Native Americans: The physical environment and natural resources of North America influenced the development of the first human settlements and the culture of Native Americans. Native American societies varied across North America. The unit may utilize local history. The unit will take approximately 3-4 weeks to complete.
Students will analyze how the American colonies were established for a variety of reasons and developed differently based on economic, social, religious and geographic factors. They will compare and contrast the social, economic, and scientific improvements that helped European nations launch an Age of Exploration. Students will investigate the varied relationships and interactions Europeans had with Native American societies they encountered and the losses Native American societies suffered, and begin to investigate slavery over the 17th and 18th centuries and its growth among the colonies.
Social, political, and economic inequalities sparked various reform movements and resistance efforts. Influenced by the Second Great Awakening, New York State played a key role in major reform efforts. In this unit, students will define and explore the Second Great Awakening and the strong presence of reform movements during this time, with an emphasis on the abolitionist movement which worked to raise awareness of and generate resistance to the institution of slavery. Students will also investigate the presence of women in these movements as they fought for more rights.
Growing tensions over political power and economic issues sparked a movement for independence from Great Britain. New York played a critical role in the course and outcome of the American Revolution. In this unit students will study how conflicts between France and Great Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries in North America altered the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain. Students will investigate how American colonial leaders outlined their grievances against British policies and actions in the Declaration of Independence. In addition, students will examine how the outcome of the American Revolution was influenced by military strategies, geographic considerations, the involvement of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other Native American groups in the war.
The newly independent states faced political and economic struggles under the Articles of Confederation. These challenges resulted in a Constitutional Convention, a debate over ratification, and the eventual adoption of the Bill of Rights. In this unit, students will study how colonies struggling to address their differing social, political, and economic interests and to establish unity led to the writing of the Articles of Confederation and eventually the Constitution, which established a democratic republic with a strong central government. Students will investigate the people’s division on issues such as states rights, role/limits of federal power, and guarantees of individual freedoms.
The United States Constitution serves as the foundation of the United States government and outlines the rights of citizens.The Constitution is considered a living document that can respond to political and social changes. The New York State Constitution also has been changed over time. In this unit, students will study how the Constitution outlined a federalist system of government and also established three branches of government as well as a system of checks and balances. Students will also explore how the New York State Constitution changed over time and the foreign and domestic disputes tested the strength of the Constitution.
Driven by political and economic motives, the United States expanded its physical boundaries to the Pacific Ocean between 1800 and 1860. This settlement displaced Native Americans as the frontier was pushed westward. In this unit, students will study how Native Americans lost land and were forced to move and will also explore the physical westward expansion of the United States and the extensive outcomes, opportunities and negative effects that came from this time period.
Students will study westward expansion and how the industrialization of the North, and the increase of slavery in the South contributed to the growth of sectionalism. Students will investigate Constitutional conflicts between advocates of states’ rights and supporters of federal power and how this increased tensions in the nation. In addition, students will explore how attempts to compromise ultimately failed to keep the nation together, leading to the Civil War and the outcome and lasting effects of this historic battle.
