US History Semester 2

Enrollment Message

Students need access to a webcam or video recording device.

Course Description

This US History 2 course explores the political, social, economic, constitutional, and cultural developments that shaped the United States from the turn of the twentieth century through the early twenty-first century. Students will examine America’s emergence as a global power and its response to major events and challenges, including imperialism, World War I, economic change, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, social inequality, political reform, globalization, technological innovation, and terrorism. Through the study of primary and secondary sources, students will strengthen their historical thinking skills as they analyze the impact of government policies, Supreme Court decisions, foreign relations, and social movements over time. Throughout the semester, students will demonstrate their understanding through quizzes, writing assignments, discussion forums, document analysis, and creative projects that incorporate a variety of online resources and digital tools.

• Indiana Core40 Diploma Applicable through class of 2028
• Fulfills the US History requirement for all diplomas
• Indiana NEW Diploma Applicable for students entering school in 2025-26 (Class of 2029) 
• Required
• Fulfills a Social Studies Credit

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students will…

• examine how postwar prosperity, suburbanization, and Cold War tensions shaped American society after World War II.
• analyze how fear of communism influenced United States foreign policy, domestic politics, and constitutional rights during the Second Red Scare.
• understand how the Civil Rights Movement, Great Society programs, and Supreme Court decisions expanded debates about equality, rights, and the role of government.
• evaluate how Cold War conflicts, including Vietnam and détente, shaped United States foreign policy and political divisions at home.
• examine how political conservatism, globalization, technological innovation, and the end of the Cold War transformed the United States between 1980 and 2001.
• analyze how the September 11 terrorist attacks reshaped national security, foreign policy, media influence, and civil liberties in the modern United States.
• locate and analyze primary and secondary sources related to historical events and constitutional issues.
• formulate and defend historical arguments by evaluating evidence, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, and connecting historical developments across time.

Indiana Academic Standards

• US History

Units of Instruction

Unit titles may differ in synchronous courses.

• Unit 1 Imperialism, World War I, and the Roaring Twenties
• Unit 2 The Great Depression, WW2, and The Impact of War
• Unit 3 Postwar America, the Cold War at Home, and the Early Civil Rights Movement
• Unit 4 The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s
• Unit 5 Conflict at Home and Abroad
• Unit 6 Modern America from Reagan to the Present

Grading/Evaluation

Indiana Online does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school of record can also access this score within the Student Information System, Genius. The final score will be shown as a percentage in Canvas and Genius. The student’s school of record will determine the letter grade based on their specific grading scale.

Assessments

Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, teacher-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments. The course includes the minimum number of assessments

• 3 Discussions
• 10 Assignments
• 9 Quizzes

The assessments for this asynchronous course are weighted as follows