US History II
Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 1921)
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Unit 3:
Unit Topic:Imperialism & World War I
Conceptual Lens:
Unit Overview:
Essential Standards:
 US2.H.2.1: Analyze key political, economic, and social turning points from colonization through Reconstruction in terms of causes and effects (e.g.,
conflicts, legislation, elections, innovations, leadership, movements, Supreme Court decisions, etc.).
 US2.H.3.1: Analyze how economic, political, social, military and religious factors influenced United States imperialism (e.g., passing of the western frontier, new
markets, Spanish American War, Open Door Policy, Monroe Doctrine, Roosevelt Corollary, canal route, etc.).
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AH2.H.3.3: Explain the roles of various racial and ethnic groups in settlement and expansion since Reconstruction and the consequences for those
groups (e.g., American Indians, African Americans, Chinese, Irish, Hispanics and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, etc.)
AH2.H.3.4: Analyze voluntary and involuntary immigration trends since Reconstruction in terms of causes, regions of origin, and destination, cultural
contributions, and public and government response (e.g., new immigrants, port of entry, ethnic neighborhoods, settlement houses, immigration
restrictions)
AH2.H.4.2: Analyze the economic issues and conflicts that impacted the United States since Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted (e.g.,
currency policy, industrialization, urbanization, laissez-faire, labor unrest, New Deal, Great Society, supply-side economics, etc.).
AH2.H.4.4: Analyze the cultural conflicts that impacted the United States since Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted (e.g., nativism, Back
to Africa movements, modernism, fundamentalism, black power movements, women’s movement, counterculture, Wilmington Race Riots, etc.).
AH2.H.6.1: Explain how national economic and political interests helped set the direction of United States foreign policy since Reconstruction (e.g., new markets,
isolationism, neutrality, containment, homeland security, etc.).
AH2.H.6.2: Explain the reasons for United States involvement in global wars and the influence each involvement had on international affairs (e.g., Spanish-American
War, WWI, WWII, Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraqi War, etc.).
AH2.H.7: Understand the impact of war on American politics, economics, society and culture.
AH2.H.7.1: Explain the impact of wars on American politics since Reconstruction (e.g., spheres of influence, isolationist practices, containment policies, first and
second Red Scare movements, patriotism, terrorist policies, etc.).
AH2.H.7.2: Explain the impact of wars on the American economy since Reconstruction (e.g., mobilizing for war, war industries, rationing, women in the workforce,
lend-lease policy, WWII farming gains, GI Bill, etc.).
AH2.H.7.3: Explain the impact of wars on American society and culture since Reconstruction (e.g., relocation of Japanese Americans, American propaganda, first and
second Red Scare movement, McCarthyism, baby boom, Civil Rights Movement, protest movements, ethnic, patriotism, etc.).
AH2.H.8.4: Analyze multiple perceptions of the “American Dream” in times of prosperity and crisis since Reconstruction (e.g., Great Depression, Dust Bowl, New Deal,
oil crisis, savings and loan crisis, dot.com bubble, mortgage foreclosure crisis, etc.).
US History II
Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 1921)
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Conceptual Webbing:
Exploration,
Settlement,
Movement, and
Expansion
Big Ideas:
 The need for new
markets caused by
the 2nd Industrial
Revolution
 How war and
disease impact
migration
Essential Vocab:
Sanford Dole; The Great
Migration; The Spanish
Flu;
Conflict and
Compromise
Big Ideas:
 Political and
diplomatic turning
points
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Essential Vocab:
Anglo-Saxon Superiority;
White Man’s Burden;
Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge; Yellow Press;
William R. Hearst;
Joseph Pulitzer; Women
in the workforce;
Freedom, Equality,
International
and Power
Affairs and Foreign
Policy
Big Ideas:
 Political and
diplomatic turning
points
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Essential Vocab:
Militarism; Alfred T.
Mahan; Rudyard
Kipling’s White Man’s
Burden; Espionage and
Sedition Acts; Schenck v
USA, Clear and Present
Danger; Committee of
Public Information; Food
Administration; Liberty
Bonds; Government
Controls; George Creel;
War
Big Ideas:
 Diplomatic Turning
Points
Big Ideas:
 Militaristic Turning
Points
Essential Vocab:
Imperialism; Sphere of
Influence; Alfred T.
Mahan’s Influence of
Sea Power History;
Modern Navy;
Protectorate;
Commonwealth;
Annexation; Teller
Amendment; Platt
Amendment; Treaty of
Paris, 1898; Open Door
Policy; Roosevelt
Corollary; Big Stick
Politics; Portsmouth
Conference; Dollar
Diplomacy; Missionary
Diplomacy; Hawaii;
DeLome Letter;
McKinley Tariff; White
Man’s Burden; Boxer
Essential Vocab:
Spanish-American War;
Rough Riders; George
Dewey; USS Maine;
Filipino-American War;
World War I; Militarism;
Convoy System; Trench
Warfare; No Man’s
Land; Unrestricted
Submarine Warfare;
John Pershing;
Mechanized Warfare;
Progress, Crises,
and the American
Dream
Big Ideas:
Critical Content:
Josiah Strong; Women’s
Role during War; Victory
Gardens;
US History II
Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 1921)
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Rebellion; Nationalism;
Alliances; Imperialism;
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand; Zimmerman
Note; Treaty of
Versailles – 1919; 14
Points; League of
Nations; 1921 AmericanGerman Peace Treaty;
Reparations; War Guilt
Clause; German
Demilitarization;
Essential Questions:
Exploration,
Settlement,
Movement, and
Expansion
EQs:
Conflict and
Compromise
EQs
Freedom, Equality,
International
and Power
Affairs and Foreign
Policy
EQs
EQs
How did the government’s
role in economic and
political affairs change as
America became more
imperialistic?
How did technological
advancement lead to the
United States’ increased
involvement in world
affairs?
To what extent was the
government’s changing
role necessary and
beneficial as America
became more imperialistic?
How did America and the
world change as the US
increased its role in world
affairs?
To what extent have the
effects of US actions and
War
EQs
Progress, Crises,
and the American
Dream
EQs
US History II
Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 1921)
policies been beneficial or
detrimental to other
countries?
Why did the United States
take an active role in world
affairs in the late 19th and
early 20th century?
To what extent have the
actions and policies of the
US affected other countries
in the world?
How has the media shaped
US foreign policy?
As the US becomes
increasingly involved in
world affairs, should its
self-perception be
impacted by world opinion.
How intrusive should a
nation be in the affairs of
another?
1. McDougal-Littell Resources
a. Textbook: The Americans
i. Chapter 18: America Claims an Empire
ii. Chapter 19: The First World War
b. Internet: www.Classzone.com
2. Other Internet Resources
3. Literature
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US History II
4. Audio/Visual Resources
Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 1921)
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