Key Concept 1.1 — As native populations migrated and settled across
the vast expanse of North America over time, they developed distinct
and increasingly complex societies by adapting to and transforming
their diverse environments.
Key Concept 1.2 — Contact among Europeans, Native Americans, and
Africans resulted in the Columbian Exchange and signi cant social,
cultural, and political changes on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Period 2 1607-1754
Key Concept 2.1 — Europeans developed a variety of colonization and
migration patterns, influenced by different imperial goals, cultures,
and the varied North American environments where they settled, and
they competed with each other and American Indians for resources.
Key Concept 2.2 — The British colonies participated in political, social,
cultural, and economic exchanges with Great Britain that encouraged
both stronger bonds with Britain and resistance to Britain’s control.
Period 3 1754-1800
Key Concept 3.1 — British attempts to
assert tighter control over its North
American colonies and the colonial
resolve to pursue self-government led to
a colonial independence movement and
the Revolutionary War.
Key Concept 3.2 — The American Revolution’s
democratic and republican ideals inspired new
experiments with different forms of government.
Key Concept 3.3 — Migration within North America
and competition over resources, boundaries, and
trade intensi ed con icts among peoples and nations.
Period 4 1800-1848
Key Concept 4.1 — The United States began to develop a modern
democracy and celebrated a new national culture, while Americans
sought to de ne the nation’s democratic ideals and change their
society and institutions to match them.
Key Concept 4.2 — Innovations in technology, agriculture, and commerce
powerfully accelerated the American economy, precipitating profound
changes to U.S. society and to national and regional identities.
Key Concept 4.3 — The U.S. interest in increasing foreign trade and
expanding its national borders shaped the nation’s foreign policy and
spurred government and private initiatives.
Period 5 1848-1877
Key Concept 5.1 — The United States became
more connected with the world, pursued an
expansionist foreign policy in the Western
Hemisphere, and emerged as the destination
for many migrants from other countries.
Key Concept 5.2 — Intensified by expansion and
deepening regional divisions, debates over
slavery and other economic, cultural, and
political issues led the nation into civil war.
Key Concept 5.3 — The Union victory in the Civil
War and the contested reconstruction of the
South settled the issues of slavery and
secession, but left unresolved many questions
about the power of the federal government
and citizenship rights.
Period 6 1865-1900
Key Concept 6.1 — Technological advances, large-scale production
methods, and the opening of new markets encouraged the rise of
industrial capitalism in the United States.
Key Concept 6.2 — The migrations that accompanied
industrialization transformed both urban and rural areas of the
United States and caused dramatic social and cultural change.
Key Concept 6.3 — The Gilded Age produced new cultural and
intellectual movements, public reform efforts, and political debates
over economic and social policies.
Period 7 1898-1945
Period 8: 1945-1980
Period 9: 1980-Present
Themes
Peopling
Ideologies, Religion, Art/Literature, Cultural Values, Science/Philosophy, Ideals, Morality, Popular Culture