The United States Through Modern Times - Unit Overviews

Student Edition

unit Forming a New Nation

1

Setting the Stage........................................................2 Lesson 1 Creating the Constitution...........................................4 What compromises emerged from the Constitutional Convention?

Reading Further: James Madison and the Long, Hot Summer of 1787................................ 20

Lesson 2 The Constitution: A More Perfect Union...............................................24 How has the Constitution created “a more perfect Union”?

Investigating Primary Sources: How Did State Constitutions Influence the U.S. Constitution?............. 38

Lesson 3 The Bill of Rights.......................................................42 What freedoms does the Bill of Rights protect and why are they important?

Reading Further: What Is Religious Freedom?........................................................................ 54

Timeline......................................................................58

vii

unit Launching the New Republic

2

Setting the Stage......................................................62 Lesson 4 Political Developments in the Early Republic............................................................64 How did the Federalist and Republican visions for the United States differ?

Investigating Primary Sources: How Did Conflicts Within Washington’s Cabinet Affect American Politics?............................................................................ 80

Lesson 5 Foreign Affairs in the Young Nation........................84 To what extent should the United States have become involved in world affairs in the early 1800s?

Reading Further: Tecumseh, the Shooting Star...................................................................... 98

Lesson 6 A Growing Sense of Nationhood...........................102 What did it mean to be an American in the early 1800s?

Reading Further: A New Literature Celebrates a New Nation...........................................112

Lesson 7 Andrew Jackson and the Growth of American Democracy......................................... 117 How well did President Andrew Jackson promote democracy?

Reading Further: The Trail Where They Cried....................................................................... 128

Timeline....................................................................132

viii

unit An Expanding Nation

3

Setting the Stage....................................................136 Lesson 8 Manifest Destiny and the Growing Nation................................................138 How justifiable was U.S. expansion in the 1800s?

Investigating Primary Sources: What Inspired Americans to Move West?.............................................. 152

Lesson 9 Life in the West........................................................156 What were the motives, hardships, and legacies of the groups that moved west in the 1800s?

Reading Further: Gold Rush Pioneers..................................................................................... 172

Lesson 10 Mexicano Contributions to the Southwest......................................................... 176 How have Mexicano contributions influenced life in the United States?

Reading Further: Mexicano Culture Today............................................................................ 188

Timeline....................................................................192

ix

unit Americans in the Mid-1800s

4

Setting the Stage....................................................196 Lesson 11 An Era of Reform.....................................................198 To what extent did the reform movements of the mid-1800s improve life for Americans?

Investigating Primary Sources: What Were the Priorities for Education in the 19th Century?............. 210

Lesson 12 The Worlds of North and South............................ 214 How was life in the North different from life in the South?

Reading Further: The Mill Girls of Lowell.............................................................................. 230

Lesson 13 African Americans in the Mid-1800s......................234 How did African Americans face slavery and discrimination in the mid-1800s?

Reading Further: Harriet Tubman, Moses of the Underground Railroad.......................... 250

Timeline....................................................................254

x

unit The Union Challenged

5

Setting the Stage....................................................258 Lesson 14 A Dividing Nation....................................................260 Which events of the mid-1800s kept the nation together and which events pulled it apart?

Investigating Primary Sources: How Did Slavery Create Tension Among the States Prior to the Civil War?............................................................. 278

Lesson 15 The Civil War............................................................282 What factors and events influenced the outcome of the Civil War? Reading Further: Divided House, Divided Families.............................................................. 300

Lesson 16 The Reconstruction Era..........................................304 To what extent did Reconstruction bring African Americans closer to full citizenship?

Reading Further: The Long Road to Equal Rights.................................................................. 324

Timeline....................................................................322

xi

unit Migration and Industry

6

Setting the Stage....................................................326 Lesson 17 Tensions in the West...............................................328 How did settlers change the West and affect American Indians?

Reading Further: Black Exodus................................................................................................ 344

Lesson 18 The Rise of Industry................................................348 Did the benefits of industrialization outweigh the costs?

Investigating Primary Sources: What Was Thomas Edison's Impact on Industrial America?............................................................................... 366

Lesson 19 The Great Wave of Immigration............................370 What was life like for immigrants in the early 1900s?

Reading Further: Young Immigrants Today............................................................................ 384

Timeline....................................................................388

xii

unit A Modern Nation Emerges

7

Setting the Stage....................................................392 Lesson 20 The Progressive Era................................................394 Did the progressives improve life in the United States?

Reading Further: Children at Work.......................................................................................... 408

Lesson 21 The United States Becomes a World Power......................................................... 412 Should U.S. actions in world affairs around the turn of the 20th century be praised or condemned?

Investigating Primary Sources: How Did the Yellow Press Shape Journalism in the Late 1800s?........................................................................................ 432

Lesson 22 The Roaring Twenties.............................................436 What trends and innovations shaped American culture during the 1920s?

Reading Further: Generations Clash over the New Youth Culture.................................... 448

Lesson 23 The Great Depression.............................................450 How did the Great Depression affect the United States?

Reading Further: Government and the Economy: Making Economic Choices................ 464

Timeline....................................................................468

xiii

unit World War II and The Cold War

8

Setting the Stage....................................................472 Lesson 24 World War II............................................................. 474 What were the causes and consequences of World War II? Reading Further: The United States on the World Stage: Conflict and Cooperation........................................................................... 486

Lesson 25 The War Effort at Home..........................................492 How did World War II change the United States?

Reading Further: Continuing the Fight for Equality at Home.............................................. 504

Lesson 26 The 1950s: Life After the War.................................506 Why are the 1950s remembered as an age of affluence?

Reading Further: Rock and Roll Fever..................................................................................... 522

Lesson 27 The Cold War...........................................................524 How did the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union shape the world in the decades after World War II? Reading Further: Responding to the “Red Menace”: U.S.-Soviet Competition During the Cold War....................................... 540

Lesson 28 The Vietnam War....................................................544 What made the Vietnam War difficult to win?

Investigating Primary Sources: What Lessons Emerged from the Vietnam War?................................... 556

Timeline....................................................................560

xiv

unit Moving Toward Today

9

Setting the Stage....................................................564 Lesson 29 The Civil Rights Movement....................................566 How did civil rights activists improve life for African Americans?

Reading Further: “The Indian Problem”: The American Indian Quest for Civil Rights...................................................................... 582

Lesson 30 The 1970s: A Period of Crisis and Change............588 How should historians characterize the 1970s?

Investigating Primary Sources: What Is Watergate’s Most Important Legacy?...................................... 604

Lesson 31 American Life in the 1980s.....................................608 How did the Reagan Revolution impact the nation?

Reading Further: The Fight for Women’s Rights................................................................... 620

Lesson 32 U.S. Domestic Politics at the Turn of the 21st Century..................................................622 How have recent presidents tried to fulfill their domestic policy goals?

Reading Further: The Role of Social Media in Politics....................................................... 642

Lesson 33 U.S. Foreign Policy in a Global Age...................... 644 How well have U.S. foreign policy decisions met the challenges of the global age?

Reading Further: The United States in a Global Economy.................................................. 662

Timeline....................................................................666 Resources.................................................................668 xv