8th Grade

Social Studies Framework:

Implemented Fall of 2015

Time Frame : September- Mid-October
Unit 1: Reconstruction
Compelling Question: What are a nations responsibilities to its citizens after a (major)
conflict?

What policies did the US government put into place to ensure the rights of all its
citizens?
Presidential and Congress Plan
Constitutional Amendments
13th, 14th, and 15th
Supreme Court Decisions

Plessy v Ferguson 1896
Freedmens Bureau

How did State governments/groups suppress the rights of citizens?

White League
KKK
Black Codes
Jim Crow Laws
Sharecropping
States rights v. Federalism

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Economic and economic systems
Civic Participation

Resources: Z Drive MS Social Studies

Time Frame: October

Unit 2: Industrialization
Compelling Question: Was Industrialization positive or negative for the nation?

What societal changes led to the rise of the factory economy?

New methods of production, distribution, transportation, communication
and farming
vertical integration
railroads
assembly line
steam power
Edison & electricity
Flood of Inventions
Electric light, phonograph, telephone, automobile,etc

Is greed good?
monopolies
Robber Barons/Captains of Industry
Rise of banking and finance
JP morgan
Steel Industry
Andrew Carnegie
Railroad
Vanderbilt
Oil Industry
JD Rockefeller
Government Regulations over Corporations
Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Comparison and contextualization
Economic and economic systems

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 19 An Era of Change in the

West- Section 2 Miners and Railroads (pg. 507)
Chapter 20 The Rise of Industry and Unions (pgs. 532-547, )

Time Frame: November

Unit 3: Immigration
Compelling Question: What effects did immigration have on the social, political and
economic landscape of the USA?

What push and pull factors attracted Immigrants to the US?

Conditions in home country
Old vs New immigrants
What factors led to settlement patterns of Immigrants?
Ellis Island
Angel Island
Job opportunities
Ethnic Neighborhoods
How did the New Immigrant experience differ from the Old Immigrant
experience?
Passage to america
Job Hardships
unsafe/poor working conditions
NINA
Government Regulations
Chinese Exclusion Act
Quotas
Anti- Immigration acts
Living conditions
Tenements
Acculturation vs Assimilation
Melting Pot vs Salad Bowl

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 21 Immigration and the Growth of
Cities (pgs. 558-575, )

Time Frame: Late November- December

Unit 4: Progressive Era

Compelling Question: What conditions during Industrialization created a need for
reform?
What conditions during Industrialization led to the Progressive Movement?
Working Conditions
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Child Labor
Wages/hours
Political Corruption
Boss Tweed
Spoils System
Distribution of Wealth
Gilded Age
What reforms did individuals/groups bring about?
Labor Unions
Knights of Labor
American Federation of Labor
Collective Bargaining
Child Labor Laws
Safety Regulations
Societal Reforms
NAACP
Settlement Houses
Temperance Movement
Prohibition
Governmental Reforms
Voting Reforms
16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendments
Pendleton Act
Consumer Protection
FDA
Pure Food and Drug Act
Women Suffrage
Trust Busting (TR, Taft)
Muckrakers
Riis, Tarbell, Sinclair, Spargo

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Comparison and contextualization
 Civic Participation

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 20 The Rise of Industry and
Unions (pgs. 548-553, ) Chapter 22 Progressives and Reformers (pgs 588-611)

Time Frame: January

Unit 5: Imperialism
Compelling Question: To what degree should a nation be involved in the affairs of
another nation?
What needs of the US led to its foreign policy decisions?
Isolationism vs. Expansionism
Washingtons Farewell Address
Louisiana Purchase
Manifest Destiny
Monroe Doctrine
Roosevelt Corollary
Dollar Diplomacy
White Mans Burden
What acquisitions/trade deals showed a shift in US foreign policy?
Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, China, Guam, etc.
Spanish American War
Sinking of the USS Maine
Yellow Journalism
Panama canal

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Geographic reasoning

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 23 Becoming a World Power

(pgs. 616-637, )

Time Frame: Mid January-February

Unit 6: World War I

Compelling Question: What Global Expansionist policies led to conflict?
What were the MAIN causes of WWI?
Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism
Assassination of Archduke FF
Why did the US hesitate but ultimately enter the war?
Isolationism
Sinking of the Lusitania
U-Boats
Zimmerman Telegram
How did the change in warfare lead to the belief that World War I would be The
war to end all wars?
Trench warfare
Chemical warfare
Machine guns
Tanks
U-Boats
Airplanes
Communication systems
What were the terms that ended WWI?
Treaty of Versailles
Wilsons 14 points
League of Nations
Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Geographic reasoning

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 24 World War I (pgs. 642-665 )

Time Frame: February- March

Unit 7: Roaring 20s and the Great Depression

Compelling Question: What changes to American society occur after World War I and
how did those changes lead to the Great Depression?
How did cultures clash in the 1920s?
Scopes Trial
Sacco and Vanzetti
Prohibition
 Red Scare
Jazz Era
How did societal groups change?
Women
Harlem Renaissance
Rise of the Middle Class
pop culture
leisure time
What economic and environmental disasters created hardships for many
Americans?
Dust Bowl
Tariffs
government protection of businesses
Use of credit
Bank Failure
Stock market crash/Margin Buying
What hardships were faced by many Americans during the Great Depression?
Hoovervilles
Migrant workers
loss of jobs, wealth, and homes
Riding the Rails
What was the governments response to these challenges?
Hoover
Trickle Down Economics
Soup kitchen
private charities
FDR
New Deal programs
FDIC, SSA, Bank Holidays, TVA, FERA, etc.
Court packing

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Civic Participation
Economics and Economic Systems
Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 25 The Roaring Twenties (pgs.
674-697). Chapter 26 The Great Depression (pgs. 702-725).

Time Frame: Mid March- April

Unit 8: World War II

Compelling Question: What views on power, land, and resources led to another Global
conflict?
What conditions allowed for the rise of dictators?
Germany
Hitler/Nazism
Italy
Mussolini/Fascism
USSR
Stalin/Communism
Japan
Hirohito/Militarism
Munich Conference
Appeasement
Was the US truly a neutral country prior to its entry into WWII?
Lend-Lease Act
Cash-Carry
Neutrality Acts
What events pulled the US into WWII?
Battle of Britain
U-Boats
Pearl Harbor
How did the United States being at war abroad affect the homefront?
Rations, victory gardens, scrap drives
propaganda
Japanese Internment
draft
women in the workforce
war bonds
Espionage Act
What events characterized the end of WWII?
D-Day
Atomic Bomb
Yalta Conference
 Holocaust
Battle of Midway
Paris Peace Conference

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Geographic reasoning
Economics and Economic Systems
Civic Participation
Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 27 World War II (pgs 728 - 755)

Time Frame: May

Unit 9: Cold War Period

Compelling Question: How did the struggle between the United States & Communist
nations affect the global landscape?
How did events after WW2 create tension between the USSR & USA?
Marshall Plan
Berlin Wall
Berlin Airlift
Creation of Soviet Bloc
Communist Expansion
Superpower Rivalry
Arms/Space Race, Nuclear weapons
Why was the Cold War different from previous wars?
NATO/Warsaw Pact
McCarthyism
Cuban Missile Crisis
Korean War
Vietnam
US Foreign Policies
Containment, Domino Theory, Detente
What global events brought about the end of the Cold War?
SALT Treaties
Failure of Communist economic model
1980s peace talks (Reagan, Gorbachev)
Fall of Berlin Wall
Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Geographic reasoning
Economics and Economic Systems

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 28 The Cold War Era (pgs 764
-791)

Time Frame: May-June

Unit 10: Civil Rights - Present

Compelling Question: Has the United States lived up to the ideals put forth by our
Founding Fathers?
What was the purpose of the Civil Rights movement & what methods were used
to achieve its goals?
addressing segregation & inequalities in society
non-violent movement
MLK, Rosa Parks
Civil Disobedience, Sit Ins, Boycotts, Marches, Children's Marches,
Freedom Rides
March on Washington, Bloody Sunday
Violent Protests
Malcolm X, Black Power Movement, Watts riots
Legislative Efforts/Court Decisions
Brown V Board, Little Rock Nine, Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting
Rights Act (1965)
What methods did Anti-Civil Rights groups use against the movement?
Assassination of leaders (MLK, Malcolm X)
Violence
Church bombings, KKK, local police violence, race riots,
Mississippi burning
What recent events have shaped our current society?
The Great Society
War on Poverty
Medicare, Medicaid
Rise in Conservative Movement
 Gun Control, Electronic Surveillance, War Industry, Increased
Defense Spending
September 11th, 2001
War on Terrorism
Reliance on Oil
Human Rights/Civil Liberties Issues

Skills:
Gathering, interpreting and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Geographic reasoning
Civic Participation

Resources: Textbook: The American Nation. Chapter 29 Prosperity and Reform

Section 2- The Civil Rights Movement Begins (pgs 803-807)
Section 3- Years of Crisis and Change (pgs 808- 813)
Section 4- The Civil Rights Movement Expands (pgs 814- 821)