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 Standard 1:  History of the United States and New York - Commencement

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Students:

• analyze the development of American culture, explaining how ideas, values, beliefs, and traditions have changed over time and how they unite all Americans
• describe the evolution of American democratic values and beliefs as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State Constitution, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents.

• explore the meaning of the United States motto, "E Pluribus Unum," by identifying both those fortes that unite Americans and those that potentially divide Americans. Based on a study of key events in United States history such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, the women's suffrage movement, and the civil rights movement, discuss how at least two core civic ideas, such as individual rights and the consent of the governed, have been forces for national unity in this diverse society
• analyze the decisions leading to major turning points in United States history, comparing alternative courses of action, and hypothesizing, within the context of the historic period, about what might have happened if the decision had been different. Investigate decisions and actions such as:

read Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and discuss how this letter expresses the basic ideas, values, and beliefs found in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Students:

• discuss several schemes for periodizing the history of New York State and the United States
• develop and test hypotheses about important events, eras, or issues in New York State and United States history, setting clear and valid criteria for judging the importance and significance of these events, eras, or issues
• compare and contrast the experiences of different groups in the United States
• examine how the Constitution, United States law, and the rights of citizenship provide a major unifying factor in bringing together Americans from diverse roots and traditions
• analyze the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies
• compare and contrast the value, exhibited and foreign policies implemented by the United States and other nations over time with those expressed in the United Nations Charter and international law.

• discuss several schemes for periodizing the history of the United States; explain the usefulness of each scheme; comment on why another person might want to use other approaches to periodization; make a case for the scheme that seems best
• explain the contributions of specific groups of people to American society and culture; analyze the metaphors of the "melting pot" and the "salad bowl" to explain the experiences of the first immigrant groups (e.g., Dutch, Irish, English, African American, Spanish, German) as compared to those of later groups (e.g., Italian, Greek, Eastern European, Chinese, Latino, Vietnamese) and present an analysis, supported by historical evidence, of alternative metaphors, such as "a tapestry" or a "mosaic"
• examine the effects of immigration on various Native American groups

investigate how the United States' democratic principles have influenced the constitutions and governments of other nations; view this sharing as a two-way exchange, with the United States influencing and being influenced by other nations.

Students:

• compare and contrast the experiences of different ethnic, national, and religious groups, including Native American Indians. In the United States, explaining their contributions to American society and culture
• research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United States history (e.g. colonization and settlement; Revolution and New National Period; immigration; expansion and reform era; Civil War and Reconstruction; The American labor movement; Great Depression; World Wars; contemporary United States)
• prepare essays and oral reports about the important social, political, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural developments, issues, and events from New York State and United States history
• understand the interrelationships between world events and developments in New York State and the United States (e.g., causes for immigration, economic opportunities, human rights abuses, and tyranny versus freedom).

• investigate how Americans have reconciled the inherent tensions and conflicts over minority versus majority rights by researching the abolitionist and reform movements of the nineteenth century, the civil rights and women's rights movements of the twentieth century, or the social protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s
• draw upon literary selections, historical documents, and accounts to analyze the roles played by different individuals and groups during the major eras in New York State and United States history
• compare and analyze the major arguments for and against major political developments in New York State and United States history, such as the ratification of the United States Constitution, Reconstruction, the New Deal, and the Great Society programs of the 1960s

research how leaders, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Theodore Parker, Sojourner Truth, David Walker, and Sarah and Angelina Grimke, fought for the rights of African Americans.

Students:

• analyze historical narratives about key events in New York State and United States history to identify the facts and evaluate the authors' perspectives
• consider different historians' analyses of the same event or development in United States history to understand how different viewpoints and/or frames of reference influence historical interpretations
• evaluate the validity and credibility of historical interpretations of important events or issues in New York State or United States history, revising these interpretations as new information is learned and other interpretations are developed. (Adapted from National Standards for United States History)

• analyze important debates in American history (e.g., ratification of the United States Constitution, abolition of slavery, regulation of big business, restrictions on immigration, the New Deal legislation, women's suffrage, United States involvement in foreign affairs and wars), focusing on the opposing positions and the historical evidence used to support these positions
• prepare extended research papers on an important issue, problem or theme from New York State or United States history, including an analysis of the differing or competing interpretations of the issue or problem

develop hypotheses about important events, eras, or issues; move from chronicling to explaining historical events and issues; use information collected from diverse sources (e.g., diaries, census reports, city directories and maps, newspaper and journal accounts, graphs and charts, cartoons, autobiographies, government documents, and other primary and secondary sources) to produce cogently written reports and document-based essays; apply the skills of historiography by comparing, contrasting, and evaluating the interpretations of different historians of an event, era, or issue.