Day 4
Middle East Relations:
Persian Gulf War
Middle East Relations:
Persian Gulf War
DROP
Tuesday, June 2
Day 1
Final Project: PowerPoint
Due – Presentations Begin
Final Project: PowerPoint
Due – Presentations Begin
Final Project: PowerPoint
Due – Presentations Begin
Wednesday, June 3
Day 2
Thursday, June 4
Day 3
Friday, June 5
Day 4
Monday, June 8
Day 1
Tuesday, June 9
Day 2
Wednesday, June
10
Day 3
Thursday, June 11
Day 4
DROP
Presentations
Presentations
Presentations
DROP
Presentations
Presentations
Presentations
DROP
Contemporary America Unit
Test
DROP
Contemporary America Unit
Test
Presentations
Contemporary America Unit
Test
Presentations
9/11
DROP
9/11
9/11
9/11
DROP
Wednesday, May
27
Day 1
Thursday, May 28
Day 2
Congratulations Class of 2015!
Best of luck!