In this course, which is the second part of a two-year study of U.S. history that begins in Grade 8, students study the history of the United States since Reconstruction to the present. Historical content focuses on the political, economic, and social events and issues related to industrialization and urbanization, major wars, domestic and foreign policies of the Cold War and post-Cold War eras, and reform movements including civil rights. Students examine the impact of geographic factors on major events and analyze causes and effects of the Great Depression. Students examine the impact of constitutional issues on American society, evaluate the dynamic relationship of the three branches of the federal government, and analyze efforts to expand the democratic process. Students describe the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created.
Students analyze the impact of technological innovations on the American labor movement.
Students use critical-thinking skills, including explaining and applying different methods, that historians use to interpret the past, including points of view and historical context. Selections may include a biography of Dwight Eisenhower, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, and Martin Luther King's letter from the Birmingham City Jail. Motivating resources are also available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes with the history and geography strands establishing a sense of time and a sense of place. A greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking skills are taught together.