Table of Contents
Introduction: How to Use the Alexandria Plan vii
Text Studies
Era 1 Across Beringia: Original People of North America (ca. 20,000 bce to ca. 1600 ce) 1
Text Study: Native Homes by Bobbie Kalman
Era 2 Driven to Discover: Europeans Establish the New World (Late 1400s to Late 1600s) 7
Text Study: Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by Peter Sis
Era 3 Uniquely American: The Beginnings of a New Nationality (1607 to Late 1600s) 15
Text Study: The First Thanksgiving by Linda Hayward
Era 4 Taxation without Representation: Tension Mounts (ca. 1660 to 1763) 21
Text Study: If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern
Era 5 Independence: America Gains Its Freedom (1763 to 1783) 27
Text Study: A Picture Book of Paul Revere by David A. Adler
Era 6 We the People: Building an American Republic (1776 to 1789) 33
Text Study: D Is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet by Elissa Grodin
Era 7 Democracy Made Real: America Passes the Torch (1789 to 1800) 39
Text Study: George Washington: Soldier, Hero, President by Justine and Ron Fontes
Era 8 Going West: Opportunity and Peril on America’s Frontier (1800 to 1830s) 47
Text Study: How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer
Era 9 Freedom for All: American Democracy Begins to Transform (1820s to 1840s) 57
Text Study: The Listeners by Gloria Whelan
Text Study: The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully
Era 10 A House Divided: North versus South (1820 to 1859) 67
Text Study: “When I Reach the Promised Land . . .” by Susan Buckley, pages 11–13, Appleseeds, March 2004
Text Study: Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
Era 11 Blue versus Gray: Civil War and Reconstruction (1860 to 1877) 75
Text Study: Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend by Justine and Ron Fontes
Era 12 Resistance and Recovery: Rebuilding a War-Torn Nation (1870s to 1890s) 83
Text Study: Journey of a Pioneer by Patricia J. Murphy
Era 13 The Next Benchmark: America Is a Global Leader (1890s to 1920) 89
Text Study: A Weed Is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki
Era 14 The Great War: Rallying American Patriotism (1914 to 1929) 95
Text Study: Bessie Smith and the Night Riders by Sue Stauffacher
Era 15 Prosperity Has Its Price: Economic Collapse and World War II (1929 to 1945) 103
Text Study: Finding Daddy: A Story of the Great Depression by Jo and Josephine Harper
Era 16 The New American Dream: Freedom from Tyranny (1946 to Late 1950s) 111
Text Study: Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot: A True Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy That Dropped from the Sky by Margot Theis Raven
Era 17 Communism and Counterculture: The Challenges of the ’50s and ’60s
(1950s to Late 1960s) 117
Text Study: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington by Frances E. Ruffin
Era 18 Modern Times: Presidential Scandals, Conservatism, and Unrest
(1968 to Present) 125
Text Study: America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven
Era Summaries 131
Era 1 Across Beringia: Original People of North America (ca. 20,000 bce to ca. 1600 ce) 133
Indigenous Peoples Arrive • Distribution, Diversity, and Cultural Regions • Native American Civilization in North America and Beyond • The Effects of European Contact in the Americas
Era 2 Driven to Discover: Europeans Establish the New World (Late 1400s to Late 1600s) 135
Europe Discovers the Americas • European Rivals in the Americas • Aims of British Settlement Differ by Region • The Colonists Encounter the Native North Americans
Era 3 Uniquely American: The Beginnings of a New Nationality (1607 to Late 1600s) 139
The Early Colonies: Regional Differences Abound • Religious Tension and Tolerance • The Rise, Entrenchment, and Regional Patterns of Slavery • The Rise of Representative Government and Popular Power in the Colonies
Era 4 Taxation without Representation: Tension Mounts (ca. 1660 to 1763) 142
Britain Expands Its Rule over America • The Colonies Become More Modern, British, and Like One Another • The Colonies’ Role in the Empire Grows and Becomes More Complex
Era 5 Independence: America Gains Its Freedom (1763 to 1783) 145
The French and Indian War Prods Britain to Seek Revenue from the Colonies • The Colonies Reject British Taxation and Respond to the Stamp Act • Crisis Builds toward Revolution • The Revolutionary War: America Stands Up for Freedom, Britain for Its Empire
Era 6 We the People: Building an American Republic (1776 to 1789) 149
Democratic Experiments: The Articles of Confederation and the State Constitutions • The Constitutional Convention of 1787 • The Battle for Ratification and the Call for a Bill of Rights
Era 7 Democracy Made Real: America Passes the Torch (1789 to 1800) 153
Creating the National Government • The First Party Schism • The New Nation’s Parties and Politics • The Revolution of 1800
Era 8 Going West: Opportunity and Peril on America’s Frontier (1800 to 1830s) 157
A Young and Fast-Expanding Nation • America Defies the European Powers • The Economy Transforms as Commerce Expands
Era 9 Freedom for All: American Democracy Begins to Transform (1820s to 1840s) 161
The New Party Schism and the Jacksonian Era • A More Perfect Society: Social Change and the Reform Movements • After Its Post-Revolution Decline, Slavery Gains Strength
Era 10 A House Divided: North versus South (1820 to 1859) 164
A Line in the Sand: Slavery in the Territories • The Sectional Divide Grows • The Divide Begins to Rend the Country
Era 11 Blue versus Gray: Civil War and Reconstruction (1860 to 1877) 168
Secessionists and Unionists • The War for the Union: 1861–1862 • The War against Slavery: 1863–1865 • The Rise and Fall of Reconstruction
Era 12 Resistance and Recovery: Rebuilding a War-Torn Nation (1870s to 1890s) 174
Industrialization, Immigration, and Expansion • The Strains of the Gilded Age • The New South and the Rise of Jim Crow
Era 13 The Next Benchmark: America Is a Global Leader (1890s to 1920) 178
The United States Looks Overseas • Social Strain at Home and the Progressive Push for Reform • The Limits of Progressivism and the Call for Civil Rights
Era 14 The Great War: Rallying American Patriotism (1914 to 1929) 182
America Enters Europe’s War • The War at Home: Growth and Government, Patriotism, and Repression • Post-War America: Prosperity and New Freedoms—for Some
Era 15 Prosperity Has Its Price: Economic Collapse and World War II (1929 to 1945) 186
Crash, Depression, and the New Deal Response • Totalitarian Europe and Global Crisis: Alarm, Extremism, and Isolationism at Home • The United States Joins the Second World War • The World War II Home Front
Era 16 The New American Dream: Freedom from Tyranny (1946 to Late 1950s) 193
The Soviet Union and the Emerging Cold War • The Cold War at Home and the New Red Scare • American Life in the Post-War Era • The Renewed Civil Rights Movement
Era 17 Communism and Counterculture: The Challenges of the ’50s and ’60s
(1950s to Late 1960s) 199
The Superpowers Find an Uneasy Balance: Deterrence and the Battle for Hearts and Minds • Cold War Tensions under Kennedy and Johnson • Reform at Home: The Civil Rights Revolution and LBJ’s Great Society • The ’60s: War, Counterculture, and Conflict
Era 18 Modern Times: Presidential Scandals, Conservatism, and Unrest (1968 to Present) 205
Global Conflict and Diplomacy: Détente, China, and the Middle East • The Cold War Ends, and European Communism Falls • The Changing Post–Cold War World • Recent Trends: Global Ties and Conflicts •
Postscript: Recent Events (1992 to Present)
Who Is Common Core 217
Acknowledgments 219
Index 221
