Honors American History

Semester A: American Foundation to the 1920s

American History A Honors helps students learn the story of the founding of North America by Europeans in the 1600s. A prevailing theme of the course is that America accomplished tasks that no other country had undertaken before. America broke away from Europe, established its own country with a Constitution that has given freedom to more people than any other country in the world, and settled a country by putting that Constitution into practice. The course ends with a study of America’s emergence as a world power at the beginning of the 20th Century. Students will encounter primary and secondary source document investigations, biographies of key individuals, political cartoons, map studies, and period literature.

Semester B: Jazz Age to WWII

American History B Honors begins in the 1920s Jazz Age and ends in the 21st Century. Students will examine economic factors that lead to the Great Depression and World War II. The West’s involvement in the Cold War, as well as the fall of the Soviet Union, will be covered in detail. America’s rise as a world power is featured. The final unit of the course includes a study of the environment, modern presidential foreign and domestic policies, and the Middle East. Unit 30 includes a lesson designed to help students prepare for the final exam.