Unit 7: Imperialism, Spanish-American War, and World War I
Chapters:
17, 19
Essential Questions
1) What role should America play in world affairs? Can the world be made safe for democracy?
2) What are the positive and negative effects of imperialism?
3) How can a nation balance domestic concerns with international challenges?
Imperialism/New
Foreign Policy (Ch. 17)
The Spanish American
War (Ch. 17)
The Road to War
(Ch. 19)
America at War: World
War I (Ch. 19)
Global Peacemaker
(Ch. 19
Concepts
Imperialism
Nationalism
Annex
Racism
Concepts
Y ellow journalism
Platt Amendment
Spheres of Influence
Open Door Policy
Y ellow Fev er
Concepts
Mobilization
Central Powers
Allies
Stalemate
Propaganda
U-boat
Autocrat
Concepts
Selective Service Act
AEF
Armistice
Liberty Bonds
Price controls
Rationing
Sedition (State Sedition Acts)
Concepts
Self-determination
Fourteen Points
League of Nations
Reparations
V ersailles Treaty
T opics
-Long Term Causes of World
War I: Imperialism,
Militarism, Nationalism,
Alliance Sy stem
-Immediate Cause of WWI:
Assassination of Archduke
Ferdinand
-Alliance Sy stem: Chain of
Ev ents
-Modern Warfare: New
Technology
-Early American Neutrality:
Causes and Effects
-The Sinking of the Lusitania
-The Zimmerman Note
-V era Cruz Incident
T opics
-Preparing for War:
Mobilizing Forces and
Production
-Ex periences of Troops in
Europe
-Trench Warfare
-Impact of U.S. Troops on the
War in Europe
-Financing the War/Managing
the Economy
-Methods of Enforcing Loyalty
on the Homefront
-Results of the War
-Brownsv ille Affair
T opics
-Imperialism: Causes and
Effects
- Upgrading the U.S. Nav y
-Arguments For and Against
United States Imperialism
-Building of the Panama
Canal: Why and the
Conditions
-“Big Stick Diplomacy”
-Dollar Diplomacy
-Moral Diplomacy
People
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
T opics
-Spanish American War:
Causes and Effects
-Impact of Y ellow Journalism
-Significance of the De Lome
Letter and USS Maine
-Theodore Roosevelt and the
Rough Riders: Role in the War
-Why the War is Referred to
as “A Splendid Little War”
-Treaty of Paris: Prov isions
-U.S. Inv olvement in Cuba,
Philippines, Hawaii, and
Puerto Rico
-Open Door Policy :
Justification
-The Press and the War:
Philippines
People
Theodore Roosevelt
William McKinley
People
Archduke Ferdinand
Gav rilo Princip
T opics
-Wilson’s Fourteen Points:
Prov isions
-The Big Four: Italy , Great
Britain, United States, France
-League of Nations: Purpose
-Redrawing the Map of
Europe
-German Reparations and the
War Guilt Clause: Link to
World War II
-Controv ersy over the League
of Nations in the United
States
People
Woodrow Wilson
Dav id Lloy d George
Georges Clemenceau
V ittorio Orlando
“I Can” Statements: Over the course of the unit, place a check mark next to the statements that are true for you. This will allow you to
better prepare for unit assessments.
I Can:
_____ 1. Understand the signs and causes of the narrowing conception of n ationhood in late-nineteenth-century America.
_____ 2. Explain what motivated the imperial expansion of America at the close of the nineteenth century.
_____ 3. Identify how and for what purposes did the United States intervene in the affairs of neighborin g nations during the Progressive era.
_____ 4. Know what gave rise to World War I.
_____ 5. Discuss what considerations led America eventually to enter the war. How did Americans debate the question?
_____ 6. Identify through what means, and with what effects, did American leaders seek to rally the country around the war. What kinds of divisions persisted despite these
efforts?
_____ 7. Explain how World War I transform the lives of Americans and the direction of their society.
_____ 8. Understand how the war altered American visions of freedom and democracy.
_____ 9. Know what made the postwar period such a tempestuous time in American history.
Common Core 9-10 Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (RH)
Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to
such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later
ones or simply preceded them.
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary
describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5 Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics,
including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in
print or digital text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text
complexity band independently and proficiently.
Common Core 9-10 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (WHST)
Text Types and Purposes
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates
the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific
procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2c Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic
and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
Common Core 9-10 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies Continued… (WHST)
Production and Distribution of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a
new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Note
Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The Standards require that stude nts be able to incorporate narrative
elements effectively into arguments and informative/explanatory texts. In history/social studies, students must be able to incorporate
narrative accounts into their analyses of individuals or events of historical import . In science and technical subjects, students must be
able to write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step procedures they use in their investigations or technical work that others
can replicate them and (possibly) reach the same results.