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=Welcome to US History II=

History is the study of the past (people, events, and issues) to explain the present (how you have arrived where you are) in order to better prepare for the future. The key to truly understanding history is to know that one nation's success is completely based on someone else's failure. History is also not "truth," it is in the eye of the beholder, one person's interpretation of an event or issue. This is why the myths of history are just as important as the reality. By studying all parts of history, we are able to discern a well-rounded view of the past. Historiography is the study of interpretations over a period of time, analyzing how people interpreted an event versus studying the actual event. The study of history as you know it is a relatively new field of study, starting in the 1800's in Germany. History before this time was passed down in narrative stories, sometimes written, but mostly spoken. Since this time, historians tend to follow a specific theme when they study history usually influenced by what is happening in the present time.

In United States History this has fluctuated through a few different "schools of history." The first being the HEROIC school of thought. After the Revolutionary War nationalism was extremely high and everyone wanted to prove the greatness of America; basically, historians focused only on the good stuff in American history and forgot all the bad. They had a very simple "we good, they bad" thought process. Historians followed this trend for a long time until the Great Depression. The economic world crashed around us and people realized that while we may not be as great as we thought we were. Historians began to follow what is now known as the MARXIST or ECONOMIC school of thought. It became very important to study who has what, how much the have, and how much will they share, and vice versa. This trend continued for a few decades until after World War II. America was once again great and there was a push to redefine that greatness in our history. They found this greatness with the CONSENSUS school of thought. This interpretation of history pushed the idea that throughout all of American history, there were common goals, thoughts and culture that brought us all together for a common purpose. The greatness of America was quickly questioned with the onslaught of the Vietnam War. For the first time America was not the clear victor and the purpose for the war was being constantly questioned at home. The NEW LEFT school of thought emerged trying to bring back the thoughts of the Marxist school of thought. However, this time they pushed the equality of all mankind, wanting to study the a common sweatshop worker alongside the rich business man that ran the city. This school of thought has continued for some time, but where do you think we are as we study history? // What did you study in your history textbooks the past 10 years? //

Perception is defined as (1) the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding; (2) the immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment; and (3) the result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving. (www.dictionary.com) The telling and re-telling of historical events is deeply rooted in perception. Even if the people telling of the event were at the event, they are still telling you their perception of the event, not just the cold, hard facts. As you listen to what they are saying, you are perceiving their words, actions and the meaning behind those words and actions. Historians also study and teach about events in history based on their perceptions.

Throughout United States History II, we will be focusing on the earlier time periods and events, specifically the time period from the late 1800s to present day. We will be following a thematic approach to history, not following a specific timeline, but focusing on general topics and covering specific events within the topic. We will be using this Wikispace and Google to complete most of the activities. You will each create your own history blog where you will be reflecting on what you learned in class. These blogs are public for anyone to see and I will be sharing them with my friends and colleagues to help answer your questions. Each unit of history begins with a simple, but essential question. This question is what will guide your work through the unit of study. After you complete all the activities in the unit, you will go back to the essential question and answer it in a new blog post. Units are found on the right hand side of this page. Please follow each unit in order from top to bottom and complete the work in each unit from top to bottom. This will help keep both of us organized. Each assignment will be graded on a completion basis. If any section is left incomplete the assignment will be returned to the student to complete fully. Once the assignment has been fully completed students will be graded on how thoroughly they completed the activity, using this rubric.



Creating your blog:
Go to @http://www.blogger.com. You will be asked to retype your password (Google just wants to make sure it is you). You will first title your blog. This can be whatever you want it to be..."So & So's US History Blog" or "My Teacher Made Me Do This.." I don't care what the title is as long as it is school appropriate. Next you have to pick your blog's address or URL. This has to be unique to you, so you may need to try a couple times until you find one that works, again, I don't care what it is as long as it is school appropriate. Finally, pick a design template for the overall look of your blog and then click "Create blog!" The next page you will see is your blogger dashboard. Click on the orange button with a white pencil on to create your first blog post. It will open to an editor page, similar to Word. Here you can edit your words, change fonts, colors, add pictures, and videos. For your first post, title it, "About Me." Then type a couple paragraphs about yourself. What are your interests and hobbies? What do you like to do outside of school? Any favorites you would like to share? This post is to give you time playing with Blogger. Change the font, colors, add your favorite YouTube video (again...school appropriate), pictures, and hyperlinks. When you have finished your post, publish it and then view your blog. Highlight and copy the URL. By this time you should be an approved member of the wiki, refresh the wiki page, and click Edit at the top of the page. An editing page will open up, scroll down to the table and type your first name last initial and paste the URL to your blog in the second column.

To get started, first click on the page "Why study history?!" This will give you an overview the study of history and classroom expectations.


 * Student Name, first & last initial || Hyperlink to Blog ||
 * Abbey G || [] ||
 * Rae M || [] ||
 * Kayla W. || [] ||
 * Kaleb A. || http://flappybirdsucks.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Gabe M. || [] ||
 * myac || [|http://myashistoryblog.blogspot.com] ||
 * Patrick W. || http://ushistrory2wcc.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Luke H. || http://mooinkers1.blogspot.com/ ||
 * uriel. p || http://wccushistory2.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Meghan P. || http://venturingdowanrdintohistory.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Mauri C. || http://mauricastro515.blogspot.com/ ||
 * tyler b. || [] ||
 * Kelsey C. || [] ||
 * Jayden B. || http://whateveryouwanttoadressit.blogspot.com ||
 * Xeon W. || http://historyisthegreatest.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Zach H. || http://zhamy054.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Ethan C. || http://bearvstheworld.blogspot.com/ ||
 * jessica B || http://ermahgerdmashperderders.blogspot.com/ ||
 * Kayla W. || http://kaylawilliams43.blogspot.com/ ||