United States History to 1877

USI Overview

Students will use skills of historical and geographical analysis to explore the early history of the United States and understand ideas and events that strengthened the union. The standards for this course relate to the history of the United States from pre-Columbian times until 1877. Students will continue to learn fundamental concepts in civics, economics, and geography as they study United States history in chronological sequence and learn about change and continuity in our history. They also will study documents and speeches that laid the foundation of American ideals and institutions and will examine the everyday life of people at different times in the country's history through the use of primary and secondary sources.

The study of history must emphasize the intellectual skills required for responsible citizenship. Students practice these skills as they extend their understanding of the essential knowledge defined by all of the standards for history and social science.

Skills

USI.1

The student will demonstrate responsible citizenship and develop skills for historical and geographical analysis, including the ability to

  1. a) identify and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of events and life in United States history to 1877;
  2. b) make connections between the past and the present;
  3. c) sequence events in United States history from pre-Columbian times to 1877;
  4. d) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives;
  5. e) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing;
  6. f) analyze and interpret maps to explain relationships among landforms, water features, climatic characteristics, and historical events;
  7. g) distinguish between parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude;
  8. h) interpret patriotic slogans and excerpts from notable speeches and documents;
  9. i) identify the costs and benefits of specific choices made, including the intended and unintended consequences of the choices and how people and nations responded to positive and negative incentives.

Geography

USI.2

The student will use maps, globes, photographs, pictures, or tables to

  1. a) locate the seven continents and five oceans;
  2. b) locate and describe the location of the geographic regions of North America: Coastal Plain, Appalachian Mountains, Canadian Shield, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Basin and Range, and Coastal Range;
  3. c) locate and identify the water features important to the early history of the United States: Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Ohio River, Columbia River, Colorado River, Rio Grande, St. Lawrence River, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico;
  4. d) recognize key geographic features on maps, diagrams, and/or photographs.

Exploration to Revolution: Pre-Columbian Times to the 1770s

USI.3

The student will demonstrate knowledge of how early cultures developed in North America by

  1. a) describing how archaeologists have recovered material evidence of ancient settlements including Cactus Hill;
  2. b) locating where the American Indians lived, with emphasis on Arctic (Inuit), Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plains ((Lakota), Southwest (Pueblo), and Eastern Woodland (Iroquois);
  3. c) describing how the American Indians used the resources in their environment to obtain food, clothing, and shelter.

USI.4

The student will demonstrate knowledge of European exploration in North America and West Africa by

  1. a) describing the motivations, obstacles, and accomplishments of the Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English explorations;
  2. b) describing cultural and economic interactions between Europeans and American Indians that led to cooperation and conflict with emphasis on the American Indian concept of land.;
  3. c) identifying the location and describing the characteristics of West African societies (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai) and their interactions with traders.

USI.5

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the factors that shaped colonial America by

  1. a) describing the religious and economic events and conditions that led to the colonization of America;
  2. b) describing life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies, with emphasis on how people interacted with their environment to produce goods and services, including examples of specialization and interdependence;
  3. c) describing colonial life in America from the perspectives of large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, free African Americans, indentured servants, and enslaved African Americans;
  4. d) identifying the political and economic relationships between the colonies and Great Britain.

Revolution and the New Nation: 1770s to the Early 1800s

USI.6

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and results of the American Revolution by

  1. a) identifying the issues of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution;
  2. b) identifying how political ideas shaped the revolutionary movement in America and led to the Declaration of Independence;
  3. c) describing key events and the roles of key individuals in the American Revolution, with emphasis on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry;
  4. d) explaining reasons why the colonies were able to defeat Britain.

USI.7

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the challenges faced by the new nation by

  1. a) identifying the weaknesses of the government established by the Articles of Confederation;
  2. b) describing the historical developments of the Constitution of the United States;
  3. c) describing the major accomplishments of the first five presidents of the United States.

Expansion and Reform: 1801 to 1861

USI.8

The student will demonstrate knowledge of westward expansion and reform in America from 1801 to 1861 by

  1. a) describing territorial expansion and how it affected the political map of the United States, with emphasis on the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the acquisitions of Florida, Texas, Oregon, and California;
  2. b) identifying the geographic and economic factors that influenced the westward movement of settlers;
  3. c) describing the impact of inventions, including the cotton gin, the reaper, the steamboat, and the steam locomotive, on life in America;
  4. d) identifying the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage movements.

Civil War and Reconstruction: 1860s to 1877

USI.9

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes, major events, and effects of the Civil War by

  1. a) describing the cultural, economic, and constitutional issues that divided the nation;
  2. b) explaining how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased sectional tensions;
  3. c) identifying on a map the states that seceded from the Union and those that remained in the Union;
  4. d) describing the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Frederick Douglass in events leading to and during the war;
  5. e) using maps to explain critical developments in the war, including major battles;
  6. f) describing the effects of war from the perspectives of Union and Confederate soldiers (including black soldiers), women, and enslaved African Americans.

USI.10

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the effects of Reconstruction on American life by

  1. a) analyzing the impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America;
  2. b) describing the impact of Reconstruction policies on the South and North;
  3. c) describing the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Frederick Douglass.

NOTE: The Virginia Board of Education adopted the revised 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning at the January 10, 2008, meeting. Full implementation of these documents is scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year, as outlined in Superintendent’s Memorandum Informational Number 49.

In the revised SOL, United States History I will be taught through 1865 and U.S. History II will encompass 1865 to the present. 

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