I. Explorers and Colonizers
Standard 2: SS.A.2.4: The student understands the world from its beginnings to the time of Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.2.4.10 – significant cultural, religious, and economic features of civilizations in Mesoamerica and
Andean South America.
A. Central and South America
1. Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations
a. Theocratic governments of hereditary nobles
b. Barter economies
c. Polytheistic religions and human sacrifice
d. Strict social hierarchies
e. Monumental architecture
1. Mayan and Aztec pyramids
2. Inca roads and mountain terracing
2. Spain and Portugal lead exploration
a. Conquistadors
1. Cortez - Aztec Empire
2. Pizzaro - Inca Empire
b. Terrible mistreatment and exploitation of native peoples
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.3 - understands the significant economic, political, and cultural interactions among the peoples of
Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas during the Age of Discovery and the European expansion.
B. North America
1. Search for the Northwest Passage
2. Colonies established by Spain. England, France, and the Netherlands
C. Notable Figures
1. Henry the Navigator
2. Columbus
3. Vespucci
4. Magellan
D. Columbian Exchange
E. Mercantilism
1. Regulation of trade by the mother country
2. Role of colonies as a supplier of raw materials
3. Role of colonies as a market for finished goods of the mother country
F. The Slave Trade
1. Deaths of large numbers of Native Americans leads to importation of slaves from Africa
2. The Triangle Trade
3. The Middle Passage
4. Slaves were the Chief export from Africa to the New World
II. Absolute Monarchy
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.6 – understands transformations in the political and social realms from the Age of Absolutism
through the Glorious Revolution and the French Revolution.
A. Spain
1. Phillip II claimed rule by divine right
2. Religious conflict with England - tensions between Catholics and Protestants
3. Spanish Armada - defeated by England
B. France
1. Cardinal Richelieu’s role in establishing absolute monarchy
2. Louis XIV and Versaille
C. Russia
1. Peter the Great and Westernization
2. Catherine the Great expands Russia’s borders
D. England
1. Limited monarchy - not absolutism
2. Elizabeth I - Balance of Power
3. Stuarts
a. Struggle with Parliament over belief in divine right
4. English Civil War
a. Charles I - Beheading
b. Cromwell - Puritan rule
5. Restoration
6. Glorious Revolution
III. The Enlightenment
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.5 – understands the significant scientific and social changes from the Age of Reason to the Age of Enlightenment.
A. The philosophers and philosophies - what were they?
1. Importance of reason
2. Natural laws
3. Basis for government power
B. Hobbes
1. Social Contract
2. Necessity of absolute monarchs
C. Locke
1. Natural rights to life, liberty, and property
2. Influence on Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence
D. Rousseau
1. The Social Contract
E. Montesquieu
1. Three branches of government
F. Enlightened Despots
1. Used absolute power to enact some reforms (e.g. Joseph II)
IV. Age of Revolution
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.6 – understands transformations in the political and social realms from the Age of Absolutism through
the Glorious Revolution and the French Revolution.
A. American Revolution
1. Allies of the American cause - France, Spain, the Netherlands
2. Influence of the Enlightenment on the US Constitution
a. Bill of Rights
b. Separation of powers
3. Example for later revolutions
B. French Revolution
1. Causes
a. Abuses of the Old Regime
b. Dissatisfaction of the Third Estate
c. Financial crisis due to bad harvests, involvement in wars
2. Estates General
a. High taxes and lack of political power of Third Estate
3. National Assembly declared themselves the new government
4. Storming of the Bastille - beginning and symbol of the French Revolution
5. Declaration of the Rights of Man
6. Reign of Terror led by Robespierre
C. Latin American Revolutions
1. Haitian Revolution
a. Leaders - Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines
b. Only successful slave rebellion in modern history
c. Results
1. Dessalines became an absolute monarch
2. Violence continued
3. Haiti became the first modern free black nation
2. South America - Simon Bolivar
3. Mexico - Miguel Hidalgo
V. Napoleonic Era
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.7 – understands significant political developments in Europe in the 19th century.
A. Rose to power through a relatively bloodless coup d’etat
1. Adopted revolutionary ideas to further his own ends
2. Napoleonic Code
3. Expansion of Empire
a. Wars of aggression
b. Continental System
4. Downfall - defeat at Waterloo and exile
5. Congress of Vienna - restored old regimes and tried to create a balance of power
VI. Industrial Revolution
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.8 – understands the effects of the Industrial Revolution.
A. Began in Great Britain due to large sums of money available for investment
1. First took hold in the textile industry
B. Transition from Domestic system (cottage industry - working at home) to the Factory System
1. Concentration of workers in urban areas
2. Exploitation of workers
a. Child labor
C. Steam engine - power source for transportation and factory machines
D. Adam Smith
1. Book - Wealth of Nations
2. Laissez faire economics - free market capitalism
E. Karl Marx
1. Criticisms of capitalism’s unequal distribution of wealth
2. Socialist/communist theories
VII. Imperialism/Colonialism
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.7 – understands significant political developments in Europe in the 19th Century.
A. Causes
1. European competition for colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods
2. European dominance in world affairs due to superior military technology
3. Social Darwinism provides a justification for imperialism
4. Desire to spread Christianity
B. Berlin Conference - European powers divided Africa into colonies
C. Imperialist wars and rebellions
VIII. Rise of Nationalism
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.7 – understands significant political developments in Europe in the 19th Century.
A. Nationalism develops among people who share common ethnicity, customs, language, history, and culture.
1. Can be a unifying force or a divisive force
2. Unification of Germany and Italy
B. Growth of Alliances
IX. World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.9 – analyzes major historical events of the first half of the 20th century.
A. Causes of WWI
1. Militarism
2. Nationalism
3. Imperialism
B. Alliances
1. Central Powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
2. Triple Entente - France, Great Britain, Russia
C. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip
D. Trench Warfare
E. New Weapons - tank, submarine, airplane, poison gas
F. Bolshevik Revolution
1. Lenin led Bolsheviks to victory, making Russia the first totalitarian communist nation in history
2. Lenin signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, withdrawing Russia from WWI
G. Aftermath of World War I
1. Treaty of Versaille
2. US President Wilson’s Fourteen Points For World Peace led to the formation of the League of Nations
X. Between the World Wars
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.9 – analyzes major historical events of the first half of the 20th century.
A. Problems with the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Nazism
1. Burden of reparations
2. Devaluation of currency (inflation)
3. Beginning of a world-wide depression
B. Rise of the Dictators
1. Germany – Hitler
a. Mein Kampf
b. Third Reich
c. Totalitarian Nazi (fascist) rule
d. Persecution of Jews (Nuremberg Laws)
e. Involvement in Spanish Civil War (tests new German army)
f. Annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia
1. Failure of appeasement policy of France and Britain
2. Italy – Mussolini
a. Partnership with Hitler
b. Invasion of Ethiopia
3. Japan - Hirohito/Tojo
a. Militarism
b. Invasion of Manchuria
c. Rape of Nanjing (Nanking)
C. League of Nations proven to be ineffective
XI. World War II
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.9 – analyzes major historical events of the first half of the 20th century.
A. Leaders
1. Allies - Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt/Truman
2. Axis - Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito/Tojo
B. German invasion of Poland September 1, 1939
C. Blitzkrieg
D. Mistake of German two-front war on Britain and Soviet Union
E. Lend/Lease Program
F. Submarine warfare - Battle of the Atlantic
G. Pearl Harbor attack - brought America into the war
H. Weapon innovations - radar, sonar, jet aircraft, atomic bomb
I. D-Day - Normandy Invasion
J. Pacific Island-Hopping Campaign
K. Aircraft carriers/Kamikazi pilots
L. Use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1. Truman’s decision based on saving American lives
M. Holocaust
1. Germany’s “Final Solution”
2. Nuremberg Laws - deprive Jews of rights and German citizenship
3. Kristallnacht
4. Forced labor
5. Attempted genocide of Jews and Gypsies - also mass killings of handicapped people,
homosexuals, Soviet POW’s, etc.
6. Extermination camps - Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, etc.
N. War crime trials at Nuremberg for leaders and officers or Germany, Italy, and Japan
XII. Cold War
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.10 – understands the political, military, and economic events since the 1950’s that have had a significant
impact on international relations.
A. Marshall Plan begun by the United States
1. Helped Western European nations, including former enemies, as well as Japan, rebuild after the WWII
2. Japan, Italy, and West Germany were required to become democracies
B. United Nations formed
C. Potsdam Conference led to divided Europe (Iron Curtain)
1. Free Western Democracies formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization
2. Soviet Union installs communist governments in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria,
and Hungary, and formed the Warsaw Pact
3. Germany was divided into West Germany (NATO) and East Germany (Warsaw Pact)
D. Tensions between the USA and USSR and their allies
1. Berlin Airlift
2. Arms race - nuclear weapons, ICBMs
3. Sputnik I began Space Race
4. Cuban Missile Crisis
5. Berlin Wall
6. Detente
E. China - Mao Zedong led totalitarian communist takeover in 1949
1. Develops nuclear weapons adding to Cold War tensions
F. Korean War
1. Effort by Soviet Union and China to expand communism
2. Military response by the United Nations led by the USA
3. Ended in a stalemate with a communist North Korea and a democratic South Korea
G. Vietnam War
1. Domino Theory - idea that one country after another would fall to communism
2. USA helped South Vietnam resist communist North Vietnam’s effort to take over.
3. Large anti-war movement protested US involvement in the 1960's
4. USA withdrew in 1973 and the communists won control of all of Vietnam
XIII. International Relations and Conflicts
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.10 – understands the political, military, and economic events since the 1950’s that have had a significant
impact on international relations.
A. Middle East
1. Creation of Israel by the United Nations
a. Continuing conflict between Jews and Muslims, especially Palestinians
b. Camp David Accords - Carter, Begin, Sadat made a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
B. Africa
1. Former European colonies gained independence
2. Many nations still experiencing tribal conflicts
3. South Africa
a. Apartheid
b. Nelson Mandela - led resistance to Apartheid and became South Africa’s first black president
4. HIV/AIDS epidemic
C. India
1. Gandhi and non-violent protest
2. Independence gained from British colonial rule
XIV. End of Communism in Eastern Europe
Standard 3: SS.A.3.4: The student understands Western and Eastern civilization since the Renaissance.
Benchmark: SS.A.3.4.10 – understands the political, military, and economic events since the 1950’s that have had a significant
mpact on international relations.
A. Warsaw Pact nations ended communism and experienced democratic reforms
B. German reunification
1. Berlin Wall was destroyed
C. Collapse of the Soviet Union
1. Resulted from the Soviets’ inability to keep up with the USA economically and militarily
2. Soviet Union broke up into 16 independent nations that have generally experienced democratic reforms