Hello and welcome to American History! My name is Mr. Russell, and I will be your teacher this year as we examine the history of our country. We will do this in many ways besides just reading a textbook and talking about what we've read. We are going to do group research presentations, event re-enactments, go on virtual fieldtrips, review authentic television news programs, video and audio interviews, and engage in online discussions.
It is very important that all of my students leave the class with with some measure of knowledge of our country's past and why this knowledge will be important to them for the rest of their lives.
If you need to reach me after school hours, please e-mail me at paul.russell@valpo.edu, or post a message on Our Class Blog
In this class we will study the key and pivotal points in our nation's history. We will begin with the founding of British North America from the establishment of early English colonies, discuss the everyday lives of colonists, examine the differences between the colonies, and we will have a class project in which our class will re-enact the Salem Witch Trials. We will move on to the American Revolutionary War, The Declaration of Independence, and the US Constitution.
We will then examine national expansion beyond the orignal thirteen states into the midwest by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France and establishing new territories that eventually became new states. Our first semester finishes by studying the American Civil War, and we will do group presentations on different aspects of this monumental struggle.
Our second semester starts with a study of imperialism and the Progressive Era. That will lead into World War I (and America's focus on the war). The course follows this with a segment on post World War I including The Great Depression and FDR's New Deal. Then it continues with World War II, and we will spend a few weeks on this topic.
Just before Spring Break we will look at the Korean War, and after Spring Break we will concentrate on the American Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, and protest movements against the war. From there, we will study the Watergate Scandal and conspiracy theories.
Finally, we will finish the semester looking towards the new century, the attacks of 9/11, and solutions for the problems we currently face.
Throughout the course, I will post questions and homework reading assignments to which you will have to post your answers. We will also conduct periodic discussions on this site in order to ensure that you are doing your assigned readings as well as to stimulate interest in the various course topics we will be studying.
A word of caution to all: this website will also be available to your parents in order to keep them informed of the progress each of you are making in the course as well as to let them take an active part in each of your educational endeavors while in the class.
Discussion questions will be posted each Monday night, and you will have two days to post your response. Extra credit assignments will also be made available every three weeks, and if you choose to take part in the assignment, you will have one week to post your response.
That being said, Welcome to American History!!
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Class Downloads
A History of Your Teacher
(4.41 MB)
This is a Power Point presentation that provides you and your parents with some biographical information about your teacher.
American History Resources From the History Channel
(1.24 MB)
A good research resource for some of the projects we will be doing in class.
Civil Rights News
(2.88 KB)
Television News of the Civil Rights Era, 1950-1970, aims to collect, digitize, and present in streaming video format over the World Wide Web television news footage from the period and to make these valuable materials available to scholars, teachers, and students.
Ease History
(15.47 KB)
EASE History is a rich online environment that supports the learning and teaching of US History. Hundreds of historical videos and photographs are currently available in EASE History.
Learn about US History through the prism of US presidential campaign ads, better understand the complexities of campaign issues and their historical context by looking at historical events, and explore the meanings of core values by examining how these values have been applied in both historical events and campaign ads.
Using Social Networks in Our Classroom
(595.46 KB)
This Power Point presentation provides you with a brief history of Internet Social Networking sites and how we can possibly use them in our class this year.
A History of Your Teacher
American History Resources From the History Channel