Week 1
Lesson 1
Welcome Back; Intro to modern ideas about the role of government in the economy
Overview of the big theme, and a look at quotes from modern presidents about the role the government should play in the economy
Lesson 2
Slavery and the Economy: what does the government have the right to do?
Overview of the role of the cotton economy in the US before 1850, and the reasoning John C. Calhoun used to explain why enslavement was a "positive good" that the government should not interfere with. 
 Week 2
Lesson 3
The Market Revolution and the women of the Lowell Mills
Overview of the market revolution, and how the Lowell Mills girls felt that the state government should get involved in regulating their work environment
Lesson 4
The Freedmans Bureau and the role of the government in a post-war economy
Discussion of the successes and failures of the Freedmans Bureau
 Week 3
Lesson 5
The Progressive Era: how modern media shaped ideas about government
Background on the social and economic issues at the turn of the 20th century and how newly emerging media shaped people's ideas about what role the government should have in dealing with the problems.
Lesson 6
Government and the Great Depression
Discussion of the causes of the Great Depression, and an examination of FDR's 1932 nomination acceptance speech as an example of what he believed the role of the government in the economy should be. Will also include a look at some of the most famous "alphabet soup" agencies.
 Week 4
Lesson 7
Lyndon Johnson and the War on Poverty
What led Lyndon Johnson to declare a "war on poverty?" What were the provisions of that program, and how did Johnson shape the role of the US government to match the goals of the "war?"
Lesson 8
Reaganomics: reducing the role of the government in the economy
Overview of the period leading up to Reagan's election, and the forces that shaped his ideology about the intersection of the government and the economy. Includes discussion of Reagan's 1981 address to the nation on the economy.
 Week 5
Lesson 9
Unions, The Economy, and the Government
Overview of this history of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, and a discussion of his speech in the early 80s about why the government should guarantee the rights of unions.
Lesson 10
The Modern Supreme Court and Government Regulation
Investigation of recent supreme court decisions regarding the power the federal government has to regulate industry, focusing on the Environmental Protection Agency.
 Week 6
Lesson 11
Intro to the Second Theme: Immigrants & Immigration
Modern immigration issues, focusing on DACA and the Dreamers; discussion of a modern essay on immigration, by an immigrant.
Lesson 12
The First Europeans in North America: why did they come? 
Analysis of the different reasons that Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English immigrants came to North America, and the impact they had on the areas in which they established colonies.
 Week 7
Lesson 13
Forced Movement of Enslaved Africans
Overview of the forced movement of enslaved Africans, and the culture, language, and music they brought with them. Includes a focus on the evolution of the banjo, and on how modern Black musicians are reclaiming its use.
Lesson 14
Irish Need Not Apply: immigrants and US cities before the Civil War
Background on the potato famine, and analysis of primary source letters from recently arrived immigrants back home. Includes a look at the growth of anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment before the Civil War.
 Week 8
Lesson 15
Chinese Immigrants, the Railroad, and Exclusion
What brought on the massive immigration of Chinese men in the 1800s? What role did they take on upon arrival? How were they treated and what were their lives like? Includes investigation of recent archeological evidence in the western US.
Lesson 16
Eastern and Southern European Immigrants around 1900
What forces pushed European immigrants to risk everything to come to the US? We will look at the history of Ellis Island, and the role that European immigrants had in impacting US unionization, and cities.
 Week 9
Lesson 17
The Mexican Revolution and Immigration to the US
Between 1900 and 1920 the number of immigrants moving north from Mexico to the US skyrocketed, as peasants tried to escape the violence of the revolution. Once in the US, Mexican immigrants played a major role in the US military and the US economy though they experienced a range of levels of acceptance.
Lesson 18
Japanese Immigrants and Internment
An overview of the movement of Japanese immigrants to North America. They first came to Hawaii, but eventually gravitated to the west coast where they established places of business and education, and worked to hold onto their culture. And then World War II came to the US.
 Week 10
Lesson 19
The 1965 Immigration Act and Modern Immigration Statistics
How did immigration to the US change after 1965? What impact do immigrants have on the modern US? How does an immigrant become a citizen? 
Lesson 20
Intro to The Third Theme: Social and Political Change
Overview of the big question, and a look at how opposing modern movements use social media to recruit members and shape the country into what they want it to be.
 Week 11
Lesson 21
The First Push For Change: The Declaration of Independence
Overview of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and how Thomas Paine and "Common Sense" shaped the colonists' response.
Lesson 22
The Diligent Work of the Enslaved
Enslaved people worked tirelessly for hundreds of years to bring end their bondage. Some of their work was very overt, some was far less obvious. 
 Week 12
Lesson 23
Shaping America By Influencing History: The UDC
The United Daughters of the Confederacy were part of a larger movement to shape American memory of the Civil War. Their work included erecting statues, funding education, and influencing textbooks. 
Lesson 24
The Temperence Movement and Carrie Nation
The temperence movement was as much about women having control over their future as it was about stopping the consumption of alcohol. Women used many methods (including Carrie Nation's hatchet) to shape the nation into what they thought families needed to thrive. Includes a look at the history of alcohol consumption in the US.
 Week 13
Lesson 25
Woody Guthrie, The Dustbowl, and the Great Depression
Woody Guthrie used music to bring awareness to the plight of Americans that he felt had been forgotten by the government.  We will look at the conditions that caused the Great Dustbowl, and how it was one more blow to the US during the 1930s.
Lesson 26
Black Americans, the March on Washington Movement, and the Double V Campaign
Black Americans hoped that their support of the US during World War II would bring better treatment after the war. Not only did Black Americans fight overseas, but at home they pushed for the integration of the defense industry, and carried out what became known as the Double V Campaign. 
 Week 14
Lesson 27
Chicano Civil Rights: The Los Angeles Walkouts
Inspired by other civil rights movements across the country, Chicano high school students in Los Angeles staged mass walkouts to protest their shoddy conditions in their schools and lack of opportunities post-graduation. 
Lesson 28
Competing Visions: The ERA and the Moral Majority
In the 1970s, some women pushed for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, hoping that it would bring to fruition their ideal America. At the same time, a growing conservative backlash led by Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority, worked to stop ratification and redefine what womanhood in America meant.
 Week 15
Lesson 29
Learning and Using Historical Analysis Skills
Group reflection and analysis utilizing the three big themes from the semester.
Lesson 30
Drawing Conclusions and Project Presentations
Completion of group analysis and project presentations for those who want to present.