This is a survey course of United States history focusing on the period from the Civil War through the present. The United States began as an experiment in freedom and democracy. Since its establishment, the country and its people have endured social, political and economic revolutions. In this course, students will investigate the people, events and ideas that have shaped the United States. Students are asked to analyze and evaluate decisions made by political, business, and military leaders. Emphasis is placed on connections between events of the past and present.
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Describe a location using appropriate geographic terms
- Identify causes and consequences of the Civil War, including economic, social, and political consequences
- Describe issues that divided Republicans during the early Reconstruction era
- Distinguish and analyze the freedoms guaranteed to African Americans in the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution
- Analyze Reconstruction policy on Southern life through primary source material
- Describe efforts by the U.S. government to assimilate Native Americans into American culture and identify settlement patterns in the American West, the reservation system, and the difficulties facing the Native Americans from 1865–1890
- Explain the causes and discuss major events of the second Industrial Revolution in the U.S.
- Analyze the economic challenges to American farmers and farmers' responses to these challenges in the mid to late 1800s.
- Identify the different immigrant groups that arrived in the United States during the Industrial Revolution and explain the reasons why they immigrated to the United States
- Explain the concept of a political machine and identify significant players
- Explain the need for labor unions and assess their success or failure
- Explain how industrialization led to imperialism
- Explain the causes and effects of the Spanish American War.
- Analyze the economic, military, and security motivations of the United States to complete the Panama Canal as well as major obstacles involved in its construction
- Identify and explain the causes of World War I, analyze the effect World War I had on U.S. social, economic, foreign policy, and on the attitudes of the American citizens.
- Identify and state the impact of the new technological developments of weaponry during World War I
- Explain the purpose, benefits, and risks of the League of Nations
- Explain the causes and consequences of the Red Scare
- Identify and evaluate the social, political, and economic incentives for the development of peace and relief efforts after World War
- Recognize the cause-and-effect relationships of economic trends as they relate to society in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s
- Identify and/or evaluate the decisions made by national and state governments related to immigration and other civil
rights issues
- Identify and/or evaluate the impact of business practices, consumer patterns, and government policies of the 1920s and 1930s as they relate to the Great Depression
- identify the impact of business practices, consumer patterns, and government policies of the 1930s as they relate to the New Deal
Course Outline:
Module 1: Reconstruction
Module 2: Industrial Revolution
Module 3: Enter the World Stage
Module 4: Between the Wars
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: None
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system. Total course points may vary per student based on the items students test out of. The total points in the course may vary per student based upon the number of lessons which each individual demonstrates mastery through scores earned on lesson pre-tests. Students will be exempted from the points possible on a lesson quiz associated with successfully passing a related lesson pre-test.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Lightweight devices such as Apple iPads, Google Chromebooks, and tablets have limited support for Java or Flash which still appear in a small percentage of our catalog. While FLVS does not offer technical support for these devices, FLVS is working to remove Flash from their remaining course content. Students will need extra work-around steps or alternate browsers to engage with some portions of those courses. FLVS recommends students have a Windows or Mac based computer available to complete coursework in the event that your selected mobile device does not meet the needs of the course. Fully supported Operating Systems for FLVS courses include Windows (10 or higher) and MacOS (11 or higher). Supported Browsers include the most recent versions of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari on devices that support Java and HTML5. Browsers need to be up to date, and some FLVS courses may require installation or enabling of the following Plug-ins: JavaScript enabled, Cookies enabled, Java installed. https://www.flvs.net/student-parent-resources/more/system-requirements
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: No special skills are required beyond being able to operate a computer and use word processing software.
Additional Information: This course permits students to test out of content and therefore are not NCAA eligible. If you are enrolling a student athlete for Credit Recovery purposes, we recommend our full-length Plus courses.