NY Social Studies Standards (United States History and Government)

After World War II, ideological differences led to political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In an attempt to halt the spread of Soviet influence, the United States pursued a policy of containment. Students will trace key decisions made at wartime conferences as they applied to Poland, Eastern Europe, and postwar Germany, and note how continuing disagreements over these decisions helped bring about the start of the Cold War. Students will trace United States containment policies, including the Truman Doctrine (1947), the Marshall Plan (1948), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949), and actions taken during the Berlin blockade, and consider how they represent a shift in American foreign policy. Students will examine domestic concerns about the spread of communism and the rise of McCarthyism. Students will examine the consequences of Truman’s decision to fight a limited war in defense of South Korea. Students will trace the United States involvement in Vietnam, including President Johnson’s decision to escalate the fighting in Vietnam. Students will examine reasons for declining public confidence in government, including America’s involvement in Vietnam, student protests, the growing antiwar movement, and the Watergate affair. Students will examine the congressional effort to limit presidential power through the War Powers Act.

The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race that eventually led to agreements that limited the arms buildup and improved United States-Soviet relations. Students will trace the acceleration of the nuclear arms race, beginning with the detonation of an atomic bomb by the Soviet Union in 1949, through 1969, including the effects of Sputnik and the Space Race. Students will examine Soviet motives for placing missiles in Cuba and the impact of the Cuban missile crisis on Soviet-American relations, leading to the adoption of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Students will examine the policy of détente and its effect on the nuclear arms race.

American strategic interests in the Middle East grew with the Cold War, the creation of the State of Israel, and the increased United States dependence on Middle Eastern oil. The continuing nature of the Arab-Israeli dispute has helped to define the contours of American policy in the Middle East. Students will examine United States foreign policy toward the Middle East, including the recognition of and support for the State of Israel, the Camp David Accords, and the interaction with radical groups in the region.

A combination of factors contributed to the end of the Cold War, including American policies and Soviet economic and political problems that led to the loss of Soviet control over Eastern Europe. Students will trace factors that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, including American policies, Soviet economic problems, Soviet efforts at reform, and the loss of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.

Contact between Native American groups and Europeans occurred through cultural exchanges, resistance efforts, and conflict. Students will trace European contact with Native Americans, including the Dutch, the English, the French and the Spanish. Students will examine the impacts of European colonization on Native Americans, who eventually lost much of their land and experienced a drastic decline in population through diseases and armed conflict.

A number of factors influenced colonial economic development, social structures, and labor systems, causing variation by region. Students will examine the impacts of geographic factors on patterns of settlement and the development of colonial economic systems. Students will examine the factors influencing variations in colonial social structures and labor systems. Students will analyze slavery as a deeply established component of the colonial economic system and social structure, indentured servitude vs. slavery, the increased concentration of slaves in the South, and the development of slavery as a racial institution.

Colonial political developments were influenced by British political traditions, Enlightenment ideas, and the colonial experience. Self-governing structures were common, and yet varied across the colonies. Students will examine colonial political institutions to determine how they were influenced by Enlightenment ideas, British traditions such as the Magna Carta, and the colonial experience. Students will examine colonial democratic principles by studying documents such as the Mayflower Compact and the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, colonial governmental structures such as New England town meetings and the Virginia House of Burgesses, and the practice of the right of petition in New Netherland.

Following the French and Indian War, the British government attempted to gain greater political and economic control over the colonies. Colonists resisted these efforts, leading to increasing tensions between the colonists and the British government. Students will examine British efforts to gain greater political and economic control, such as the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, the Townsend Acts, the Tea Act, the Boston Massacre, and the Coercive Acts, and colonial reactions to these efforts.

Failed attempts to mitigate the conflicts between the British government and the colonists led the colonists to declare independence, which they eventually won through the Revolutionary War, which affected individuals in different ways. Students will examine the purpose of and the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence and consider its long term impacts. Students will examine the impacts of the Revolutionary War on workers, African Americans, women, and Native Americans.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to a convention whose purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation but instead resulted in the writing of a new Constitution. The ratification debate over the proposed Constitution led the Federalists to agree to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. Students will examine the weaknesses and successes of government under the Articles of Confederation. Students will explore the development of the Constitution, including the major debates and their resolutions, which included compromises over representation, taxation, and slavery. Students will examine the structure, power, and function of the federal government as created by the Constitution, including key constitutional principles such as the division of power between federal and state government, the separation of powers at the federal level, the creation of checks and balances, the sovereignty of the people, and judicial independence. Students will examine the key points of debate expressed in the Federalist Papers and the Antifederalist Papers, focusing on the protection of individual rights and the proper size for a republic. Students will examine the rights and protections provided by the Bill of Rights and to whom they initially applied.

Under the new Constitution, the young nation sought to achieve national security and political stability, as the three branches of government established their relationships with each other and the states. Students will identify presidential actions and precedents established by George Washington, including those articulated in his Farewell Address. Students will examine Hamilton’s economic plan, the debate surrounding the plan, and its impacts on the development of political parties. Students will examine the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power established in the presidential election of 1800 and compare it to the presidential election of 2000, focusing on the roles of the Electoral College and Congress in 1800 and the Electoral College and the Supreme Court in 2000. Students will examine Supreme Court cases, including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden, and analyze how these decisions strengthened the powers of the federal government.

American nationalism was both strengthened and challenged by territorial expansion and economic growth. Students will examine how the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and the Monroe Doctrine strengthened nationalism. Students will examine the market revolution, including technological developments, the development of transportation networks, the growth of domestic industries, the increased demands for free and enslaved labor, the changing role of women, and the rise of political democracy. Students will examine Jackson’s presidency, noting the ways it strengthened presidential power yet challenged constitutional principles in the case of Worcester v. Georgia (1832), including the controversy concerning the Indian Removal Act and its implementation.

Different perspectives concerning constitutional, political, economic, and social issues contributed to the growth of sectionalism. Students will compare different perspectives on States rights by examining the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and the nullification crisis. Students will investigate the development of the abolitionist movement, focusing on Nat Turner’s Rebellion, Sojourner Truth, William Lloyd Garrison (The Liberator), Frederick Douglass (The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass and The North Star), and Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin). Students will examine the emergence of the women’s rights movement out of the abolitionist movement, including the role of the Grimké sisters, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and evaluate the demands made at the Seneca Falls Convention (1848). Students will examine the issues surrounding the expansion of slavery into new territories, by exploring the Missouri Compromise, Manifest Destiny, Texas and the Mexican-American war, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and John Brown’s raid.

Long-standing disputes over States rights and slavery and the secession of Southern states from the Union, sparked by the election of Abraham Lincoln, led to the Civil War. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves became a major Union goal. The Civil War resulted in tremendous human loss and physical destruction. Students will compare the relative strengths of the Union and the Confederacy in terms of industrial capacity, transportation facilities, and military leadership, and evaluate the reasons why the North prevailed over the South and the impacts of the war. Students will examine the expansion of executive and federal power as they relate to the suspension of habeas corpus within the Union and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Students will analyze the ideas expressed in the Gettysburg Address, considering its long-term effects.

New technologies and economic models created rapid industrial growth and transformed the United States. Students will examine the technological innovations that facilitated industrialization, considering energy sources, natural resources, transportation, and communication. Students will examine the growth of industries under the leadership of businessmen such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford and analyze their business practices and organizational structures. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of state and federal attempts to regulate business by examining the Supreme Court decision in Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific R.R. v. Illinois (1886), the Interstate Commerce Act (1887), the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), and President Theodore Roosevelt’s trust-busting role as evidenced in Northern Securities Co. v. United States (1904).

Rapid industrialization and urbanization created significant challenges and societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts. Students will examine demographic trends associated with urbanization and immigration between 1840 and 1920, including push-pull factors regarding Irish immigration and immigration from southern and eastern Europe. Students will examine problems faced by farmers between 1870 and 1900 and examine the goals and achievements of the Grange Movement and the Populist Party. Students will examine the attempts of workers to unionize from 1870 to 1920 in response to industrial working conditions, including the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor, the American Railway Union, the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union, and the Industrial Workers of the World, considering actions taken by the unions and the responses to these actions. Students will examine Progressive Era reforms, such as the 16th and 17th amendments (1913) and the establishment of the Federal Reserve System (1913). Students will examine the efforts of the woman’s suffrage movement after 1900, leading to ratification of the 19th amendment (1920). Students will trace the temperance and prohibition movements leading to the ratification of the 18th amendment (1919). Students will trace reform efforts by individuals and the consequences of those efforts, including Jane Addams and Hull House; Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives; New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt and the Tenement Reform Commission; Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and the Meat Inspection Act; Margaret Sanger and birth control; Ida Tarbell’s The History of the Standard Oil Company; Ida Wells and her writings about lynching of African Americans; Booker T. Washington’s contributions to education, including the creation of Tuskegee Institute; and W. E. B. Du Bois and the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the publication of The Crisis, and the Silent Protest (1917).

Between 1865 and 1900, constitutional rights were extended to African Americans. However, their ability to exercise these rights was undermined by individuals, groups, and government institutions. Students will examine the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and consider the role of Radical Republicans in Reconstruction. Students will investigate the ways individuals, groups, and government institutions limited the rights of African Americans, including the use of Black Codes, the passage of Jim Crow laws, the Ku Klux Klan, restrictions on voting rights, and Supreme Court cases including the Civil Rights Cases (1883) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Students will examine the ways in which freedmen attempted to build independent lives, including the activities of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the creation of educational institutions, and political participation. Students will examine the impacts of the election of 1876 and the compromise of 1877 on African Americans.

The 14th and 15th amendments failed to address the rights of women. Students will examine the exclusion of women from the 14th and 15th amendments and the subsequent struggle for voting and increased property rights in the late 19th century. The students will examine the work of Susan B. Anthony.

Federal policies regarding westward expansion had positive effects on the national economy but negative consequences for Native Americans. Students will examine the economic effects of the Homestead Act (1862) and the Pacific Railway Act (1862) on westward expansion. Students will examine the effect of federal policies on Native Americans on the Great Plains, including reservation policies, the Dawes Act (1887), and forced acculturation efforts (Carlisle Indian School).

Racial and economic motives contributed to long-standing discrimination against Mexican Americans and opposition to Chinese immigration. Students will analyze relevant provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as compared with the actual treatment of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the Southwest, including California, from 1848 to 1900. Students will examine the contributions of Chinese to the national economy and reasons for nativist opposition to their continued immigration (Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882).

The 1920s was a time of cultural change in the country, characterized by clashes between modern and traditional values. Students will examine the cultural trends associated with the Roaring Twenties, including women’s efforts at self-expression and their changing roles. Students will examine the impact of Prohibition on American society. Students will examine change in immigration policy as reflected by the passage of the Quota Acts of the 1920s. Students will examine the reasons for the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. Students will examine the key issues related to the Scopes trial.

African Americans continued to struggle for social and economic equality while expanding their own thriving and unique culture. African American cultural achievements were increasingly integrated into national culture. Students will examine literary and artistic contributions associated with the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on national culture. Students will examine the rise of African American racial pride and Black Nationalism, including the role of Marcus Garvey.

For many Americans, the 1920s was a time of prosperity. However, underlying economic problems, reflected in the stock market crash of 1929, led to the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s responses to the Great Depression increased the role of the federal government. Students will examine the reasons for economic prosperity during the 1920s. Students will examine the underlying weaknesses of the economy that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Students will compare and contrast the responses of Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Great Depression. Students will examine the human and environmental causes of the Dust Bowl and its effects. Students will evaluate President Roosevelt’s leadership during the Depression, including key legislative initiatives of the New Deal, expansion of federal government power, and the constitutional challenge represented by his court-packing effort.

After World War II, long-term demands for equality by African Americans led to the civil rights movement. The efforts of individuals, groups, and institutions helped to redefine African American civil rights, though numerous issues remain unresolved. Students will examine the roles and impact of individuals such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Malcolm X on the movement and their perspectives on change. Students will examine the role of groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the movement, their goals and strategies, and major contributions. Students will examine judicial actions and legislative achievements during the movement, such as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964) and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Students will analyze the significance of key events in the movement, including the Montgomery bus boycott, federal intervention at Little Rock, Arkansas; the Birmingham protest; and the March on Washington.

Individuals, diverse groups, and organizations have sought to bring about change in American society through a variety of methods. Students will trace efforts in terms of issues/goals, key individuals and groups, and successes/limitations, including: the modern women’s movement (e.g., The Feminine Mystique [1963], National Organization for Women, Equal Pay Act and Title IX, Roe v. Wade); Native Americans (e.g., American Indian Movement, Russell Means, native identity, and land claims); Brown Power (Chicano) movement (e.g., Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers); people with disabilities (e.g., Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [1975], Americans with Disabilities Act [1990]); rights of the accused (e.g., Mapp v. Ohio [1961], Gideon v. Wainwright [1963], Miranda v. Arizona [1966]); immigration (e.g., Immigration Act of 1965, Immigration Act of 1986, continuing debates over immigration reform); Gay Rights and the LGBT movement (e.g., Stonewall Inn riots [1969], efforts for equal legal rights); environment (e.g., Silent Spring [1962], Clean Air Act of 1970, Clean Water Act of 1972, Endangered Species Act of 1973, Environmental Protection Agency [1970], Reagan’s policy); and student rights (e.g., Engel v. Vitale [1962], Tinker v. Des Moines School District [1969], New Jersey v. TLO [1985]). Students will thoroughly investigate at least one of the efforts above.

Varying political philosophies prompted debates over the role of the federal government in regulating the economy and providing a social safety net. Students will compare and contrast the economic policies of President Johnson (Great Society) and President Reagan (Reaganomics) regarding the size and role of the federal government. Students will examine the causes of the financial panic of 2008 and the federal government‘s response to the Great Recession. Students will examine the debates over the role of the government in providing a social safety net, including the stability of the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare Trust Fund, as well as changes under the Affordable Care Act.

In the late 1800s, various strategic and economic factors led to a greater focus on foreign affairs and debates over the United States’ role in the world. Students will examine factors such as the economic and strategic interests that led the United States to seek foreign markets, resources, and coaling stations, including interest in Hawaii. Students will investigate the causes and effects of the Spanish-American War, evaluating Spanish, Cuban, and United States interests and actions. Students will examine debates between anti-imperialists and imperialists surrounding ratification of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and annexation of the Philippines. Students will investigate expanding American influence in the Caribbean and Latin America through the creation of the Panama Canal and the Roosevelt Corollary.

While the United States attempted to follow its traditional policy of neutrality at the beginning of World War I, the nation eventually became involved in the war. President Woodrow Wilson led the nation into war with the hope of reforming the international order through his Fourteen Points. Students will investigate the reasons for President Wilson’s shift from neutrality to involvement in World War I. Students will examine Wilson’s goals as expressed in the Fourteen Points, his role at the Versailles Peace Conference, and the compromises he was forced to make to gain approval for the League of Nations. Students will examine the reasons why President Wilson was unsuccessful in gaining support for Senate ratification of the Treaty of Versailles.

World War I had important social, political, and economic effects on American society. Students will investigate the effects of mobilization on the United States economy, including the role and contributions of women and African Americans in the war effort. Students will investigate the causes and effects of the Great Migration on American society. Students will examine the Supreme Court decision concerning civil liberties in Schenck v. United States (1919). Students will examine the relationship between postwar recession, fear of radicals, xenophobia, and the Red Scare (1919–1921).

The United States created a coalition to defeat Iraq in the Persian Gulf War (1991), but was reluctant to commit American military power through the rest of the decade. Students will examine the decision of President George H. W. Bush to oppose Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Students will evaluate the positive and negative consequences of the Persian Gulf War. Students will trace United States foreign policy regarding Bosnia, Rwanda, and Kosovo, exploring the tension between defending human rights and the reluctance to intervene stemming from the Vietnam syndrome.

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States launched the War on Terror, which involved controversial foreign and domestic policies. Students will trace the reactions to the September 11, 2001, attacks, including responses of the American public, the authorization of the War on Terror, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. Students will examine the decision to invade Iraq, which was based on allegations concerning weapons of mass destruction, and trace the course of the war. Students will evaluate the USA PATRIOT Act, including constitutional issues raised about the violation of civil liberties by the federal government’s electronic surveillance programs.

Globalization and advances in technology have affected the United States economy and society. Students will examine the positive and negative consequences of globalization in relation to the United States economy. Students will investigate the role of multinational corporations and their influence on both the United States economy and on other countries around the world. Students will examine the economic relationship and the strategic rivalry between the United States and China.

As situations overseas deteriorated, President Roosevelt’s leadership helped to move the nation from a policy of neutrality to a pro-Allied position and, ultimately, direct involvement in the war. Students will examine reasons for the passage of the Neutrality Acts (1935–1937) and consider the national debate as a shift to pro-Allied policies, including “cash and carry” and Lend-Lease. Students will trace ongoing negotiations with Japan and United States efforts to stop Japanese aggression without resorting to war and without appeasing Japanese demands. Students will examine the impact of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Students will examine President Roosevelt’s leadership during World War II, including his role as commander in chief and his diplomatic efforts to maintain the Grand Alliance. Students will examine how technological advancements altered the nature of war and the extent of its devastation, including the use of air power over civilian targets and President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

United States entry into World War II had a significant impact on American society. Students will examine United States mobilization efforts and wartime production and their effects on unemployment rates. Students will examine the reasons for President Roosevelt’s executive order for Japanese removal, the impact of removal on Japanese people living in the United States, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu v. United States (1944). Students will examine the contributions of women, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican workers, and Mexican Americans to the war effort, as well as the discrimination that they experienced in the military and workforce.

In response to World War II and the Holocaust, the United States played a major role in efforts to prevent such human suffering in the future. Students will investigate American officials' knowledge of the Holocaust, evaluating the degree to which intervention may have been possible. Students will examine the contributions of Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson and his arguments made as Chief Prosecutor for the United States at the Nuremberg War Crimes trials. Students will investigate the role of Eleanor Roosevelt in creating the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.