# IB History of the Americas

Comprehensive Course Syllabus
Chapter 1: The Colonial Period
* political and economic relationship with the colonial powers: Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands
* social and economic organization of the immigrant population
* role of religion in the New World
* treatment of indigenous peoples
* the origins of slavery
Chapter 2: Movements of Independence
* causes—political, economic, social, intellectual, religious—and conflicts leading to war
* role of outside powers
* roles of the social classes
* role of leadership: Washington, Jefferson, Bolívar, San Martín
* the Declaration of Independence
* independence of Brazil
* Haitian Revolution and the Republic: Toussaint L’Ouverture
Chapter 3: Evolution of New Governments and Confederation
* United States Constitution: Articles of Confederation, philosophical underpinnings, major compromises
* emergence of political parties in USA to 1830
* role of the executive and the emergence and rule of Caudillos
* regionalism and definitions of authority
* rebellions of 1837: the Durham Report and responsible government in Canada
* Confederation Period in Canada
* British North America Act 1867: compromises and unresolved issues, sectionalism, and effects
Chapter 4: Slavery in the Americas
* conditions of enslavement: adaptation and resistance
* the pro-slavery arguments
* insurrections and reactions
* life of the free African–Americans
* pro-abolition arguments
Chapter 5: United States Civil War: Causes, Course and Effects
* political, economic and social causes
* the course of the war, the role of African–American soldiers, the role of women
* the impact of the war on society
* Abraham Lincoln and the role of leadership
* political, economic and cultural effects
* Reconstruction and the post-Reconstruction South
Chapter 6: Economic and Social Developments in the Americas from the mid-19th Century to 1919
* economic modernization: policies, characteristics and effects
* neocolonialism and dependency
* industrial developments and their impact on the Americas
* territorial expansion and evolution of the railroads
* labour and agrarian movements
* external and internal population movements: immigrants and indigenous peoples, economic and social effects
* women and reform
Chapter 7: Political Developments in the Americas from the mid-19th Century to 1919
* evolution of political institutions and ideological currents and movements
* progressives
* foreign and trade relations: Britain and France
* domestic policies
* involvement in the First World War
* African–Americans: Booker T Washington and WEB Dubois
* role of leadership: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John A MacDonald, or a Latin American leader of the candidate’s choice
Chapter 8: Cultural and Intellectual Developments in the Americas from the mid-19th Century to the First World War
* liberalism, nationalism, positivism, romanticism, social Darwinism
* the arts, music and literature
* reform and increase of education
* technological and scientific developments
Chapter 9: United States Foreign Policy in Latin America, 1898 to 1945
* background of United States policy
* the Monroe Doctrine and its redefinitions
* establishment of spheres of influence, Spanish–American War, the big stick, dollar diplomacy
* Good Neighbor Policy and wartime alliances, Franklin D Roosevelt
* Central America, including Panama, Nicaragua and Cuba
Chapter 10: The Mexican Revolution, 1910 to 1940
* causes and course of the revolution
* aims and roles of the leaders, including Zapata and Pancho Villa
* the Constitution of 1917
* effects: immediate and long term; political, social, economic and cultural
* role of the USA
Chapter 11: The Great Depression in the Americas
* impact of the First World War in the Americas
* economic growth in the 1920s
* causes of the Depression: United States, Canada, and Latin America
* impact on society: the changing view of government’s role in the economy; effects on minorities
* nature and efficacy of solutions: Canada: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett; Latin America: Vargas of Brazil and Concordancia of Argentina; USA: Hoover, Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal
* Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) in Latin America: causes and effects
Chapter 12: Canadian Politics in the First Half of the 20th Century
* French–Canadian nationalism
* impact of the world wars: conscription, nationalism, sovereignty
* regionalism and minorities
* relations with the United States and Britain
* the Commonwealth of Nations
Chapter 13: Latin American Politics in the First Half of the 20th Century
* evolution of nationalism, indigenism, and populism
* role of the military
* leaders, single-party states and populism: Vargas, Perón
* nature and effectiveness of dissent
Chapter 14: The Second World War and the Americas
* hemispheric cooperation or neutrality
* the role of countries of the region: diplomatic and military
* the impact of the war on countries of the region
* the home front: the role of women, impact on minorities
* treatment of Japanese–Americans and Japanese–Canadians
* the Americas and the Holocaust
* the beginning of the atomic age
Chapter 15: Latin American Foreign policy, 1945 to 1995; Canadian Foreign policy, 1945 to 1995
* relations between the United States and Latin America: influence of ideologies and policies
* relations between the United States and Canada: ideologies and policies
* the impact of the Cold War in Latin America
* the impact of the Cold War in Canada
* foreign relations
Chapter 16: Political and Economic Developments in the United States After the Second World War
* developments in the role of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
* presidential leadership: Truman to Bush
* efforts at political and social reform
* the impact of Vietnam and Watergate
* economic trends
* the new conservatism
Chapter 17: United States Foreign Policy, 1945 to 1995
* origins of the Cold War: Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Blockade and Airlift
* NATO and the Korean War
* Eisenhower and Dulles
* Kennedy: Bay of Pigs, Berlin, Cuban Missile Crisis
* Johnson, Nixon and Vietnam
* Nixon–Kissinger policies, détente, relations with China
* the USA and the Middle East
* Reagan, Bush and the end of the Cold War
Chapter 18: The USA Civil Rights Movement, 1945 to 1995
* the rise and expansion of the civil rights movement: causes, legal issues, tactics, Martin Luther King Jr, the March on Washington
* the changing movement: the Black Panthers, Black Muslims, Black Power and Malcolm X
* Native-Americans civil rights movement
* Hispanic–American activism
* the New Feminism
* supreme court decisions, key congressional legislation, the response of the executive branch
Chapter 19: Political and Economic developments in Latin America After the Second World War
* revolutions and their causes and effects: political, economic, social and ideological
* role of leadership
* the Cuban Revolution and Castro’s regime
* economic changes
* Guatemala, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Chile or a country of the candidate’s choice
* military regimes: causes and effects
* return to democracy
* the role of the Catholic church
Chapter 20: Political and Economic Developments in Canada after the Second World War
* the role of the government
* domestic policies
* resources and obstacles
* urbanization, industrialization and sectionalism
* changing trade patterns, the role of foreign investment and transnationals, place in the world economy
* population growth, social legislation, education
Chapter 21: Changing Societies in the Americas in the 20th Century
* rise to consciousness: native peoples, Québecois, minorities (ethnic, religious)
* legal and constitutional remedies and effects
* changing roles and conditions of women in different regions of the Americas
* cultural developments: intellectual currents, literature, art, music
* technology, communications, science and industry, impact on public and private life
Chapter 22: Hemispheric Relations, 1945 to 1995
* international alliances and organizations, including the Organization of American States (OAS)
* international development strategies: public and private
* efforts at regional trade and commodity agreements, Pacto Andino, NAFTA, Mercosur
* sources of tension, interventionism
Appendix 1: Bibliography

## Additional Wikibooks

* US History