(A) identify the major eras in U.S. history through 1877 and describe their defining characteristics;

(B) apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods; and

(C) explain the significance of the following dates: 1607, 1776, 1787, 1803, and 1861-1865.

(A) identify reasons for European exploration and colonization of North America; and

(B) compare political, economic, and social reasons for establishment of the 13 colonies.

(A) explain the reasons for the growth of representative government and institutions during the colonial period;

(B) evaluate the importance of the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Virginia House of Burgesses to the growth of representative government; and

(C) describe how religion contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies.

(A) analyze causes of the American Revolution, including mercantilism and British economic policies following the French and Indian War;

(B) explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, King George III, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Paine, and George Washington;

(C) explain the issues surrounding important events of the American Revolution, including declaring independence; writing the Articles of Confederation; fighting the battles of Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown; and signing the Treaty of Paris; and

(D) analyze the issues of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, including major compromises and arguments for and against ratification.

(A) describe major domestic problems faced by the leaders of the new Republic such as maintaining national security, creating a stable economic system, setting up the court system, and defining the authority of the central government;

(B) summarize arguments regarding protective tariffs, taxation, and the banking system;

(C) explain the origin and development of American political parties;

(D) explain the causes of and issues surrounding important events of the War of 1812;

(E) trace the foreign policies of Presidents Washington through Monroe and explain the impact of Washington's Farewell Address and the Monroe Doctrine;

(F) explain the impact of the election of Andrew Jackson, including the beginning of the modern Democratic Party; and

(G) analyze federal and state Indian policies and the removal and resettlement of Cherokee Indians during the Jacksonian era.

(A) explain how the Northwest Ordinance established principles and procedures for orderly expansion of the United States;

(B) explain the political, economic, and social roots of Manifest Destiny;

(C) analyze the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and the westward growth of the nation;

(D) explain the major issues and events of the Mexican War and their impact on the United States; and

(E) identify areas that were acquired to form the United States.

(A) analyze the impact of tariff policies on sections of the United States before the Civil War;

(B) compare the effects of political, economic, and social factors on slaves and free blacks;

(C) analyze the impact of slavery on different sections of the United States; and

(D) compare the provisions and effects of congressional conflicts and compromises prior to the Civil War, including the roles of John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster.

(A) explain the roles played by significant individuals during the Civil War, including Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Abraham Lincoln;

(B) explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Civil War, including the firing on Fort Sumter, the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, the assassination of Lincoln, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House; and

(C) analyze Abraham Lincoln's ideas about liberty, equality, union, and government as contained in his first and second inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg Address.

(A) evaluate legislative reform programs of the Radical Reconstruction Congress and reconstructed state governments;

(B) describe the economic difficulties faced by the United States during Reconstruction; and

(C) explain the social problems that faced the South during Reconstruction and evaluate their impact on different groups.

(A) create thematic maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases representing various aspects of the United States; and

(B) pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns shown on maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases.

(A) locate places and regions of importance in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries;

(B) compare places and regions of the United States in terms of physical and human characteristics; and

(C) analyze the effects of physical and human geographic factors on major historical and contemporary events in the United States.

(A) analyze how physical characteristics of the environment influenced population distribution, settlement patterns, and economic activities in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries;

(B) describe the consequences of human modification of the physical environment of the United States; and

(C) describe how different immigrant groups interacted with the environment in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries.

(A) identify economic differences among different regions of the United States;

(B) explain reasons for the development of the plantation system, the growth of the slave trade, and the spread of slavery; and

(C) analyze the causes and effects of economic differences among different regions of the United States at selected times in U.S. history.

(A) analyze the War of 1812 as a cause of economic changes in the nation; and

(B) identify the economic factors that brought about rapid industrialization and urbanization.

(A) explain why a free enterprise system of economics developed in the new nation; and

(B) describe the characteristics and the benefits of the U.S. free enterprise system during the 18th and 19th centuries.

(A) identify the influence of ideas from historic documents including the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and selected anti-federalist writings on the U.S. system of government;

(B) summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation;

(C) identify colonial grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and explain how those grievances were addressed in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and

(D) analyze how the U.S. Constitution reflects the principles of limited government, republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights.

(A) summarize the purposes for and processes of changing the U.S. Constitution;

(B) describe the impact of 19th-century amendments including the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments on life in the United States; and

(C) identify the origin of judicial review and analyze examples of congressional and presidential responses.

(A) analyze the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, including those of Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, James Madison, and George Mason; and

(B) describe historical conflicts arising over the issue of states' rights, including the Nullification Crisis and the Civil War.

(A) summarize the issues, decisions, and significance of landmark Supreme Court cases including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden; and

(B) evaluate the impact of selected landmark Supreme Court decisions including Dred Scott v. Sanford on life in the United States.

(A) define and give examples of unalienable rights;

(B) summarize rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights;

(C) explain the importance of personal responsibilities such as accepting responsibility for one's behavior and supporting one's family;

(D) identify examples of responsible citizenship, including obeying rules and laws, voting, and serving on juries;

(E) summarize the criteria and explain the process for becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States; and

(F) explain how the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens reflect our national identity.

(A) explain the role of significant individuals such as William Penn in the development of self-government in colonial America;

(B) evaluate the contributions of the Founding Fathers as models of civic virtue; and

(C) identify reasons for and the impact of selected examples of civil disobedience in U.S. history such as Henry David Thoreau's refusal to pay a tax.

(A) identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups on important historical and contemporary issues;

(B) describe the importance of free speech and press in a democratic society; and

(C) summarize a historical event in which compromise resulted in a peaceful resolution.

(A) analyze the leadership qualities of elected and appointed leaders of the United States such as Abraham Lincoln, John Marshall, and George Washington; and

(B) describe the contributions of significant political, social, and military leaders of them United States such as Frederick Douglass, John Paul Jones, James Monroe, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

(A) identify selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups that settled in the United States and their reasons for immigration;

(B) explain the relationship between urbanization and conflicts resulting from differences in religion, social class, and political beliefs;

(C) identify ways conflicts between people from various racial, ethnic, and religious groups were resolved;

(D) analyze the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to our national identity; and

(E) identify the political, social, and economic contributions of women to American society.

(A) describe the historical development of the abolitionist movement; and

(B) evaluate the impact of reform movements including public education, temperance, women's rights, prison reform, and care of the disabled.

(A) trace the development of religious freedom in the United States;

(B) describe religious influences on immigration and on social movements, including the impact of the first and second Great Awakenings; and

(C) analyze the impact of the first amendment guarantees of religious freedom on the American way of life.

(A) describe developments in art, music, literature, drama, and other cultural activities in the history of the United States;

(B) analyze the relationship between fine arts and continuity and change in the American way of life; and

(C) identify examples of American art, music, and literature that transcend American culture and convey universal themes.

(A) explain the effects of technological and scientific innovations such as the steamboat, the cotton gin, and the Bessemer steel process;

(B) analyze the impact of transportation systems on the growth, development, and urbanization of the United States;

(C) analyze how technological innovations changed the way goods were manufactured and marketed, nationally and internationally; and

(D) explain how technological innovations led to rapid industrialization.

(A) compare the effects of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that have influenced daily life in different periods in U.S. history;

(B) describe how scientific ideas influenced technological developments during different periods in U.S. history; and

(C) identify examples of how industrialization changed life in the United States.

(A) differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information about the United States;

(B) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions;

(C) organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps;

(D) identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference which influenced the participants;

(E) support a point of view on a social studies issue or event;

(F) identify bias in written, oral, and visual material;

(G) evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author; and

(H) use appropriate mathematical skills to interpret social studies information such as maps and graphs.

(A) use social studies terminology correctly;

(B) use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation;

(C) transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate; and

(D) create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information.

(A) use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution; and

(B) use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision.