Mr. Henry’s US VA History Class, 2013 - 2014

Mr. Henry’s US VA History Class, 2013 - 2014 US History from Pre-Columbian America to the Present

Mr. Adam Patrick Henry First Colonial High School, Class of 1992 Graduate of Virginia Tech, Class of 1996 B.A. in History and Education Master’s Degree in History from Old Dominion University, 2007 16th year with the Virginia Beach City Public Schools Professor of History with Tidewater Community College – Portsmouth and Virginia Beach Campus

Mr. Henry’s Contact Information Home Phone: (757) 630-0468 School Phone: (757) 648-5300, extension 77459 E-mail: adhenry@vbschools.com (This is the preferred method of contact! I’ll check my e-mail daily – and frequently.) If you leave a message for me through the school, I will try to check it. (READ: I will never, ever check that message! You may as well leave a voice mail for the Easter Bunny.)

US and Virginia History, Grade 11 The frames which follow provide a very general overview of the curriculum for the US-Virginia History class. The units are arranged both chronologically and thematically. Every aspect of American History and the basic skills required in the practice of history – reading critically, formulating arguments with evidence, articulating viewpoints, and debating conclusion will be addressed during this course. Necessarily, the pace will be rapid!

Unit One: Colonization: “Our License to Make Habitation…” The colonization of the Americas is discussed in detail in this unit, with increasingly specific consideration of the role of the English in settling areas east of the Appalachian Mountains. Rivalries between foreign nations and the staggering implications of “First Contact” on indigenous American peoples will also be addressed in this unit. By the end of this unit, students should be able to consider the implications of “First Contact” from a variety of perspectives, and thoroughly understand the motivations of English settlers to come to the “New World.”

Unit Two: Revolution and the War For Independence John Adams reflected after the War for Independence that the revolution was complete in the hearts and the minds of the people before the fighting ever started. In this unit we will discuss the causes of the War for Independence, the conduct of the war, and the consequences of the war for Americans. Why was an independent United States worth fighting and dying for? Understanding the conflict from the perspective of all of its participants – Patriots, Loyalists, the enslaved, British soldiers, Native Americans, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Polish partisans – gives us a much more complex understanding of the event.

Unit Three: The Critical Period and the Constitution The transition in American government which took place from the time Independence was secured until the ratification of the Constitution is often called “The Critical Period.” The inability of the national government to lead the various states was viewed as a major weakness of the nation in the minds of many American leaders. Whether or not the Articles of Confederation was up to the task of governance is an open question among historians; but the Founding Fathers deemed it inadequate, and replaced it. In this unit, we explore the reasons why and the government which they drafted – over 225 years ago now – which is still the supreme law of the land.

Unit Four: The Early Republic and the Expansion of Democracy Unit Four is devoted to the establishment of the nation’s government and the evolution of the first and second political systems. The precedents set by Washington, the assertion of power by the Supreme Court, and the development of rival political parties – first the Federalists V. Republicans (think Hamilton V. Jefferson here), and later the Whigs V. Democrats (Henry Clay V. Andrew Jackson, to generalize), is discussed in this unit.

Unit Five: The Antebellum Period The impending crisis of Civil War was predicted by so many Americans that it is thought of today as virtually inevitable. But nothing in history is inevitable – people almost always have an influence on the outcome of events. In Unit Five, we will discuss in great detail how the United States descended into the bloodiest war our nation has ever known, and why.

Unit Six: The Civil War The causes of, the conduct of, and the profound implications of the United States Civil War will be discussed during this lengthy unit. Much of the fighting of the Civil War took place in Virginia, and we will spend a significant portion of our time studying the war attempting to unravel the unique circumstances of Virginia’s secession – or partial secession – and the influence of critical events in the Civil War on the state of Virginia and even our own region within the commonwealth.

…and Reconstruction The Reconstruction is a topic which certainly merits it’s own unit, given the implications of the nation’s rejoinder. While the amendments passed and the advocacy for civil rights generated by the Radical Republicans during this period were significant, most of the gains were undermined by a failure of resolve on the part of the national government to follow through on enforcing the edicts.

Unit Seven: Invention, Industry, Business, and Labor While the great industrialist of the late 1800s gained wealth and influence, labor unions formed to demand and end to child labor, higher wages, safer working conditions, and the 8-hour day.

…and Settling the West In the late 1800s, a diverse group of Americans settled in the West. Both conflict and cooperation characterized the Frontier.

Unit Eight: Immigration, Urbanization, and Progressive Reforms Immigration, urbanization, and the origins of progressive reform in the USA.

…Progressive reforms Prohibition may not have lasted, but the woman’s suffrage movement did. The expansion of democracy – through both local and national movements (17th Amendment, 19th Amendment) is featured in this unit, as are social and economic reforms (child labor laws, consumer safety, income tax reform, and the “trustbusting” efforts of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.)

Unit Nine: The Spanish-American War, Latin American Policy, and WW I. Yellow Journalism The Spanish-American War, imperialism in the Pacific, policies toward Latin America, and the emergence of the United States as a world power are chronicled in the unit.

…and World War I The United States’ involvement in the “Great War” was brief, but decisive. President Woodrow Wilson’s failed effort to craft a lasting peace in the aftermath of the war is as much a theme to this unit as the participation of the “doughboy” Americans. The failure to resolve Europe’s underlying economic and political problems, unfortunately, played a large part in engendering conflict 20 years later.

Unit Ten: The 1920s and the 1930s - America Goes from Boom … Liberated women of the 1920s (flappers!), Henry Ford, the “Tin Lizzy,” and prosperity characterized the “Jazz Age.” Literary figures such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and the Harlem Renaissance-inspired Langston Hughes all found their uniquely American voices during this period as well.

Unit Ten: …to Bust! The Depression The Great Depression and FDR’s efforts to end the economic catastrophe continue to shape political discourse in the United States.

Unit Eleven: World War II

Victory in Europe and the Pacific

Unit Twelve: Civil Rights and Social Change – the Fierce Urgency of Now. The Civil Rights Movement, the woman’s movement, and the social protest generated on college camps across America during the 1960s (and throughout the Vietnam War Era) energized and revolutionized society during the late 20th Century. But they caused turmoil and conflict as well.

Unit Thirteen: The Cold War, Ideological Struggle, and the Transition in Pursuit of Peace The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union generated a nuclear arms race which brought the world to the brink of global war. Anxiety and concern were constant. But the war never came; and the USSR collapse of old age in the early 1990s.

Unit Fourteen: Globalization and Interdependence Where are we, now? How will our children reinvent America in the 21st Century?

Mr. Henry’s Wikispace Page www.fchs-henry.wikispaces.com During the course of the school year, you can expect to find classwork activities, homework, make-up assignments, review guides, and materials to review in preparation for the Virginia SOL Test. adhenry@vbschools.com (757) 630-0468

Mr. Henry’s US VA History Class, 2013 - 2014