The United States in World Affairs from the 1850s through World War I:  a case study in the growth of American overseas power and its increasing role in world affairs during this period:  from the Treaty of Kanagawa to the building of the Panama Canal

Progressivism:  (1901-1921):  the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson (domestic policies only); how the philosophy of Progressivism pervaded government and its decisions, its effects on common American citizens, the growth of government, legislation, and the legacy of this era.

October

The US in World War I:  this includes an extensive background in the European war prior to American entry, as well as the role of America in the war, both abroad and at home, and a close examination of the Treaty of Versailles that ended the conflict, the philosophy and practice of Wilson, and the aftermath of the war.

November

The “Roaring ‘20s” with special emphasis on the urban-rural issue of the decade as both parts of the US were approximately equal in population.  Topics include the corrupt Harding administration, the urban/rural election of 1928, the impact of Prohibition, technical advances of the decade.  The unit ends with the events surrounding the Great Crash and coming of the Great Depression, including competing economic philosophies of the causes/consequences of business collapses.
Begin:  the Great Depression and the New Deal:  the Depression during the administration of Hoover, the Election of 1932, and the New Deal.

Continue/finish the New Deal, if necessary
Background to World War II:  this includes the rise of Fascism in Europe and Asia and the isolationist American reaction to it; the early war in Europe (prior to American entry) and early American help to Europe.  The unit ends on the eve of American entry into World War II.

January

World War II:  concentrating on America in the war, but in the context of the war in general.  Students will need to understand the part the Soviet Union played in their war with Germany.  There is also a lot of emphasis on the American homefront during the war.  Students do a short project on the facts and morality surrounding the use of atomic weapons at the end of the war.

February

Post-War America:  domestic prosperity and the coming of the Cold War.  1)  A balanced discussion of the causes of the Cold War, showing culpability of both the Soviets and the Americans.  Also some brief exposure to various historic interpretations of the events.  The Presidency of   2)  The vast changes in America following WW II.  3)  the “uses” of the Cold War, both in international policy and domestic politics.
The Korean War:  a brief unit, using maps, of the causes and consequences of our limited war in Korea.

March

The Administrations of Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson (domestic policy:  domestic and foreign policy of these three presidents, with emphasis on their role/interpretation of the Cold War.

April

African-American history and women’s history, the end of the Civil War through the 1970s:  a study of the evolution of thinking and subsequent rights for these two disadvantaged groups.  NOTE:  Illinois law requires that these be taught as separate units.

The Vietnam War:  a history of the events of the war from the end of World War II to the withdrawal of troops in 1973 and the take-over of the South by the North in 1975.  This is a highly critical view of America’s involvement, taught as a cautionary tale and the flaws of democracy and importance of grass-roots activism by Americans.