U.S.

History – 1763 to 2020

Mr. Grant M. Dahl

Contact Info: Email: On Website

Term and Goal: 2019 - 2020; The goal of this class is to give the student a thorough knowledge and
understanding of the events of American History from the beginning of the independence period to the
present day. Besides the events themselves, the atmosphere of the different time periods will be discussed
and analyzed and the questions of government power, just war, constitutional law, political shifts and
trends, media misinformation, totalitarian ideologies, political maneuvering, role of Christianity and the
Catholic Church in America, and many other aspects will be referred to and explained so as to give the
student a more thorough understanding of American History.

Reading Requirements:
Warren H. Carroll, The Revolution Against Christendom,
Warren H. Carroll, The Crisis of Christendom,
Thomas J. DiLorenzo, How Capitalism Saved America,
Burton W. Folsom, Jr, The Myth of the Robber Barons,
Murray N. Rothbard, The Progressive Era,
Murray N. Rothbard, America’s Great Depression,
Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, papal encyclical
Pope John Paul II, Centissimus Annus, papal encyclical
The Founding Fathers, The Complete Federalist & Anti-Federalist Papers,

Literature of the Times

Each student will be expected to read from the list of the literature books provided to get a feel for
entertaining and different historical literature and how certain practices of past times (spycraft, totalitarian
ideologies, investigations, etc) were carried out. Packets of essay & vocabulary questions will be handed
out to be completed upon completed reading of each book.

Grade: Grade will consist of the following elements:

Class Attendance and Participation: 20%
Quizzes & Notes: 20%
Literature of the Times Assignments: 20%
Presentations & Paper: 20%
Tests & Final Exam: 20%

Paper: A 3 to 5 page research essay on topics to be chosen in class by the students and approved by the
instructor.

Class Week Structure:

Monday: Presentation Day (if applicable); Otherwise Lecture/Video Day
Tuesday: Lecture/Video Day
Wednesday: Quiz & Lecture/Video Day
Thursday: Lecture/Video Day
Friday: Quiz & Literature Day

Class Weeks and Units:

Week 1: Introduction; On Researching, Note-taking; Indexing, Citing Sources & Library; Literature Intro.

Week 2: Early Explorations; European settlement; Christianity in America; French and Indian War.

Week 3: Lead up to the American Revolution; Stamp Act; Tax Disputes; 1st Continental Congress;

Week 4: American Revolution Begins; 2nd Continental Congress; Declaration Of Independence;

Week 5: Midterm; American Revolution; Canada, New York, Winter 1776 & Saratoga Campaigns;

Week 6: Valley Forge, Northwest Territory & International Campaigns; Revolution Politics & Economics;

Week 7: War at Sea; South & Yorktown Campaigns; Treaty of Paris; Articles of Confederation;

Week 8: 1st Quarter Test; Constitutional Convention; Ratification Debates; Washington’s Presidency;

Week 9: Quarter End; Quasi-War; Adams & Jefferson Presidencies; 1800 Election; Constitutional Challenges;

Week 10: Lewis & Clark; 1st American-Barbary War; Lead-up & Opening to War of 1812;

Week 11: War of 1812; Canada, Northwest, Washington DC & Pacific Campaigns; War at Sea;

Week 12: War of 1812 ends; Era of Good Feelings; J.Q. Adams & Jackson Presidencies; Bank War;

Week 13: Midterm; Nullification Crisis; Panic of 1837; Van Buren, W.H. Harrison & Tyler Presidencies;

Week 14: Texas & Oregon; Mexican-American War; Compromise of 1850; Political & Religious Upheaval;

Week 15: Election of 1860; War Between the States Opens; 1861 Campaigns; 1862 Western Campaign;

Week 16: Periphery Campaigns; 1862 Eastern Campaigns; Anaconda Blockade; 1861 - 1863 Politics;

Week 17: 2nd Quarter Test; 1863: Northern Virginia, Gettysburg, Vicksburg & Chattanooga Campaigns;

Week 18: Semester End; War at Sea; E. Virginia, Atlanta & Western Campaigns; 1864 Election; Int. Politics;

Week 19: Sherman’s March & Nashville Campaign;

Week 20: Blockade & War at Sea; End of War; Reconstruction Begins; Johnson’s Impeachment Trial;

Week 21: Reconstruction; 1870s Depression; Election of 1876; Hayes, Garfield & Arthur Presidencies;

Week 22: Industrial Revolution; Cleveland, B. Harrison & McKinley Presidencies; Spanish-American War;

Week 23: Progressive Era; Titanic Disaster; Election of 1912; Mexican Dispute; World War I opens;

Week 24: Midterm; World War I; Harding & Coolidge Presidencies; Prohibition & the 1920s;

Week 25: Cold War Opens; 1929 Stock Market Crash; Great Depression; FDR & New Deal;

Week 26: World War II; Lead-up; Pearl Harbor to Midway; Battle of Atlantic Phase One;

Week 27: Guadalcanal; North Africa, Sicilian, & Italian Campaigns; Pacific Islands Campaigns;

Week 28: 3rd Quarter Test; Philippines Campaigns, D-Day in Europe; Victory in the Atlantic & Europe;

Week 29: Quarter End; Victory in the Pacific; WW2 Ends; Cold War Intensifies; The Gouzenko Affair;

Week 30: Hiss, Rosenbergs & McCarthy Sagas; Korean War; Truman & Eisenhower Presidencies;

Week 31: Cold War; Kennedy & Johnson; Vietnam War Begins; Great Society & Race Problems;

Week 32: Vietnam War; 1968 Revolution; Vietnamization of War; Nixon & Watergate;
Week 33: Ford & Carter Presidencies; Cold War Detente; American Pandora’s Box in Middle East;

Week 34: Midterm; Election of 1980; Reagan Reforms, Realized & Frustrated; Cold War re-intensifies;

Week 35: American Renaissance; Cold War Ends; Middle East heats up; Bush & Election of 1992;

Week 36: Clinton Presidency; 1994 Elections; Blowback from Middle East; Impeachment; Election of 2000;

Week 37: Last Lit. Assgn Due; 9/11; War on Terror; Afghanistan & Iraq; Great Recession; 2008 Election;

Week 38: Tea Party& Occupy Wall Street; Whistleblowers; Culture Wars; Economic Troubles & 2016;

Week 39: Final Exams; Year End;