STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 I.     Comprehend the major themes and central debates in the history of United States foreign relations from the colonial period to the present.

 II.    Understand the operation of American foreign policy within the US constitutional framework.

 III.     Distinguish between the “Realist” and “Idealist” schools of foreign policy thought and application.

 IV.      Demonstrate the ability to comprehend multiple influences on foreign policy decision making.

 V.     Identify the historic national interests of the United States, its allies and enemies.

 VI.    Conceptualize the history of the United States foreign relations in a hemispheric and global context.

  VII.    Four general goals integrate history with workplace skills:

       A.      Acquire information from many sources

       B.      Break complex and multiple sources of information down into parts to create clearer understanding

       C.      Understand the impact of time and space on perspective

       D.      Develop narrative structures and arguments based on evidence

 VIII.     Throughout the course, students should be introduced to course content, practice using course content, and demonstrate they can:

       A.        Describe how peoples, groups, cultures, and institutions covered in this course change over time

       B.        Understand the events covered in the course in historical context and recognize how social, cultural, gender, race, religion, nationality and other identities affect historical perspective

       C.        Communicate orally and in writing about the subject of the course and select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve problems and compile information

       D.        Use different resources for historical research, including libraries, databases, bibliographies and archives

       E.         Analyze secondary sources and recognize differences in historical interpretation

       F.         Identify types of primary sources, the point of view and purpose of their author or creator

       G.        Create substantive writing samples which employ critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, and document those sources correctly

       H.        Construct knowledge in the discipline and synthesize historical narratives and timelines from primary and secondary sources, maps, and/or artifacts and critically analyze, interpret and evaluate many different points of view to construct historical arguments.

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I.      Colonial North America in Global Context

 II.     The Federalists and Foreign Policy

 III.    The Jeffersonian Republicans and Foreign Policy

 IV.     Continental Expansion and Foreign Policy

 V.      American Civil War and Foreign Policy

 VI.     Overseas Expansion and the Open Door

 VII.    “Big Stick” Diplomacy

 VIII.   Woodrow Wilson and World War I

 IX.     Interwar Relations with the World

 X       World War II

 XI.     The Cold War

 XII.    The Korean War

 XIII.   JFK and the “New Frontier”

 XIV.    The Vietnam War

 XV.     Reagan/Bush and the End of the Cold War

 XVI.    The New World Order

 XVII.   The War on Terrorism