This is a graduation required social studies course carrying ½ credit for each semester.  

First semester will cover the causes and events leading to the Civil War, the Westward Movement, including the Mexican War, and settlement of California, Oregon Territory , the Mexican Cession (including Arizona becoming a territory and state).  Post-Civil War closing of the western frontier and learning about the last of the Indian wars and the impact of miners, ranchers and farmers on settlement of the West;America’s industrialization and its effect on business, labor, immigration, urbanization and an expansionist foreign policy. We will conclude the semester leading into the as a world power and the causes and events of the Great War.

Second semester will cover from 1919 to present. We will discuss the challenges faced in the 20th century including: "The Roaring Twenties", the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Korean and Viet Nam Wars and contemporary foreign policy and domestic issues of the United States.