Standards - Social Studies

Locate on a map physical features that impacted the exploration and settlement of the Americas, including ocean currents, prevailing winds, large forests, major rivers, and significant mountain ranges.

Locating on a map states and capitals east of the Mississippi River

Identifying natural harbors in North America

Identify causes and effects of early migration and settlement of North America.

Distinguish differences among major American Indian cultures in North America according to geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems.

Locating on a map American Indian nations according to geographic region

Determine the economic and cultural impact of European exploration during the Age of Discovery upon European society and American Indians.

Identifying significant early European patrons, explorers, and their countries of origin, including early settlements in the New World

Tracing the development and impact of the Columbian Exchange

Explain the early colonization of North America and reasons for settlement in the Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies, including geographic features, landforms, and differences in climate among the colonies.

Recognizing how colonial development was influenced by the desire for religious freedom

Identifying influential leaders in colonial society

Describing emerging colonial government

Describe colonial economic life and labor systems in the Americas.

Recognizing centers of slave trade in the Western Hemisphere and the establishment of the Triangular Trade Route

Determine causes and events leading to the American Revolution, including the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act, the Intolerable Acts, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party.

Identify major events of the American Revolution, including the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and Yorktown.

Describing principles contained in the Declaration of Independence

Explaining contributions of Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, George Washington, Haym Solomon, and supporters from other countries to the American Revolution

Explaining contributions of ordinary citizens, including African Americans and women, to the American Revolution

Describing efforts to mobilize support for the American Revolution by the Minutemen, Committees of Correspondence, First Continental Congress, Sons of Liberty, boycotts, and the Second Continental Congress

Locating on a map major battle sites of the American Revolution, including the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and Yorktown

Recognizing reasons for colonial victory in the American Revolution

Explaining the effect of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 on the development of the United States

Explain how inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation led to the creation and eventual ratification of the Constitution of the United States.

Describing major ideas, concepts, and limitations of the Constitution of the United States, including duties and powers of the three branches of government

Identifying factions in favor of and opposed to ratification of the Constitution of the United States

Identifying main principles in the Bill of Rights

Analyzing the election of George Washington as President of the United States for its impact on the role of president in a republic

Describe political, social, and economic events between 1803 and 1860 that led to the expansion of the territory of the United States, including the War of 1812, the Indian Removal Act, the Texas-Mexican War, the Mexican-American War, and the Gold Rush of 1849.

Analyzing the role of the Louisiana Purchase and explorations of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for their impact on Westward Expansion

Explaining the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine

Identifying Alabama’s role in the expansion movement in the United States, including the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the Trail of Tears (Alabama)

Identifying the impact of technological developments on United States’ expansion

1Identify causes of the Civil War, including states’ rights and the issue of slavery.