I will be teaching U.S. History (Fall and Spring) during both sessions this year at San Mateo High School, which means we will have students in the classroom who are either taking fall or spring and two different lessons will be presented simultaneously.   

Room A146 (when you enter the main doors, turn right into the hallway.  A146 located on the right side of the hallway.

U.S. Fall

Session 1 on-site days: 6/2, 6/6, 6/7, 6/8, 6/13, 6/14, 6/15, 6/20

Session 1 Zoom days: 6/5, 6/9, 6/12, 6/16

Session 2 on-site days: 6/21, 6/22, 6/27, 6/28, 6/29, 7/5, 7/6, 7/7

Session 2 Zoom days:  6/23, 6/26/ 6/30, 7/3

Each day there are lecture notes and activities (lowest 2 are dropped), a written discussion (lowest 2 are dropped), and either a quiz/exam (lowest quiz dropped, exams can be retaken). 

• Day 1: Colonies and Revolution!  We will be looking at the three types of American colonies and some of the struggles colonists faced as they started their lives in North America; we will also be looking at what caused the colonists to revolt against England.
• Day 2: America's Beginnings: Constitution and Washington thru Jackson.  Now that the American colonists have won the war against Britain, it’s time to draft the first form of government:  The Articles of Confederation.  Unfortunately, it was too weak for the new country and a new constitution was drafted.  With this, we will then follow the administrations of the first presidents of the USA and their successes and challenges. 
• Day 3: Civil War.  The United States has become severely divided over states' rights but most importantly, the inhumane system of slavery, with the South wanting to keep it and the North denouncing it—though the North benefits from it due to inexpensive Southern raw materials to fuel the booming factories in the north. New war technologies are being used for the first time, giving the North an advantage.  
• Day 4: Reconstruction.  Now that the Civil War has ended with southern defeat, what happens next?  Who will rebuild the South?  How will the South be re-entered into the country?  Will it be a quick resolution, which could hurt newly-freed Black Americans, or will it be a punishing resolution, making the Southerns angrier and more bitter?  How will the country protect newly-freed Black Americans?
• Day 5: Railroad and Great Plains.  A railroad that connects the west to the east finally happens, and it transforms the middle Plains and jumpstarts the industrial revolution in the US.
• Day 6: Immigration and Cities. With factories popping up everywhere throughout the USA, there is a shortage of labor in the cities.  Therefore, immigration increases to fill the need for more factory workers.  But not all immigrants were treated equally with one another nor with America-born persons.  In addition, the cities lack basic infrastructure like plumbing and garbage collection and are very unsafe.  
• Day 7: Progressive Movement. With rapid industrialization and the booming factory system, along with abuses in local, state and federal politics, a new era of progressivism took hold in the USA to fix a lot of problems.  Three progressive presidents, each with their own successes and challenges, emerge as well.
• Day 8: American Imperialism. Now the USA has reached the west coast and is a powerhouse when it comes to factory production. Now it’s time for the USA to reach across the world for some more power and influence in order to grow its economy.  Each of the progressive presidents has their own unique style of American imperialism.  
• Day 9: World War I. The US is now a major imperialistic force in the world, though it has not taken colonies the way European countries have throughout history.  What role should it play in a world war sparked by an assassination in an environment of militarism, alliances, and nationalism? 
• Day 10: The 1920s: Politics and Culture. 

  The communist takeover in Russia brought a scare to the USA that there were radical terrorists living in the USA, and union leaders were prime suspects #1, with the government conducting raids on homes and businesses to hunt them.   In addition, the country continued to discriminate against certain immigrant groups from Eastern and Southern Europe.   

  The 1920s also saw dramatic changes of American culture, from women’s roles to outlawing alcohol to conducting a war on the teaching of evolution in schools;  finally, Black Americans are trekking North to escape systematic southern racism and transforming American culture by infusing changes in art, music and literature.  

• Day 11: Great Depression. The 1920s was a decade with inflated wealth that set the conditions for a depression.  The depression had long-term causes that we will explore along with a short-term trigger:  a stock market crash and subsequent panic and run on the banks (people wanting their money out, all at once).  The depression led to massive unemployment, especially for BIPOC Americans, and this led to a transformation of how people lived day-to-day.  President Hoover, who was a “wait-and-see” type of president, refused to provide direct relief or reform basic institutions like banks.
• Day 12: The New Deal. With the Great Depression now entering its 3rd year, Republican president Herbert Hoover loses re-election and Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins by a landslide.  He immediately shuts down the banks, reforms them, and provides direct relief to millions of Americans through jobs programs among other programs called the New Deal.  But conservatives said the programs expanded the federal government and cost too much money, while liberals say the programs didn’t go far enough to shrink the gap between the rich and poor, and BIPOC Americans didn’t have equal access to the programs.  

U.S. Spring

Session 1 on-site days: 6/2, 6/6, 6/7, 6/8, 6/13, 6/14, 6/15, 6/20

Session 1 Zoom days: 6/5, 6/9, 6/12, 6/16

Session 2 on-site days: 6/21, 6/22, 6/27, 6/28, 6/29, 7/5, 7/6, 7/7

Session 2 Zoom days:  6/23, 6/26/ 6/30, 7/3

Each day there are lecture notes and activities (lowest 2 are dropped), a written discussion (lowest 2 are dropped), and either a quiz/exam (lowest quiz dropped, exams can be retaken). 

• Day 1: Pre-World War II. We will be looking at the rise of evil dictators in Europe (Germany, Italy, Soviet Union) and how and why they rose to power. 
• Day 2: World War II. Now that Germany and Japan have risen to power, Germany invades Poland and that triggers World War II while Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.  Today, we look at the battles in Europe and Asia, the atomic bomb, and Japanese incarceration in addition to groups of Americans, such as Native Americans, Japanese Americans, women, and BIPOC who helped America win the war.
• Day 3: Cold War. Now that World War II is over, the USA and the Soviet Union (once allies during the war) are now frenemies.  Why?  How does their relationship deteriorate over the years especially with China being lost to communism?
• Day 4: Cold War at Home. Today we will look at the Cold War within the  United States as it deals with potential communists living in the USA and two international events that directly affected people living in the USA: Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. We will also watch selected scenes from the films Guilty by Susipicion and Trumbo.
• Day 5: Kennedy and Johnson. As President Eisenhower is termed out of office and warms of a military industrial complex, a young JFK is elected president rather than experienced Vice President Richard Nixon and thus begins an era of new optimism; JFK is assassinated and Johnson ascends to the presidency, only to have his dream of a Great Society set aside by America’s involvement in Vietnam.
• Day 6: Vietnam Begins. The US attempt to contain communism in Asia continues.  The US sent lots of money to China but no soldiers and the country was lost to communism; in Korea, the US sent money AND soldiers, and South Korea was saved from communism.  The lesson was learned:  money plus soldiers equals success.  Now it’s time for Vietnam.
• Day 7: Vietnam at Home. With war escalating in Southeast Asia, more American men are being drafted into the conflict and protests on college campuses is widespread.  Today, we will be looking at how many Americans went from supporting the war to being opposed to it, and we will see how a silent majority was instrumental in electing Richard Nixon as president.
• Day 8: Civil Rights. With Black American soldiers returning to a segregated South, a fight to end segregation in public accommodations such as restaurants and transportation along with schools reaches a boiling point--and new leaders emerge.
• Day 9: Civil Rights. With the Civil Rights Act now making segregation in public accommodations illegal, the movement looks at full voting equality as their next goal. Project Freedom Summer and March on Selma are profiled with a look at how modern voting laws now being passed might not align with the Voters Rights Act. 
• Day 10: LGBTIA+ Movement / Counter-Movements. Have people forgotten about the struggles gay men and women endured during the 1960s through 1980s? We look back on what sparked the Gay Revolution in 1969 and how LGBTQIA+ individuals are fighting for full inclusion.  Matthew Shepard and various laws/rulings by Congress and the Supreme Court are profiled. In addition, how did Latino/a/e Americans, Native Americans, Women, Conservatives and Counterculture participants fight to be heard?
• Day 11: Nixon and Watergate. Nixon re-entered politics after two stunning losses only to have to find a way to get America out of the Vietnam conflict.  But even with America withdrawing from Vietnam, the press is obsessed with a burglary at Democratic headquarters at Watergate--which will lead to Nixon resigning. 
• Day 12: Modern Presidents.  What were some of the successes and failures of modern presidents, and how did 9/11 affect American policies domestically and internationally?