* Analyze the immediate and long-term effects of the Declaration of Independence. 


    * Describe the major Indian cultures in North America prior to European settlement and analyze the effects of that settlement on the indigenous peoples of America.        
    * Compare and contrast the social, economic, and political development of the British colonies in the area that became the United States. 
    * Analyze the meaning of freedom, equality, and identity in America.
    * Discuss the factors shaping America during the early national period. 
    * Assess the significance of geography in the process of shaping America.        


    * Analyze American identity, freedom, and equality.   
    * Describe and explain the origins of racism and slavery in America and analyze the long-term effects of slavery on American society. 
    * Discuss the social, political, economic, diplomatic, and military aspects of the Civil War. 
    * Describe and explain the reasons for industrial growth in the United States and analyze the social, economic, and political effects of industrialization. 
    * Discuss the development of the American West and its effects on American Indians, Mexican Americans, and farmers in general. 



    * Describe and explain the patterns of immigration, and analyze the development of immigration  restriction. 
    * Analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. 
    * Discuss American involvement in World War II, including diplomacy as well as the military and home fronts. 
    * Discuss the broad-based civil rights movement in the United States since 1945, and analyze the contemporary status of minority groups. 
    * Analyze the major issues confronting the American people at the beginning of the twenty-first century.