For example, a student who examines the Reagan Revolution determines the focus and issues brought to the national agenda by Reagan and applies the creative tools of an historian, including judgment and ethical values to the significance of the era. This student will have to understand the grass-roots nature of populist presidents and the nature of reform social Darwinism as applied at the turn of the century in order to understand the impact of the Reagan legacy. One of the major purposes of the discipline of history is to maintain ethical societal values. A student studying World War II has to understand not only the decision of Hitler to cause the Holocaust but must also understand the United States's failure to do anything about it in a timely fashion. History enables a society to chart the course of human affairs, to satisfy its psychological curiosity, to measure order and predictability, to examine cause and effect to study and create the identity of a people to calculate the anticipated consequences of our own acts, to understand what and why, and most important to understand the significance of society.
History can liberate or it can oppress.
The student will be able to understand various personalities and public policies that shape contemporary American society. Emphasis includes a culturally pluralistic approach. The student will develop a national memory that enables the student to intelligently realize citizenship responsibilities. The semester exams will be combined multiple-choice with short answer essay questions. The final will be multiple-choice.