Howitt Middle School Social Studies Department

American History 7

Course Homepage

Course Description:

The seventh grade social studies course is part of a two-year program. It is based on the social studies standards and is chronologically organized. Topics to be studied include Geography, First Americans, The Age of Exploration, The Thirteen Colonies, The American Revolution, The United States Constitution, The First Presidents, and the Civil War. Along with coverage of these topics there is a focus on research and writing skills. All students will do at least one research paper that includes MLA (Modern Language Association) citations. Document Based questions are integrated into the coursework. Students are required to take a cumulative final exam in June.

Grade Level: 7

1. Geography – Beginning of first quarter

q Five Major Themes of Geography

q How themes of geography help to view the earth as an interrelated system of people and resources

Location – Latitude and Longitude

Place

Interaction between people and their environment

Movement

Regions

http://www.mapquiz.com/index.asp?action=continue (Map Quiz)

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/histus.html (Historical Maps of the U. S.)

2. The First Americans – Middle of first quarter

q Native Americans of Central and South America

Aztecs

Mayas

Incas

q Native Americans of New York State

Iroquois

Algonkians

q The importance of the Iroquois Confederacy, particularly its democratic features

q Geographic locations of the Native Americans of the Americas

http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture.7849 (A Short History of the Iroquois)

http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/iroquois.html (The Iroquois Constitution)

3. The Age of Exploration – Middle of first quarter

q The Crusades, The Renaissance, and the rise of nations helped to bring about the age of exploration

q Spanish exploration including Christopher Columbus

q Explorations of the Portuguese, French English and Dutch

q The devastating effects of new diseases to the Americas

q Spain established a great empire in the Americas

q Events that led the English to establish the thirteen colonies

q The development of the representative assemblies in the colonies

http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/HIST/tutor/eurvoya/index.html (University of Calgary, History Dept.)

http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/ageofexploration/ (Links to Explorers)

http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/alpha.html (Alphabetical List of Explorers)

4. The Thirteen Colonies – End of first quarter

q The survival of the first colonies

q Beginnings of a representative type government

The House of Burgesses

The Mayflower Compact

q Interaction between European settlers and the Native Americans

q The strict rule of the Puritans

q Differences in the lives of people from various regions

New England colonies

Middle colonies

Southern colonies

q The growth of slavery

http://www.jamestowne.org/history0.htm (Jamestown)

http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/mayflow.html (Mayflower Compact)

5. The Road To Revolution – Beginning of second quarter

q The French and Indian War

q England tightened its control of the colonies

Navigation Acts

Pontiac’s War

Grenvill’s Acts

Stamp Act Congress

Twonshend Acts

Boston Massacre

Intolerable Acts

q The thirteen colonies resisted strict control by England

The Boston Tea Party

Sons of Liberty

Committees of Correspondence

Minutemen

First Continental Congress

“Common Sense”

Lexington and Concord

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/game/gameindex.html (Game on the Causes of the Revolution, PBS)

http://www.multied.com/revolt/causes.html (Causes of the Revolution)

http://webpages.homestead.com/revwar/files/TEAPARTY.HTM (Boston Tea Party, plus Links)

6. The American Revolution – Middle of second quarter

q America declared independence

Second Continental Congress

Declaration of Independence

q Battles of the Revolution

Beginning with Bunker Hill and ending with Yorktown

Contributions from foreign countries, with a focus on the role of France

q The Treaty of Paris - 1783

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/ (Liberty, PBS)

http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/declaration.html (The Declaration of Independence)

http://www.esc20.net/etprojects/formats/webquests/fall99/revol/default.html (Revolution Webquest)

http://users.erols.com/candidus/music.htm (Songs and Poetry of the Revolution)

7. Creating a Republic – End of second quarter

q The Articles of Confederation created a weak government

q The Great Compromise settled disputes over representation

q The Constitution was ratified after the Bill of Rights was added

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/articles/index.html (The Articles of Confederation)

http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/confath.html (National Archives…, Founding Fathers)

8. The United States Constitution – Beginning of third quarter

q Federalism provides for a sharing for power between the State and National Governments

q The Federal Government is divided into three separate branches

Executive

Legislative

Judicial

q Checks and balances prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful

q Through the principle of popular sovereignty the people hold the final authority in government

q Changes to the Constitution can be made through the amendment process

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listusconba.html (Filamentality links to current issues on the Bill of Rights)

http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html (The United States Constitution)

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/constit.html (The Constitutional Convention)

9. The First Presidents – Middle of third quarter

q The development of political parties

q Marbury v. Madison establishes the right of judicial review

q The Louisiana Purchase doubles the size of the United States

q Lewis and Clark explore and document the new territory

q The War of 1812 firmly establishes the United States as a strong independent nation in the eyes of other nations

http://kids.infoplease.lycos.com/spot/quiz/presidents1/1.html (Presidents Quiz)

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/alsedact.htm (Alien and Sedition Acts)

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/alsedact.htm (XYZ Affair)

http://www.warof1812.net/ (Primary Sources from the War of 1812)

10. Industry and Growth – End of third quarter

q The agrarian lifestyle of the South in contrast with the effects of industrialization of the Northeast

q Improved transportation

q The impact of the invention of the cotton gin

q Change in the role of women

q Slavery and abolition

http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/industrialrev/ (Links to Topics on the Industrial Revolution)

http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/WestEurope/IndRev.html (Timeline of the Industrial Revolution)

11. Westward Expansion – Beginning of fourth quarter

q People moved westward

q Manifest Destiny

q Acquiring Oregon Country

q Texas Annexation

q War with Mexico

q The improvement of foreign affairs

q The relationship between people and places in regard to territorial expansion of the early 1800’s

http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2929.html (Webquest for the Oregon Trail)

http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/geology/goldrush.html (A Brief History and Timeline of the California Gold Rush)

http://www.mormons.org/daily/history/people/joseph_smith/Martyrdom_Joseph_Hyrum.htm (An Account of the Persecution of the Mormons)

12. Development of Two Ways of Life – Middle of fourth quarter

q Economic differences of the North and South, Industrial and Agricultural

q Political events that led to the division of the North and South

Debate over state’s rights

Missouri Compromise

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Popular Sovereignty

Dred Scott Case

q The impact that led to the division of the North and South

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

“Bleeding” Kansas

q The impact of Slavery and resistance on the division of the North and South

Abolitionists

Underground railroad

John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry

q The importance of Abraham Lincoln on the division of North and South

Lincoln-Douglas debates

Election 1860

Republican Party

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html (John Calhoun on the Tariff)

http://www.allsands.com/Misc3/educationhistor_zlr_gn.htm (Attitudes Toward Education)

http://douglass.speech.nwu.edu/aass_a58.htm (Constitution of the Anti-Slavery Society)

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html (Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address)

13. The Civil War – End of fourth quarter

q The opening of the War – Fort Sumter

q The North’s strategy

March to Richmond

Anaconda Plan

Total War

q The Southern strategy to fight a defensive war

q Battles of the War from Bull Run to Appomattox Courthouse

q The significance of the Battle of Gettysburg

q The Confederacy and its President, Jefferson Davis

q Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation

q The importance of the contributions of African Americans

q Important leaders of the Civil War (North and South)

Robert E. Lee

Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson

George McClellan

Ambrose Burnside

Ulysses S. Grant

q Lincoln is reelected

q The North is victorious

q More than 600,000 Americans lost their lives

q The power of the Federal Government is increased

q Millions of African Americans gain their freedom

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listcivilwaba2.html (Filamentality links to Civil War Battles)

http://www.sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/ (Links to Civil War Resources)

http://pdmusic.org/civilwar.html (Civil War Music)

http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/k12/history/gb/civilhome.html (Links to Civil War Information and Primary sources)