US History to 1877 for Ages 12 to 14 Course

What you will learn in 4 lessons

1. 1

   Colonial America

   Start here

   The learner explains how Native nations, European empires and African captives shaped colonial North America, compares the economies, societies and governments of the New England, Middle and Southern colonies, and analyses how slavery and self-government both took root.

   6 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain how Native nations and rival European empires shaped North America
   2. 2.Explain how the English colonies were founded and why the three regions developed differently
   3. 3.Explain how wars and alliances with Native nations shaped colonial North America
   4. 4.Analyze how slavery took root and grew in the English colonies
   5. 5.Explain how mercantilism and Atlantic trade tied the colonies to Britain and the wider world
   6. 6.Analyze how self-government and new religious and intellectual movements grew in the colonies
2. 2

   American Revolution

   The learner explains how the Seven Years' War led to an imperial crisis, how colonial resistance became a war for independence, what the Declaration of Independence claimed, and how and at what cost the United States won.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain how the Seven Years' War led to an imperial crisis
   2. 2.Trace how protest turned into armed rebellion, 1767–1775
   3. 3.Explain the ideas behind independence and what the Declaration claimed
   4. 4.Explain how the United States won the War of Independence
   5. 5.Explain who took part in the Revolution and how far it extended liberty
3. 3

   Constitutional Convention

   The learner explains the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, analyses the debates and compromises of the Constitutional Convention, and compares Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments in the ratification struggle that produced the Bill of Rights.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain why the Articles of Confederation were replaced
   2. 2.Analyze the debates and compromises of the Constitutional Convention
   3. 3.Outline the plan of government in the Constitution
   4. 4.Compare Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments and explain ratification
   5. 5.Explain how the Bill of Rights was added and what it protects
4. 4

   Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny

   The learner explains how the idea of Manifest Destiny, settlers and wars pushed the United States to the Pacific, and evaluates the consequences for Native nations, Mexico and the balance between free and slave states.

   6 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain Manifest Destiny and why Americans moved west
   2. 2.Follow the settlers along the western trails
   3. 3.Explain how Texas broke from Mexico and joined the United States
   4. 4.Explain how diplomacy and war set the nation's borders, 1846–1853
   5. 5.Evaluate how expansion changed the West and its peoples
   6. 6.Connect expansion to the slavery question and judge its results