Unit 1: Colonization

Colonial Regions

• New England: No religious freedom; economy based on shipbuilding and trade.
• Middle/Mid-Atlantic: Religious tolerance; diverse economy with trade and farming.
• Southern: Economy based on cash crops like tobacco; use of slavery; less focus on religion.

Mercantilism

• Colonies supply raw materials to England in exchange for finished goods.

Colonial Government

• Ideas of limited government and individual rights from Magna Carta/English Bill of Rights.
• New England: Town meetings for local governance.
• Virginia: House of Burgesses where only white, landowning males could vote.
• Salutary Neglect: Colonists largely left to self-govern.

Road to Revolution

• French & Indian War: High war debt led Britain to impose taxes.
• Proclamation Line of 1763: Restricted colonial expansion past Appalachian Mountains.
• Colonial response included boycotts and events like Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party.

American Revolution

• Common Sense by Thomas Paine urged independence.
• Declaration of Independence influenced by John Locke and written by Thomas Jefferson.

Articles of Confederation & Constitution

1. Articles of Confederation: Weak central government.
   • Strength: Northwest Ordinance.
   • Weaknesses: No executive, judicial branch, or tax power; no national army.
   • Shays’ Rebellion highlighted need for change.
2. Constitution: Replaced Articles.
   • Virginia Plan: Favored large states.
   • New Jersey Plan: Favored small states.
   • Great Compromise: Bicameral legislature.
   • 3/5ths Compromise: Counted enslaved persons for representation.
   • Ratification Debate: Federalists (strong central government) vs. Anti-Federalists (state governments, Bill of Rights).

Political Parties

• Washington: Warned against political parties and foreign involvement.
• Federalists: Led by Hamilton; strong central government.
• Democratic-Republicans: Led by Jefferson; favored state governments.
• Whiskey Rebellion: Demonstrated strength of new Constitution.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Established judicial review; Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional.

Unit 2: Westward Expansion

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

• Acquired from France; doubled U.S. size; explored by Lewis & Clark.

War of 1812

• Causes: Trade restrictions, impressment.
• Effects: Treaty of Ghent, rise of Andrew Jackson.

Monroe Doctrine & Manifest Destiny

• Warned Europe to stay out of the Western Hemisphere; justified westward expansion.

Sectionalism

• Tensions between North (industrial, anti-slavery) and South (agricultural, pro-slavery).
• American System: Promoted economic growth and infrastructure.
• 2nd Great Awakening: Inspired social reforms like abolitionism.

Age of Jackson

• 1824 Election: Controversial; “Corrupt Bargain.”
• Jackson Presidency: Champion of the “common man,” but also enacted Indian Removal Act (Trail of Tears).

Unit 3: Road to the Civil War

Missouri Compromise (1820)

• Missouri as slave state, Maine as free; 36/30 line.

Compromise of 1850

• Included California as a free state; stronger Fugitive Slave Law.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Popular sovereignty led to violence ("Bleeding Kansas").

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

• Slaves deemed property; Missouri Compromise declared unconstitutional.

The Civil War

• Lincoln’s election led to Southern secession.
• Anaconda Plan: Blockade and divide the South.
• Emancipation Proclamation: Freed slaves in rebellious states.
• Key battles: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Appomattox.

Reconstruction

• Civil War Amendments: 13th (abolished slavery), 14th (equal protection), 15th (voting rights).
• Reconstruction Acts: Divided South into military districts.
• Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction.
• Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws: Restricted African-American rights.

Unit 4: Connecting the West

Westward Movement Post-Civil War

• Homestead Act: Offered land for settlement.
• Pacific Railway Act: Facilitated railroad construction.

Indian Wars and Policies

• Conflicts over land; Dawes Act aimed at assimilation.

Big Business

• Gilded Age: Economic growth with underlying corruption.
• Monopolies and influential business figures (JP Morgan, Rockefeller).
• Sherman Anti-Trust Act: Targeted monopolies.

Urbanization/Immigration

• Rapid city growth; political machines like Tammany Hall.

Unit 5: American Imperialism

Imperialism

• Expansion for markets and influence; driven by ideas like Social Darwinism.

Spanish-American War

• Acquired territories like Philippines and Puerto Rico; influenced Cuba.

US Foreign Policy and WWI

• Increased involvement in foreign affairs; entered WWI due to acts like the Zimmerman Telegram.

Unit 6: Roaring 20s & Great Depression

1920s

• Economic boom, cultural shifts (Harlem Renaissance), and social changes (Flappers).

Great Depression

• Stock Market Crash (1929), high unemployment, Dust Bowl.

New Deal

• FDR’s 3 R’s: Relief, Recovery, Reform; included programs like CCC and WPA.

Unit 7: WWII & The Cold War

WWII

• U.S. entered after Pearl Harbor; significant contributions from women and minorities.
• Ended with atomic bombs on Japan.

The Holocaust

• Led to the creation of Israel.

Cold War

• Ideological battle between U.S. and Soviet Union; containment policy.

Civil Rights Movement

• Major legislative victories and social movements led by figures like MLK and Malcolm X.

Vietnam War

• Controversial; significant anti-war sentiment.

Modern America

• Recent administrations dealt with various domestic and foreign policy challenges, including the War on Terror and economic issues.