Course Description Handbook 2014-2015 Rev.2 | Page 53

United States History This course examines the major turning points in American history beginning with the events leading up to the American Revolution, the origins of our constitution, reform movements, Manifest Destiny, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the impact of the frontier, the changing nature of business and government, World War I, and the Great Depression. Contemporary world issues such as globalization, economic interdependence, terrorism and world cultures will also factor into our analysis of international conflict and cooperation. World History The major emphasis of world history is on the study of significant people, events, and issues from the earliest times to the present. Students will examine historical points of reference, evaluate the causes and effects of economic imperialism, the historic origins of contemporary economic systems, trace the historical development of law, and analyze the impact of major religious and philosophical traditions. Students will analyze the connections between major developments in science and technology and the growth of industrial economies. As well as a semester on world geography that will analyze the relationships between people, places, and environments. Students use problem-solving and decision-making skills to ask and answer geographic questions as well as to determine the geographic factors which have influenced past and present events. A significant portion of the course will center around physical processes, places, and regions, the environment, the political, economic and social processes that shape cultural patterns, human systems such as population distribution and urbanization patterns, and the economic conditions which have led to and reinforced the developed and developing world. 53 Table of Contents